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Image: Levonbiss.com

Movies are my religion and God is my patron… When I make a movie, I want it to be everything to me; like I would die for it

Tarantino’s words describe his vigorous zeal for cinema. It is well known that Tarantino – a high school drop-out with an IQ of 160 – found the bases of his motion picture prestige at Video Archives, a Californian video store that curated rare, off-beat movies. He was 22 at the time, and claims he found inspiration in cinema from watching videos during his shift at the shop. However, his introduction to film began at a much younger age when the sixteen-year-old Tarantino would accompany a porn magazine magnate to whizz through the streets of California collecting coins from magazine racks. The young Tarantino also worked as an usher in an adult film theatre called the Pussycat Theatre in Torrance, California. Speaking on his time there, the director said,

I couldn’t care less about the [porn] movies and was totally bored by them

Four Rooms, image: collider.com

It’s rare to find an adolescent male who is bored by porn, but Tarantino has always been defined by his ability to surprise. He first shocked audiences in 1992 when Reservoir Dogs – a film that saw Tarantino producing a screenplay in three and half weeks and filming the entire movie in 35 days – electrified the Sundance Film Festival. The moment marked Tarantino as a brilliant writer and a superbly enigmatic director, which is shown in his characterisation of his movies:

My movies are painfully personal, but I’m never trying to let you know how personal they are

Pulp Fiction, Image: movpins.com

Although Reservoir Dogs failed to win any awards, Tarantino’s future works would birth a new era of Hollywood film. Few directors create movies that are still whispered almost 20 years after their release, but to this day Pulp Fiction resonates as a cult pièces de résistance and it garnered Tarantino his first Academy Award for Best Screenplay. The movie started a roll of film that would develop into one of the most innovative, avant garde, controversial film reels to spool audiences and critics alike. Four Rooms, From Dusk Til Dawn, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, Inglorius Basterds… Each movie represents an artistic change in cinema. From spawning blood-splattered screenplays that draw laughter (see Marvin’s death in Pulp Fiction) to fearlessly inviting the wrath of Jews and historians by rewriting history in Inglorius Basterds (see Hitler’s fictional death), Tarantino has made the impossible and the inconceivable a very real experience. Longevity is a force which is becoming increasingly difficult to master, but Tarantino has embossed his name in cinema history books to the extent where he is written in the pages of the Collins English Dictionary:

Tarantinoesque (adj) – referring to or reminiscent of the work of the American film-maker and actor Quentin Tarantino (born 1963), known for the violence and wit of his films.

His latest release, Django Unchained, has been less publicly acclaimed than his previous works, but still managed to gift Tarantino the Best Original Screenplay golden statue at the 2013 Oscars. It also caught the attention of music fans who praised the film’s soundtrack. Diversely talented with an eye for the good stuff, Tarantino always finds a way to please his followers. Not many things are certain in Hollywood, and even less things last, but there’s one thing Tarantino can guarantee:

now, at the end of two decades in the business… I am here to stay

images: movpins.com, collider.com, Levonbiss.com
 

Words: Ra’eesa Pather

For every second of airtime, a Super Bowl advertisement costs about $100,000. Buckley has directed more than 40 and upholds a reputation of incorporating excellence, humour and relevance in all his projects. That same level of dedication translates to Buckley’s success with short films including No Autographs and the recently Academy Award nominated ASAD. Buckley talks with one small seed about what ASAD means to him personally, professionally and how he hopes the film will continue to make an impact long after the red carpet.

facebook/ASADfilm2012

The people of Somalia have been through such unthinkable hardships.

What little the world knows about the country is through a very narrow lens of news clips from the BBC and CNN about pirates and warlords. They are painted as caricatures. What they are missing is the beautiful spirit and humanity there.

I believe if you understand people’s spirit better, positive change in their human condition undoubtedly will ensue.

heegantimes

We met on a job in Brazil when the producer I was working with became ill. Mino stepped in, and we never looked back.

hungryman

Spend a few days working in South Africa, and it doesn’t take long to realize the country is an open book with unlimited ceiling for success. There is a real pride there, and rawness. It’s the kind of environment I gravitate to work in.

fromthefrontrow

In the press release you say: ‘This educational experiment has caught the eye of the South African government and the United Nations.’ Could you please tell me how… ? The importance of education is something our government needs to be brutally honest about — too many schools lack in the primary resources (books, computers, teachers, clean toilets and so on). Is there a way for the public to get involved and perhaps help serve as a catalyst for change?

Our first screening of ASAD in Cape Town brought members from both SA’s leading political parties. We were able to tell our story to them. And informed them how Harun and Ali, who had never been to school and were thus illiterate, were able to excel once given an opportunity to attend lessons and reached a fourth and third grade learning level in nine months. Absolutely remarkable.

My hope is that with the momentum of the film’s success we can expand upon the system we have set up. And bring more children into the school who would have otherwise gone uneducated.

This will require funding for sure. And we will turn to the private sector to provide this. Ultimately, these children will grow into the educated leaders of their community. And they will fight to build schools for the next generation. And slowly change will follow.

wikivillage

All actors in the film are Somali refugees I believe. What was the process of finding these actors who gave such an authentic, raw and brilliant performance?

We were determined to use all Somalis in our cast. We reached out to a community of Somalis in Bellville, South Africa. We did an open casting call. We then laid down people on tape, not asking them to do lines, but rather to improve certain scenes from the film. We knew they weren’t going to be actors. We were only looking for their raw acting skills. We had a series of callbacks in Cape Town where we began to whittle down to the people we thought were the best for the job. And then began to train them on their lines.

facebook/ASADfilm2012

The two leads in ASAD are Somali brothers Harun and Ali Mohammed. What are the chances of them joining you at the Oscars on 24 February?

As of now, the UNHCR has been working tirelessly to get the necessary documents together to allow the boys and their father to travel. It’s hard to predict if they will be successful since we are in somewhat uncharted territory. I really hope it works out.

facebook/ASADfilm2012

fanka.hablaha

I am not a real fan of children pursuing acting careers at such young ages. I think it’s more productive now that they continue to get their education. There will be plenty of time for them to be on the screen. And the raw talents they have will only be enhanced with knowledge.

fromthefrontrow

What mindset did you adopt for this short film that maybe differed from previous projects?

We were in total control of the project since we were funding the whole thing. So there wasn’t any looking over our shoulder to see what an agency or client thought. It was us looking at each other saying, ‘Did we nail it?’

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After receiving numerous awards including Best Narrative Short and one of The Five Hottest Short Films of the Summer on the festival circuit and being Oscar nominated, what are your hopes for this film?

Creating a greater understanding of the people of Somalia is the most important to me. And the appreciation for immense talent that lays untapped with not just Somali refugees but all refugees around the world.

facebook/ASADfilm2012

It’s virtually impossible for me to do anything without a bit of humour. And in this case, I felt that humour could help humanize the characters in the film. And allow the audience to identify with them more.

wikivillage

It would appear this film was a labour of love of sorts. Do you have any other projects that will follow a similar theme?

Yes, for sure. I think we all do, right? It’s just a matter of hammering away at them until they happen.

facebook/ASADfilm2012

Creative to me isn’t a one-person thing. It’s a cumulative thing. We, in a sense, are gifted with a hard drive when we are born. We start loading stuff onto it right after the doctor slaps our asses. After that we are off running.

To point to one person or project who taught me the most would be impossible. There are just so many people along the way. And continue to be.

Interviewed by Heather Worthing
Images heegantimes thecredits fanka.hablaha waytooindie fromthefrontrow facebook.com/ASADfilm2012

hungryman