HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2006-09-13, Page 16Crossroads
16
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Zurich filmmaker travels theeworld
ZURICH — "The last one
really came together to be
accepted and enjoyed by a
larger audience," says 25 -
year -old film director
Nathan Zimmerman of
Zurich, speaking about his
film "May I Come In?,"
which won for Best
Director at the Young Cuts
Film Festival in Montreal
recently.
The son of Janisse and
Jim Zimmerman and a
graduate of South Huron
District High School
(SHDHS), Zimmerman
says he has always had a
creative side and enjoyed
making up his own sce-
narios and sketches.
After graduating from
SHDHS, Zimmerman said
his creative drive was
growing, which led him to
take a performing arts
course at Humber College.
Halfway through the
course he realized he
wanted to be on the other
side of the camera and
switched to a film produc-
tion course which he grad-
uated from in May.
Throughout the three-
year course, Zimmerman
made films in a variety of
genres including a horror
film called "Lustmord"
and a drama titled "Out
for the
Night."
H e
describes
his award
winning
film as his
most pol-
ished and
accom-
plished
work to
live action and animation,
Zimmerman said he tries
to give an audience some-
thing it hasn't seen before.
With his own experience
in front of the camera,
Zimmerman said he has a
better idea of how to work
with actors as
"When I finish a film
am satisfied at that
point," said
Zimmerman. "Later
see things to be
fixed."
-ZURICH FILMMAKER
NATHAN ZIMMERMAN
date, which made him
decide to submit it to the
festival, where he was also
nominated for Best Film
and Best Actor as well as
winning for Best Director.
Zimmerman says he was
first influenced as a direc-
tor by Quentin Tarantino
as well as Alex Proyas
who directed "The Crow."
Another favourite of
Zimmerman's is Paul
Thomas Anderson, who
directed films such as
"Boogie Nights" and
"Magnolia", and according
to Zimmerman is able to
draw great performances
from actors such as Tom
Cruise, Adam Sandler and
Mark Wahlberg.
Zimmerman's favourite
film is
"Braveheart,"
which he said
"resonated...the
story is so epic
and satisfying
and it really
grips."
He describes
well as being
able to com-
municate his
ideas better.
While most
of his work
has been shot
in Toronto,
Zimmerman
shot "May I
Come In?"
near Mount Forest at a
farm house which he
described as both seclud-
ed and warm, which were
emotions he was looking
for in the movie.
Describing the film mak-
ing process, Zimmerman
said there are three stages
to making a film which
are the pre and post -pro-
duction phases with the
actual film shooting in
between.
For a short film of
around 10 minutes,
Zimmerman said the pre-
production lasts around
two to three months, with
the shoot taking four days
and another three months
to edit the movie.
Of the three phases,
Zimmerman
"It's the most
entertaining
and concise film
could make,"
-ZIMMERMAN
his own film making as a
"mishmash" of genres and
styles with as many differ-
ent art forms in his movies
as possible.
With a combination of
said pre -pro-
duction is his
favourite, with
filming his least
favourite. "The
shoot is like
going to battle,
it's long and
grueling."
"May I Come In?" is a
13 -minute drama featur-
ing Jack, who Zimmerman
said is lonely and has to
make a decision whether
Filmmaker Nathan Zimmerman of Zurich, who recently won for Best Director for his film "May I Come in?" at
the Montreal Film Festival is pictured on top of a ladder in order to film a shot from the Dream Sequence in
"May I Come In?" outside of Humber College. From left are crew members Chris Jiggins sitting, Simon
Hughes,and Leanna Hillerup, Below, Zimmerman is seen on set for the film in Hamilton.The movie is also
being screened this week at a film festival in Los Angeles. (photos/submitted)
he wants to live, because
waiting outside Jack's
house is a murderer with
a knife called the Man In
Black.
Although he said all the
films he has made have
certain aspects he likes,
Zimmerman said none of
them "really came togeth-
er," until "May I Come
Inv„
"When I finish a film I
am satisfied at that point,"
said Zimmerman. "Later I
see things to be fixed."
He added he is "very sat-
isfied," "with May I Come
In?" because of a polished
script as well as extensive
pre -production work.
"It's the most entertain-
ing and concise film I
could make," he says.
Zimmerman attended
the Young Cuts festival in
Montreal from Aug. 17-20
and said it was a great
experience which featured
actors such as Tom
Sizemore and Chris Potter.
During the screening of
his film, Zimmerman was
part of the audience which
he said is interesting for
the immediate feedback it
brings.
Zimmerman also took
his film to Los Angeles last
week to screen it at the
International Shorts Film
Festival, although he
won't be there to see if it
wins another award since
he returned home to pack
his bags for Japan, where
he will be staying for a
year teaching English, to,
as he says, "pay some
debts." While in Japan,
Zimmerman says he
hopes to have time for
scriptwriting and wants to
come back with ideas for a
short film as well as a fea-
ture.
He plans to stay around
Toronto, which he says
has the most opportunities
in Canada for film makers
and is "the place you want
to be."