The Missing Director
by Shelly Schoeneshoefer

Since this is my second year at the Berlin Film Festival, I decided to spread my wings and go after some interviews of the directors from the Forum Film Selection. This, of course, is not mainstream Hollywood or anyone famous. I thought I should be able to handle this. Boy was I wrong.

Day 1
After seeing the Perfect Afternoon and Another Morning, I went to the press room and made my request. No problem they are arriving tomorrow. Feeling efficient, I immediately gave them my email address and my mobile phone number.

Day 2
No email and no phone call. Persistence always pays off, so I went again to the press office. The one director is here and the other is coming today. The man needed to check if they either spoke English or German since one director was from Iran and the other from Poland. That’s a good idea.

Day 3
Still no email or phone call. Upon my arrival at the press office the man behind the desk knitted his brows and said, “Oh yes, Sie sind my Sorgenkind.”
Now I have been reduced to a child; what could that mean?
“The Iranian director might be possible but the Polish director is missing!”
What did he say? Missing? “Is he here in Berlin or not?”
“Uh…yes, but he missed his Q&A this morning, this happens from time to time. We are quite disappointed in him.”
“What happens from time to time?”
“ Partying… they go drinking and partying. “
Well that is true. In The Perfect Afternoon there is a lot of drinking and the film does move from black and white to color film footage throughout. It seems that Lost in Transgression is what has come to pass with this missing director. So my hopes are with the Iranian director.

Day 4
Still no email or phone call. My feeling with the Iranian director after seeing his film was that he was not partying in Berlin and I did read one review about his film in Screen where the director paints a harsh and decaying lifestyle in Iran. The film is slow paced and the main character is apathetic and it’s hard to understand due to his lack of expression. Personally. I felt like I had entered the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy but lack the book to help me make those connections at this year’s film festival that I needed.

In the end the only interview I manage to nab was with the director from Milk and Opium and that was because he was looking for the same bus to the Zoo Palast.