In-Conversation with Andrew Dominik
Andrew Dominik’s latest film Blonde, about the troubled life of Marilyn Monroe, has been the talk of the film world ever since it launched at the Venice Film Festival. Now available on Netflix, the biopic confirms Dominik’s status as one of the leading auteurs working today. He is a visionary willing to experiment with form and aesthetics to add extra depth and dimension to the stories he tells. The result is inimitable works that look stunning and leave the audience questioning their own preconceptions when the credits roll. Blonde can be seen as another rung of the Australian director’s probing and readdressing of complex real-life protagonists such as criminal-turned-author Mark Read in Dominik’s rousing debut film Chopper (2000), starring Eric Bana and also, Jesse James, who is reconfigured in the epic revisionist Western The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007), starring Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck. Born in New Zealand but living in Australia since he was 2, the 55-year-old auteur also ventured into documentary filmmaking with the fascinating and poignant One More Time With Feeling. It documents the recording of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds album Skeleton Tree, made during the aftermath of the death of Cave’s 15-year-old son. Dominik also has a penchant for crime thrillers. His striking 2012 neo-noir thriller Killing Them Softly, starring Brad Pitt, Scoot McNair and Ben Mendelsohn, played in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. He also directed two episodes in the second season of the highly acclaimed crime series Mindhunter. The director will be talking to audiences in Jeddah about his career thus far, working with some of the top names in the film industry across a range of mediums. Dominik is a fascinating character with strong opinions and insights, and this In-Conversation is sure to be one of the talking points of the Red Sea IFF.
Other movies
EEPHUS
Director: Carson Lund
New England, an amateur baseball game is being played in front of empty stands, from morning until nightfall. It’s the team's last match: tomorrow, the demolition of the arena will begin. Eephus refers to a particular pitch – a slow curveball that is difficult to hit – but one doesn't need to know the rules of baseball to grasp the ways of this world: a certain American, rural and masculinist culture. Awkward, aging and out of shape, the men are as enthusiastic about the drinks they bring to the game as they are about bats and balls. The bonds forged by the game are deep, however - and, by extension, so is their love of baseball itself in this touching and funny analogy of America.
MY DRIVER AND I
Director: Ahd Kamel
The story revolves around Salma, a smart and strong-willed young girl who knows exactly what she wants out of life. Today, she's in search of ice cream; tomorrow, she plans to explore the world. Her character is a testament to the power of ambition and determination. Salma struggles with her father’s absence, who is often far away, adding complexity to her relationship with her mother, which has not always been easy. This family dynamic shapes her personality and decisions. Salma finds a supportive figure in her Sudanese driver, Qamar, who enriches her life experiences and provides her with a sense of security.
EEPHUS
Director: Carson Lund
New England, an amateur baseball game is being played in front of empty stands, from morning until nightfall. It’s the team's last match: tomorrow, the demolition of the arena will begin. Eephus refers to a particular pitch – a slow curveball that is difficult to hit – but one doesn't need to know the rules of baseball to grasp the ways of this world: a certain American, rural and masculinist culture. Awkward, aging and out of shape, the men are as enthusiastic about the drinks they bring to the game as they are about bats and balls. The bonds forged by the game are deep, however - and, by extension, so is their love of baseball itself in this touching and funny analogy of America.
TASTE THE REVOLUTION
Director: Daniel Klein
For nearly 25 years one of Oscar winner's Mahershala Ali's earliest, craziest and most brilliant performances has been hiding in a vault. Director Daniel Klein shot a film in the year 2000 about a group of revolutionaries putting on a world summit to counter political apathy and encourage America to stand up to capitalism but then world events got in the way and the film vanished. Now, after a call from Ali, who plays a revolutionary leader, the director has gone back over the footage and reimagined the film as a mockumentary about a documentary film crew trying to capture an event that they hope will be a modern-day Woodstock, but turns out to be more Fyre Festival.
