Interviews Archives - Jim Schembri

Shooting ‘Sunken Roads’ was hard enough for director Charlotte Juergens but funding stressed her to the point where she nearly gave up

January 16, 2022January 22, 2022Jim Schembri

“People engage with history a little differently in my generation.” Extremely well-edited and briskly paced, Sunken Roads is an unconventional war documentary, and [...]

Covid-themed, art scene satire ‘Project Space 13’ has fun with lockdown in NYC; Interview with writer/director Michael Bilandic

December 3, 2021December 3, 2021Jim Schembri

One of the stars of ‘Project Space 13’: “All good comedy is self-deprecating on some level,” says writer/director Michael Bilandic. PROJECT SPACE 13 [...]

Winning the trust of Melbourne icon Franco Cozzo allowed director Madeleine Martiniello to include the lows along with the highs in her exhaustively researched bio-doc ‘Palazzo di Cozzo’

November 27, 2021Jim Schembri

“Obviously you can’t leave out the hard stuff; early on I did say to him ‘we’re going to have to cover it’ and [...]

“It’s all fun and games until a volcano goes off.” – Director Gracie Otto on her doco ‘Under the Volcano’, lingering industry sexism and her upcoming works

November 2, 2021Jim Schembri

“People will always listen to a guy over a girl on set about something technical.” It was supposed to be a quick, five-minute [...]

Framing Justin – director Michael D Ratner on the fine art of making a fan film capturing Justin Bieber’s mammoth Covid-safe concert

October 28, 2021October 28, 2021Jim Schembri

“It was supposed to give you a real inside look at this unique moment in time where live events weren’t really happening.” – [...]

‘The Moth Effect’ interview: A fun, rambling conversation with creators Jazz Twemlow & Nick Boshier about the fine art of making intelligent, topical sketch comedy that won’t date (includes poo jokes)

October 20, 2021Jim Schembri

“This is a question, not a statement: Would we classify Wokeness as wisdom? And my answer would be: I don’t necessarily think so,” [...]

Babi Yar: marking the 80th anniversary of the Nazi atrocity in Kiev, Ukraine – interview with historian & educator Dr Simon Holloway

September 26, 2021Jim Schembri

“Babi Yar was, at that time, the largest massacre to have taken place.” Eighty years ago on 29 and 30 September, 1941, Jewish [...]

How making the sex education doco ‘A Sexplanation’ with an open mind challenged its maker’s biases: interview with director Alex Liu

September 20, 2021September 20, 2021Jim Schembri

“The more you can be that person where you’re open and warm and understanding and non-judgmental, the more you’ll find that coming back [...]

Taking a deep dive into the dynamics of a troubled marriage without intruding on the drama: interview with Robert Machoian, writer/director/editor of ‘The Killing of Two Lovers’

September 16, 2021September 24, 2021Jim Schembri

“For me in cinema the micro-actions are as critical as the larger actions.” Director Robert Machoian discusses the making and meaning of his [...]

Strong script, dedicated cast and test screenings helped fast-track the making of Australian family drama ‘Streamline’ : interview with producer Blake Northfield

September 16, 2021September 16, 2021Jim Schembri

“Producing is just full-time problem solving. It’s being given something that most people are saying ‘it really can’t be done’ and figuring out [...]