Arpa Film Festival 2015 interviews with film directors
The documentary film, Daylight After a Century will be screened at the 18th Annual Arpa International Film Festival on November 15 at 2 p.m., at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.
For over a century, more than 100 glass plate photographs were locked away in darkness, hidden in a steel chub box. This is the story of their recent discovery and the incredible revelation of what they depict: pre-genocide Armenian life at the turn of the century — before an entire civilization was destroyed. This film explores the fascinating story of the photographs and who took them, and looks closely at what the photos tell us about this lost world.
Hollie Harrington, producer-director
Hollie Harrington is an experienced filmmaker and photographer, working primarily with non-profits, non-governmental organizations, and charities to tell their inspirational stories. She is originally from London, and has lived in Cambodia, Kenya, Indonesia, and France. Harrington has traveled extensively, and has been sent around the world on photo and film missions. Sharon Swainson, Arpa Film Festival writer, interviewed Harrington, the producer-director of Daylight After a Century. Her interview is below.
Why did you choose to make your film?
George Jerjian (the film’s narrator and grandson of the main subject of the film) contacted me saying he had a story to tell of “historical importance.” Of course, this intrigued me greatly. The story he told me sounded so incredible, so mysterious and amazing, that I jumped at the chance to tell it. The more I learned, the more I fell in love with the story. Old photographs are not a rarity, but coming from this particular place and time, they are, and the meaning George attaches to them through his careful research really brings them to life.
Name a moment during shooting that made you proud. Plus share a creative breakthrough, while making your film.
My creative breakthrough came, surprisingly, in the post-production of this film. George wanted to somehow make the still photographs dynamic but without being too obvious. I had seen something called “the parallax effect” used before on still images, and I had a light bulb moment. I suddenly realized that this was the way to bring the past back to life. I spent a long time carefully and intricately ‘animating’ these wonderful glass plate stills in After Effects to give them a slight three dimensional feel — which made them living, almost tangible, but without being over the top or taking away form the original image. This really brought the rest of the story together. It enriched the narrative and was something I was very proud of.
During the creative process, was there a moment when you let go of certainties and just ran with it, allowing creativity to do its thing?
There are always moments when making a film that you have to take a leap of faith and allow the piece to develop organically. This film was no exception. In my previous experience with mini documentaries or spotlight pieces, I have been used to having a greater diversity of shots to work with — an array of people, places, and voices to drive home the point the film is aiming to make. With Daylight After a Century I had to abandon my comfort zones and diverge from familiar storytelling techniques and filming formats. I let the film develop and discovered that it didn’t need action: the story spoke for itself. Any worry I had about the film seeming too static soon dissipated. The narrative simply works, and I felt the amount of ‘action’ was the correct balance for these poignant and important photographs — it let them shine and tell their story, which was the ultimate aim.
Since an artist is truly never finished, is there anything that you would like to do differently or add to your film?
With this story I could keep on digging and uncovering the past indefinitely. I would love to spend further time researching each photograph, to visit some of the places, use archives and contacts to find the families of other people pictured, to discover what happened to them. This was the Jerjian story, but I feel it could be part of a bigger narrative, and the filmmaker in me wants to explore the wider stories of the Armenian genocide and tie them in with what we are seeing in the photographs. Perhaps some day.
What does it mean to you to have your film selected by the Arpa International Film Festival?
As a filmmaker, this is my first film festival, and my first nomination. That alone makes the whole experience very special. Further, to have it accepted into such a long-running and respected festival as Arpa is just amazing. It has given me more confidence in my work. Secondly, it is important to have another story about the Armenian genocide in the public eye. The history of that dark time remains so hidden and unknown by the majority of the public. I feel a particular sense of satisfaction and pride that Arpa has recognized my film (and therefore the story it tells) and chosen to highlight this to the world. So I must say thank you to Arpa for really making such a difference in my life, and a difference to the lives of many people who were affected by this lost piece of history.
Written by Sharon Swainson
Communications & Content Development
2015 Arpa International Film Festival