2016 AIFF interviews with the filmmakers
The Los 
Angeles Premier of The Weather Inside will screen at the 19th Arpa International Film Festival on November 5 at 6:15pm at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. Isabelle Stever and her film are nominated for three category awards: Best Feature Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay.
The story is about, Dorothea (played by Maria Furtwangler), a top public relations expert, whose career in the refugee aide world is just as tumultuous as the conflict zone in which she is located. She’s a well-paid executive, accustomed to helping those in need yet lives in luxury and works with the wealthy to maintain her success. She regularly numbs herself with alcohol binges to cope with the dark side of the aide business. When Dorothea begins an affair with a young drifter, her reckless abandon is exacerbated, tossing her into an abyss of self-sabotage and potentially losing her career and herself.
An award winning filmmaker, Stever was born in Munich and lives in Berlin, Germany — where she graduated from the German Film and Television Academy. As a part of a series of interviews with Arpa IFF 2016 category nominees, Stever answered the following questions.
Why did you choose to make your film?
Challenge to comprehend how development aid runs like a business. I didn’t want to comment or to moralize. You find your own view.
Name a moment during shooting that made you proud.
The last shooting day, the last scene. I shot how the protagonist puts the blanket around her naked shoulders. I knew immediately I found the closing scene. I walked into the desert and felt as if a mountain is taken from my back. I had tears of joy in my eyes.
Was there an “Aha moment” while making your film?
The future impact of the film, how and if it will be understood, is more like a delicate plant, inexpressible with anything but the film, which has not been realized yet.
Was there a bizarre moment that happened while making your film?
There was a much bigger scene with the tank in front of the luxury hotel. We couldn’t shoot it properly, because the tank couldn’t get it’s barrel up. The mechanism didn’t work. The directing assistant suggested to lift up the barrel with the help of a cordless screwdriver. We tried this, but it went up much to slow.
What is your favorite scene?
When the hotel suite is cleaned up behind my protagonists desolate face in CLOSE UP. The image tells in the most cinematic way.
What is your favorite line?
It is not in the film anymore. She and he, both heavily drunk, are leaning against the tanks wheel. She says: “I think a rat has died in my mouth”. He answers tenderly: “A rat set fire to himself in mine.” Then he kisses her.
What does it mean to have your film selected as a category nominee by the Arpa International Film Festival?
It is a big honor. I hope some spectators appreciate the film’s humor.
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BEST SCREENPLAY NOMINATION
What was the writing process like?
It was based on Research. The challenge was to comprehend my protagonist, filter real events, and weave into the narration.
How did the subject matter of the film impact you while writing the screenplay?
I confronted the friction. The film asks questions I cannot answer.
How long did it take you to complete the script?
In 2006 I had the idea. I went to Lebanon and Jordan to do research. I interviewed anyone in anyway connected to the setting of development aid. The actual writing process took about 2 years.
The Weather Inside (2015) | 100 min. | Drama | Germany
Be sure to check out the trailer and get your tickets today!
Written by Sharon Swainson
Communications & Development Director
2016 Arpa International Film Festival