Nicola von Leffern
Photo by Katharina Kubin.
There is a beautiful thing about being a director (…) It is the simple fact that I have images and films to look back at. To proof my memories and experiences - to be able to relive them.
- Interview with Nicola von Leffern, by Kata Anna Tüz
K: Tell us a bit about yourself! Who are you? What are you passionate about?
“I could say I was born and raised in Hamburg by a multi cultural family. Moved on to study in Vienna as soon as I was grown. First became a TV journalist - and later a filmmaker. Dropped out of film school to do my own thing. Am doing my own thing now. But these are just the boring hard facts.
What might be more interesting to read is that I have an absolute soft spot for rebels of all sorts.
Female rebels above everything. Most film characters I dream up are a “wild child” in the making. Breaking out of their mundane life to rise above. To come into their full power and defy all (social) norms. I am either thinking them into existence for fictional projects or following them with a camera for documentary films. I also fall in love or want to be friends with people like this in my private life and ask them tons of questions. In general I am very passionate about asking questions and will be that annoying person that keeps you up all night because... “Just one more thing, I wonder why...?“”
K: As a filmmaker – how did your life change through the quarantine?
“Since shooting films requires a lot of people to gather on set, my documentary projects all require travelling and promoting our work requires film festivals to take place – none of which is a good idea at the moment - you can imagine how fast I was out of a job. I have come to terms with this by now, but I do not want to sugar coat the fact that it was an actual shock. On top of everything, our field of work already demanded a lot of self-exploitation beforehand. Working for the passion, not the stable income. Getting offered exposure over fair pay. Investing all resources to make a name for yourself in the industry. I can only speak for myself here, but I know this is true for other colleagues as well, we do not have savings to fall back onto in times of a crisis. We are not employed enough days in the year to collect unemployment fund and often even fall through the cracks of help for small businesses. The Austrian film industry is definitively suffering as a whole right now and I am hoping that these times will unveil some practices that desperately needed overhaul. Even long before quarantine and viruses! The hope for a more just and supportive system for artists dies last with me. Maybe the time is finally ripe for an unconditional basic income? But to end this on a positive note, quarantine has been very good for my personal relationships. A lot of my friendships have deepened, as well as my romantic relationship, I even mended some old feuds. And as of recently I have returned to writing. Because we are all living the life of a romanticized lonely writer right now, am I right? (Including the unhealthy amount of alcohol consumption for some, haha)”
K: Tell us about your favourite projects you worked on in the past years. What was your biggest adventure while working on a project?
“There is a beautiful thing about being a director, despite all the hardships. It is the simple fact that I have images and films to look back at. To proof my memories and experiences - to be able to relive them. This is perfect for a hopeless nostalgic like me, someone who gets lost in their head way too often.
Most of my favourite projects were adventurous documentary shoots for which I am usually travelling with a really small crew. Like that time I went to Myanmar solo, to live with the local street punks. I was part of a documentary TV show on German television and one episode revolved around my time with “The Rebel Riot Band” in Yangon. They are the kindest creatures, rebelling against the government that forbade not only their music but also their way of living, rallying for human rights and democracy and supporting street kids along the way. They call themselves rebels with love and built a wonderful community which is handing out much needed food on the streets– especially now during Covid-19 - in a initiative they call “Food Not Bombs“. Kyaw Kyaw, the lead singer, left a lasting impression on me. A buddhist thinking punk, who loves St. Pauli and supports street kids with a fierce passion. My heart melted. I recommend you follow and support www.facebook.com/therebelriot
Another project I have fond memories of was shooting young skaters in Uganda, Africa. Another outlawed subculture as skating is actually forbidden in the public streets of Uganda and claimed to be a practice only for thugs and thieves. The beauty of this project was the flow of how everything came about, how we found the protagonists and how one thing led to the next. Not much planning was possible in hectic Kampala, so I had to lean into trust. We threw ourselves into dangerous shooting situations, balancing sound and camera through speedy traffic whilst sitting reverse on a motorcycle, or jumping on backs of trucks at red lights. But we came out unharmed and rewarded. If you want to see for yourself, this is the project: BLOOM (Link below!)
And lastly my favourite story I like to tell, because it gives me hope in humanity. We were filming in the north of Lebanon on the border to Syria. Trying to capture the effects of daily power cuts on the lives of people living in those refugee camps. We were immediately invited into the home of one family, which consisted of not much more than a tent, a bunch of mattresses on the floor to sleep and eat on, a few other necessities and a stove. The family of three - mother, father and their infant son - were about to cook lunch and would have been offended if we didn’t stay to eat with them. The food was simple but delicious. We were talking with hand and feet. At some point the woman demanded I’d follow her. She vanished behind a curtain and came back with a pink pullover roughly my size. She kept tugging on my well loved and worn out t-shirt with Dr. Dre’s “the chronic” printed on the front. At some point I understood. She had felt sorry for me all through lunch, because my clothes were so (fashionably) ripped. And now she wanted me to have her pullover. Despite the fact she and her family had hardly any possessions of their own. She smiled at me and held the pink pullover to my chest with the well-meaning force of a mother. I started to cry on the spot. How to explain to her that I had so much more to wear at home? We had come into the camp this morning with the local NGO that was trying their best to take care of these families. I knew they had been distributing clothing donations all day, including this pink pullover. But she wouldn’t let me leave without it. Wrapping me in the kindest embrace as we said goodbye. This memory fills my heart with hope each time I think of it. It just goes to show, we do not need to have a lot – to be able to give a lot. I have encountered this many times from people who do not live in abundance, but have an abundance to teach with their love and kindness. See the project here: MAFI KAHRABA - Black out (Link below!)”
K: Can you give us some recommendations for movies to watch? Which are your all-time-favourites?
“I root for female directors - whenever I can. Because in our industry they do not get the exposure and praise they deserve. So these are some of my favourite female directors and their works that I love:”
Maren Ade - Alle Anderen (2009), Toni Erdman (2016)
Alice Rohrwacher - Happy as Lazzaro (2018)
Haifaa Al-Mansour - Wadjda (2012)
Agnès Varda - The Gleaners and I (2000), Uncle Yanco (short, 1967) www.vimeo.com/146496085
Andrea Arnold - American Honey (2016), Wasp (short, 2003) www.vimeo.com/320766357
Lulu Wang - The Farewell (2019)