 |
| Chris Petit, Sodankylä, 13 June 2025. Foto Mpe. |
 |
| Chris Petit. Photo: Midnight Sun Film Festival. |
Moderated by Olaf Möller. 60 min
The School, Midnight Sun Film Festival (MSFF), Sodankylä, 14 June 2025.
CHRIS PETIT INTRODUCTION IN THE FESTIVAL CATALOGUE
Olaf Möller (MSFF 2025): "When Radio On hit the screens for real in 1980, English cinema could hail a new auteur to reckon with: Christopher Petit, as he got credited then. Chris, as he refers to himself these days, had already made a name for himself before embarking on his maiden journey as a director: For the better part of the 70s, he was the Film Editor of Time Out and a writer for the music weekly Melody Maker, which both back then meant something."
"Radio On is special in English cinema, because it fuses the local and the cosmopolitan in ways no other director had done since The Archers ie. Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger. It’s a film that documents the wasteland of industrial England during the long Winter of Discontent that led to the election of Margaret Thatcher – in a visual style commonly connected to the film’s co-producer, Wim Wenders, by way of the incomparable director of photography Martin Schäfer."
"Destiny had a hand in this, as Petit grew partly up in Iserlohn where his father, a career soldier, was stationed for years. Petit said that for a long time, he found the culture he got to know there far more attractive than what he knew of England: Beaten Germany felt strangely arrested, strangely progressive (Mercedes, Telefunken), more technological and complicated, and interestingly scarred by its psychological burden. A few years on, Petit would actually shoot two fiction features in the FRG, Flight to Berlin (1983) and Chinese Boxes (1984), both, like Radio On, crime narratives that are interested in everything about their cases except who’s the culprit. In between these, we find the P. D. James-adaptation An Unsuitable Job for a Woman (1982) which does the traditional British country house murder mystery with a sense of dispassionate distance and irony that evokes Joseph Losey via Monte Hellman. Four movies in five years – not bad."
"Yet Petit would never make another fiction feature for cinema again – at least not in the traditional fashion that he so gracefully played with here as well as in his sole excursion into prime time prestige TV, Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple: A Caribbean Mystery (1989). You could say that Petit wasn’t made for a career-style approach to the art. People like him don’t have careers – they have fun; they enjoy themselves doing what interests them with the possibilities at hand. 90s British television still had budgets and slots available for less orthodox forms – let’s call them essays. His most celebrated of these, Without Walls: The Cardinal and the Corpse (1992), became Petit’s first collaboration with Iain Sinclair, the nec plus ultra London writer since the 80s, with whom he would then co-direct some of his most dazzling post-slot-TV works: The Falconer (1998), Asylum (2000) and London Orbital (2002)."
"Somehow, Petit always finds a way to make a film – even if that means writing a novel, cutting a record or doing a performance. And while busying himself with all that, he constantly reinvents the art(s). Thus, it was unavoidable that his films would become more and more personal – ruggedly anecdotal in gesture and melancholically epigrammatic in style. Both Content (2010) and D Is for Distance (2025) have their autobiographical dimensions – but then, as his umpteenth variations/revisitations of Radio On, they are also haunting studies in progressive alienness and time passing. If Thomas Wolfe describes the Modernist malaise with You Can’t Go Home Again (1940), then Petit’s cinema wonders what home is, and who’s you?" OLAF MÖLLER
FESTIVAL RESUME OF THE CHRIS PETIT MORNING DISCUSSION: 1) FINNISH
"Ensimmäinen elokuva, jonka ohjaaja ja kirjailija Chris Petit muistaa nähneensä, oli musikaalielokuva Hans Christian Andersen (1952). Hän muistelee halunneensa poistua elokuvasta kesken kaiken, koska ei lapsena pitänyt pääosan esittäjä Danny Kayesta."
"Petit aloitti uransa lontoolaisen Time Out -kulttuurilehden mainosmyyjänä, josta hän eteni kirjoittamaan lehden elokuva-arvosteluja. Petit arvelee saaneensa mahdollisuuden elokuvakriitikkona, koska osasi konekirjoitusta. Tuolloin miehelle harvinaisen taidon hän oli oppinut äidiltään."
"Petit tutustui Lontooseen uudella tavalla kiertäessään lähiöalueiden pieniä elokuvateattereita."
"“Time Out oli tuohon aikaan kuin kulttuuriraamattu niille, jotka halusivat tuntea Lontoota. Se oli tyyliltään iskevä. Sen arvostelut olivat jyrkkiä, mikä suututti monia.”"
"Myöhemmin Petit sai rahoituksen käsikirjoitukseen, josta syntyi hänen esikoisohjauksensa Radio On (1979). Automatkaa Lontoosta Bristoliin seuraava elokuva on noussut kulttimaineeseen erityisesti onnistuneen kuvauksen ja soundtrackin vuoksi."
"“Elokuvassa oli vain vähän näyttelijäntyötä tai dialogia, joten elokuvan tyyli johti siihen että tein hyvin vähän sitä mitä yleisesti pidetään ohjaamisena.”"
"Kuvaaja Martin Schäferin kanssa näkemykset osuivat yksiin. Schäfer linjasi jo ennen kuvauksia: ei liikaa erilaisia linssejä, ja ehdottomasti ei zoom-linssejä."
"Petit ei kuvaile taiteilijauraansa menestystarina, vaan pikemminkin sarjana umpikujia."
"Lukuisia romaaneja julkaissut Petit sanoo kirjoittaneensa erityisesti niinä aikoina, kun elokuva-ala ei ole tarjonnut hänelle työmahdollisuuksia. Petit kertoo suhteensa työparinsa Ian Sinclairin kanssa alkaneen jaetusta rakkaudesta kirjoihin. Sinclair myi Lontoossa käytettyjä kirjoja, ja hän oli niiden ostaja."
"Petitin uusinta elokuvaa D is for Distance edelsi vuosien tauko ohjaustyössä."
"Elokuvan keskushenkilö on Louis, Petitin ja elokuvan toisen ohjaajan Emma Matthewsin yhteinen lapsi, joka sairastui 12-vuotiaana epilepsiaan. Kohtaukset olivat pitkittyneitä ja vakavia. Henkilökohtaisen aiheen parissa Petit oli myös uusien mietteiden äärellä siitä, mikä kaikki hänen perheensä elämästä voi olla julkista."
"“Emma kuvasi epilepsiakohtauksia, koska lääkärit olivat neuvoneet tekemään niin. Halusimme näyttää sen, mutta meidän oli kysyttävä, missä menee raja, jonka jälkeen alamme käyttää hyväksi kuvamme kohdetta.”"
"Petit ja Mathews kerryttivät rahaa Louisin tarvitsemiin lääkkeisiin joukkorahoituskampanjalla, jota varten he tekivät lyhyen videon Louisin tilanteesta. Lopulta aiheesta syntyi täyspitkä elokuva. Se käsittelee yhtäältä Louisin lapsuudenmuistoja, joista hän on menettänyt sairautensa takia suuren osan, sekä kulttuurista muistia, jota katsotaan elokuvantekijävanhempien silmin."
"Aamukeskustelun lopuksi Petit kertoo elokuvan, jonka hän ottaisi mukaan autiolle saarelle, olevan Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961), joka on nähty myös Sodankylän elokuvajuhlien ohjelmistossa. Petit mainitsee, ettei ota liian vakavasti erilaisia listauksia kaikkien aikojen parhaimmista elokuvista."
2) IN ENGLISH:
"The first film that director and writer Chris Petit remembers seeing was the musical Hans Christian Andersen (1952). He recalls wanting to leave halfway through because, as a child, he didn’t like the lead actor, Danny Kaye."
"Petit began his career as an ad salesman for the London-based cultural magazine Time Out, eventually progressing to writing film reviews for the publication. He believes he got the chance to work as a film critic because he knew how to use a typewriter — a skill, rare for men at the time, that he had learned from his mother."
"He got to know London in a new way by visiting small cinemas in the suburbs."
"“Time Out in those days was a very good cultural bible in terms of getting to know London, it was punchy, gave you a kind of map of films to see in London, I went to suburbs to see films in obscure cinemas.”"
"“The one disclipine they had was that you had only 150 words per review, it was also quite opinionated which pissed off a lot of people.”"
"Later, Petit secured funding for a screenplay that became his directorial debut, Radio On (1979). The film, which follows a road trip from London to Bristol, has gained cult status, particularly due to its striking cinematography and soundtrack."
"“Wasn’t that much acting or dialogue going on, so the way the film looked meant that I had to do very little what is known as directing.”"
"His vision aligned with the vision of cinematographer Martin Schäfer. Schäfer laid down some ground rules before filming began: no excessive lens changes, and absolutely no zoom lenses."
"Petit doesn’t describe his artistic career as a success story, but rather as a series of dead ends."
"Having published numerous novels, Petit says he turned to writing especially during times when the film industry offered him no opportunities. He recounts that his collaboration with creative partner Iain Sinclair began with a shared love of books. Sinclair sold used books in London — and Petit was a regular customer."
"Petit’s latest film, D is for Distance, followed a years-long break from directing."
"The central figure of the film is Louis, the child of Petit and co-director Emma Matthews. At age 12, Louis developed epilepsy. His seizures were prolonged and severe. The deeply personal subject also forced Petit to reconsider what aspects of his family’s life could be made public."
"“Emma and I, she filmed the seizures because she was told to do this by doctors. We wanted to show that, but at what point do you start to exploit the subject?”"
"Petit and Matthews raised money for Louis’s much-needed medication through a crowdfunding campaign, for which they created a short video about his condition."
"Eventually, the topic became a full-length film. It explores both Louis’s childhood memories — many of which he lost due to his illness — and cultural memory as seen through the eyes of his filmmaker parents."
"At the end of the morning discussion, Petit shares that the film he would take with him to a desert island would be Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961), which has also been featured in the Sodankylä Film Festival program. Petit adds that he doesn’t take “greatest films of all time” lists too seriously."
CHRIS PETIT FILMOGRAPHY
AS DIRECTOR
Radio On (1979), The Telephone (lyhyt/short, 1981), Sopimaton tehtävä naiselle/An Unsuitable Job for a Woman (1982), Lento Berliiniin/Flight to Berlin (1984), Paluuta ei ole olemassa/Chinese Boxes (1984), Neiti Marple ja lomahotellien murhat/Miss Marple: A Caribbean Mystery (tv-elokuva/TV movie, 1989), Moving Pictures: J G Ballard (tv lyhyt/TV short, 1990), Forty Minutes (tv-sarja/TV series, 2 jaksoa/episodes, 1991-1992), Without Walls (tv-sarja/TV series, 1 jakso/episode, 1992), Weather (1992), London Labyrinth (lyhyt/short, 1993), Surveillance (lyhyt/short, 1993), Thriller (tv-elokuva/TV movie, 1993), Bookmark (tv-sarja/TV series, 1 jakso/episode, 1994), Rudy Wurlitzer (tv-lyhytelokuva/TV short, 1994), Death of a Bank Manager (tv-elokuva/TV movie, 1995), Network First (tv-sarja/TV series, 1 jakso/episode, 1996), The Falconer (tv-elokuva/TV movie, 1998), Dead TV (lyhyt/short, 1998), Radio On Remix (tv-elokuva/TV movie, 1998), Negative Space (tv-elokuva/TV movie, 1999), Asylum (tv-elokuva/TV movie, 2000), The Carfax Fragment (lyhyt/short, 2001), London Orbital (2002), Unrequited Love (2006), Content (tv-elokuva/TV movie, 2010), The Film That Buys the Cinema (2014), D is for Distance (2025)
AS SCREENWRITER
Radio On (1979), Sopimaton tehtävä naiselle/An Unsuitable Job for a Woman (1982), Lento Berliiniin/Flight to Berlin (1984), Paluuta ei ole olemassa/Chinese Boxes (1984), The Falconer (tv-elokuva/TV movie, 1998), Dead TV (lyhyt/short, 1998), Negative Space (tv-elokuva/TV movie, 1999), Asylum (tv-elokuva/TV movie, 2000), London Orbital (2002), Unrequited Love (2006), Mozartbique (yhdessä/with Arfus Greenwood, Chris Petit, Christopher Roth, Franz von Stauffenberg, 2013), D is for Distance (2025)
AS CINEMATOGRAPHER
Dead TV (lyhyt/short, 1998), Negative Space (tv-elokuva/TV movie, 1999), The Carfax Fragment (lyhyt/short, 2001), London Orbital (2002), Unrequited Love (2006), Content (tv-elokuva, TV movie, 2010), D is for Distance (2025)
No comments:
Post a Comment