“He was a bear of a director to work with” is an assessment that can now be taken literally in this promo for French movie network Canal+ conceived by BETC Euro RSCG, Paris.
We are thrust into a medieval fight scene which soon centers on a female warrior who is besting her male counterparts. Just as she impales her foe with a spear, we hear the director say, “Cut.”
We then meet the director, who is a bear, quite loquacious about the craft of filmmaking as we see him relate to his actors, give instructions regarding visual effects and pyrotechnics, go on the obligatory tirade, and offer feedback on the art of directing to a film critic/interviewer.
It’s during this interview that we find out how he became a director. He used to be a bear rug laid out on the floor in front of the television, watching a lot of great movies on Canal+ and thought to himself one day, “why not me?”
Matthijs Van Heijningen of production house Soixante Quinze directed the spot which was lensed by DP Joost Van Gelder. Editor was freelancer Jono Griffiths.
Directing and Editing “Conclave”; Insights From Edward Berger and Nick Emerson
It’s been a bruising election year but this time we’re referring to a ballot box struggle that’s more adult than the one you’d typically first think of in 2024. Rather, on the industry awards front, the election being cited is that of the Pope which takes front and center stage in director Edward Berger’s Conclave (Focus Features), based on the 2016 novel of the same title by Robert Harris. Adapted by screenwriter Peter Straugham, Conclave stars Ralph Fiennes as the cardinal leading the conclave that has convened to select the next Pope. While part political thriller, full of backstabbing and behind-closed-door machinations, Conclave also registers as a thoughtful adult drama dealing with themes such as a crisis of faith, weighing the greater good, and engaging in a struggle that’s as much about spirituality as the attainment of power.
Conclave is Berger’s first feature after his heralded All Quiet on the Western Front, winner of four Oscars in 2023, including for Best International Feature Film. And while Conclave would on the surface seem to be quite a departure from that World War I drama, there’s a shared bond of humanity which courses through both films.
For Berger, the heightened awareness of humanity hit home for him by virtue of where he was--in Rome, primarily at the famed Cinecittà studio--to shoot Conclave, sans any involvement from the Vatican. He recalled waking up in Rome to “soak up” the city. While having his morning espresso, Berger recollected looking out a window and seeing a priest walking about with a cigarette in his mouth, a nun having a cup of coffee, an archbishop carrying a briefcase. It dawned on Berger that these were just people going to... Read More