Our Oscar rant continues as we take an in depth look on another nominated short film ‘Everything Will Be Okay’. This german film is about a divorced father who picks up his eight year old daughter Lea. It seems pretty much like every second weekend, but after a while Lea can’t help feeling that something isn’t right. So begins a fateful journey.
In the beautifully directed film Everything Will be Okay (Alles wird gut), Simon Schwarz plays the distraught father Michael Baumgartner and Julia Pointner stars as his daughter. Writer/Director Patrick Vollrath is no stranger to awards as his previous work including The Jacket and Ketchup Kid, have garnered this talented director many film accolades. We had the great opportunity to have an exclusive chat with Patrick:
We all know that working with children can sometimes be nightmarish, how did you handle the long shooting hours with Julia (who was absolutely fantastic) to keep her focused until the end?
Patrick: Julia is a very talented kid, which made it easy and very pleasant to work with her. Of course, you have to approach children in another way than you do with adults. We were very lucky with her as she was professional and always focused.
We can connect emotionally and surprisingly morally with each main character in the film. How important was this for you?
Patrick: It is important to me that the viewers can connect with every character in a film; even tough it’s something we do not support. The world isn’t black and white; we all have our reasons for doing what we do.
Must be hard to envision this type of film without seeing the actor’s final performance – which brings that much more to the final story. Is the final result has you had envisioned it when you first read the script?
Patrick: I gave the actors a lot of freedom; I let them improvise as much as possible. I find it very important to be open minded while filming, which led to the final result as it is now.
Have you seen any of the other nominated films? If your film wasn’t in the mix, which would be your pick?
Patrick: I haven’t seen the other films, but I don’t think I would be able to pick a film. They all deserve to be there, I spoke to the other nominees and the whole experience is new for all of us and everyone is honoured to be there.
Do you think the Academy gives enough spotlight to short films? What would you change?
Patrick: The short films aren’t as popular as the big films and stars of course, but I still think that even it’s not the most popular category; the Academy does include the category in all their events including the luncheon.
Your Best Picture prediction?
Patrick: If I were an academy voter, I would go for Mad Max. I find it the most radical and surprising film of the year. I don’t think it will win, the spotlight will go to The Revenant but I would still vote for Mad Max.
I’m with you on Mad Max, such a great picture. Thank you so much for your time Patrick, it’s great to see your film amidst the best films of the year. We wish you the best of luck, and hope to see you on the stage the 28th!