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Peer Review: Valentin Guiod
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BIRTH director Valentin Guiod shares his admiration for Andrew Haigh, Tilda Swinton and Szilveszter Makó and says filmmakers must protect ideas that come from the heart.
Who are three contemporaries that you admire, and why?
Andrew Haigh, Tilda Swinton and Szilveszter Makó. They each master their craft with sincerity, originality and a sense of the bizarre. I admire their multidisciplinary approach and their relentless pursuit of poetry in everything they create.
They remind us, as directors and storytellers, that the only path worth taking is our own.
Please share 3-4 pieces of work that exemplify great direction.
All of Us Strangers, Sirât and La Bola Negra.
I want to focus on contemporary works because I find it important to question what great direction means today, especially in an industry increasingly driven by comfort and fear.
These three works are fierce, unapologetic and extraordinarily directed. They remind us, as directors and storytellers, that the only path worth taking is our own. To me, that is what great direction is.
Above: Official trailer for Andrew Haigh's feature film All of Us Strangers.
What do you like most about the work that you do?
The people I do it with.
The industry is changing faster than ever, but what we need to preserve is our emotional intelligence.
What has your career journey been like so far?
A constant reassurance and confirmation that cinema is my most natural form of expression. And there's something incredibly liberating about fully embracing that.
Above: Offical trailer for Sirât directed by Oliver Laxe.
What is one thing every director needs?
Direction. The industry is losing it.
Ideas come from the heart, not from machines. We shouldn't confuse progress with direction.
Who is the greatest director of all time?
A ten-year-old in a bedroom with a camera.
Above: Offical trailer for La Bola Negra, a drama film directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambross.
What’s changing in the industry that all directors need to keep up with?
The industry is changing faster than ever, but what we need to preserve is our emotional intelligence. Ideas come from the heart, not from machines. We shouldn't confuse progress with direction.
