For Jefta, this is because he is not a traditional storyteller. He chooses moments in which a feeling is conveyed above a linear story. These experiences and emotions can, in his opinion, be transferred better through alternative forms of cinema, rather than the classical five-structure film. “In ‘classical cinema’ there exists this idea about the correct order in which a film process should take place,” Bram says, “but I’ve learned that this does not have to be the case.” Bram himself starts with editing instead of writing for example, after which he looks at his massive archive of images. He imagines himself sitting in a room, observing the images before starting the writing process. “There are so many ways to approach a film process; you just have to find the right way to show it.”
For Esther, finding the right space is something she is familiar with, as she grew up with the idea that the cinema is not always the best platform to present a project. You need to, however, have access to spaces such as theatres, screening spaces, rehearsal spaces, tools to project with, etc. With Filmwerkplaats, she is part of a bigger network of filmlabs: filmlabs.org. The labs in this worldwide network share knowledge, interests, but also access to spaces.
What happens when a maker cannot be present in these spaces? Will there be a re-enactment of the performance? “Documentation is not the same as the performance itself,” Esther says, “but you must have good documentation so others can re-enact your work.”
