Denmark
Bilal Hussain is an award winning indie filmmaker, since 2011 he has written, directed & produced seven short films. This year (2021) he will celebrate ten years anniversary as an indie filmmaker. He is a Pakistani-Canadian citizen, who lives in Esbjerg, Denmark. He works at a local television station "Tv-Glad Esbjerg" as an anchor & cameraman and has his own film critic segment program. Besides work and filmmaking, he has written two crime-fiction books and has been a film judge at the "Tokyo Lift-Off Sessions" and "Box Short Film Festival". He is now writing his eight short film "Hvor Blev Kærligheden Af" and he will also be the film judge at the "Istanbul Golden Film Festival" later this (2021) year.
1: Your film is entered in our Best Director Award. What is your film about?
I
entered my two shorts "The Wheelchair And The Trap" &
"Jessica: Part Two" for the Best Director Award on Film
Freeway, where both films received a Semi-Finalist. Both of the
shorts are fictional films. "The Wheelchair And The Trap"
is a crime-drama, fiction, which centers on a cop working a weapon
smuggling case and under the investigation she is gunned down and
ends up in a wheelchair. From there she tries to get back on her feet
and tries to find out who gunned her down. The other film
"Jessica: Part Two" is a romantic-drama, fiction, which
centers on a disable woman trying to overcome her breakup from the
first film in the "Jessica" universe in 2017.
2:
What are your ambitions with your project?
One
day I hope to make a feature film or a drama-series out of the
storylines of all my short films.
3:
How was the shooting? What pleasantly surprised you?
The
film shootings went well, sometimes it was difficult due to the
locations. I had
to figure out where to put the cameras to get the right angels for
the scenes because I hadn't seen the locations. Other than that, the
shootout scene on "The Wheelchair And The Trap" was done in
covid-19 time and it was the last scene we shot due to lockdown but
it went well. Nothing surprised me really. The film shootings on
"Jessica: Part Two" went well, there were not many problems
and for the film shooting I used only one camera with different
angels.
4:
For what target group is your film?
I
have not thought about that but I think "The Wheelchair And The
Trap" & "Jessica: Part Two" is for teenagers and
adults.
5: Why should distributors buy your film?
The
storylines on "The Wheelchair And The Trap" & "Jessica:
Part Two" are unique. The
stories are not something we have seen in the cinemas before and I
think if the distributors buy the films, then the audience will be
entertained.
6:
How would you specify your work? What characterizes your film?
I
started making short films in 2011, my first five short films were
not good but I learned from each one and from there "The
Wheelchair And The Trap" which is my sixth short and "Jessica:
Part Two" seventh short film which are written well. The
storylines are gipping and entertaining but there is room for
betterment. My films characterize emotions, drama, love and most of
all to make world a better place and forgiveness.
7:
Why did you decide to become a filmmaker?
I
wanted to become a police man / detective but due to my physical
disability "AAA syndrome" I can't ever become one. It was
hard to accept when I was a growing up. I also couldn't play sports
for long time and that irritated me a lot every day. I love watching
movies and series with my dad so then I thought, let's just make
films and write crime-fictions books. Which
I have been proud of because in 2020 and now in 2021 it just made
success for me.
8: Who is your greatest role model?
My
film role models are Hollywood directors and actors to name a few
Tony Scott, Christopher Nolan, Michael Bay, Ben Affleck, Martin
Scorsese, Rober Di Niro, Al Pacino, Leonardo Dicaprio, Will Smith and
more. Other than them, from Denmark it is Thomas Vinterberg and
Susanne Bier.
9:
Which movies are your favorites? Why?
There
are many films which I love, I can't tell everyone because the
interview will be very long. Hehe. I think "Goodfellas",
"The Godfather" 1,2 & 3, "End Of Watch", "The
Departed", "Bad Boys" 1 & 2 because all have great
storylines, drama, action. It's little sad that movies like this
aren't coming. Other than these great Hollywood movies, there are a
few from Denmark "Another Round" ("Druk"),
"Enforcement" ("Shorta") because again the
storylines and great characters in them.
10:
Where do you look for inspiration for your films?
I see
many films, drama-series and short films where I get inspiration but
also, I think very deep and sometimes I just sit at a bar or cafe and
start writing which helps developing good storylines and characters.
11:
Which topics interest you the most?
Crime-Drama,
Romantic-Drama, Gangster / Mob, Action and Musicals like La La Land,
The Prom & High School Musical films.
12: What do you consider your greatest achievement?
This
year (2021) I have ten years anniversary as an indie filmmaker with
seven short films and I have a great festival run since last year
(2020) and I am just great full to my family, friends, my film actors
/ actresses and film festivals for their support and love.
13:
What do you consider most important about filming?
Every
aspect is important but most of all the story, if you don't have a
great or unique storyline then you will ruin the film. Also, the
acting is important as well. It you have a great film crew then then
you're all set. Don't think about how much money you are going to put
in the film because it's not going to make your film entertaining.
14:
Which film technique do you consider the best?
If
you are an indie filmmaker with low budget then any camera would do
to make a good short film, feature film, drama-series or web-series.
At the beginning of filmmaking, it doesn't matter how big your camera
or lens is. As
you get experience and know what you are doing then make films with
film camera and get a good crew to help you.
15:
How would you rate current filmmaking?
If we
talk about Hollywood movies then I think there are way too many
superhero movies. There
aren't many movies like "Goodfellas", "The Godfather"
and "Taxi Driver", but if we talk about indie cinema then
the quality is good, sometimes I think it's better than Hollywood
because the storylines are gripping and out of the box. Also, I
think the filmmaking is gone down because the drama-series have
overtaken them due to character building and story building because
it's easy to create.
16: What can make you angry in a movie?
Bad
storyline, unrealistic action, bad character building and bad acting.
17:
Who supports you in your film career?
My
family, close friends, my film network friends and my colleagues at
the local television station "Tv-Glad Esbjerg" in Esbjerg,
Denmark where I live.
18:
What are the reactions of your surroundings to your film?
Reactions
are good right now, many people like both films "The Wheelchair
And Trap" / "Jessica: Part Two" and both films have a
great film festival run as well which I am thankful for .
19:
Have you already visited any of the prestigious film festivals?
Nope,
I haven't been to any major film festivals like "Cannes",
"Toronto International Film Festival" or "Venice
International Film Festival", due to covid-19 I couldn't attend
festivals in Europe and USA. Hopefully one day I'll make it there.
20:
What are your next projects?
I was
going to produce my first Danish feature film, but it is on hold due
to covid-19 and instead I have shortened the storyline to a short
film which will begin filming soon in 2021. No dates have been
decided. This will be my eight-short film in ten years.
