Category: THE DIRECTOR’S CHAIR
Paint job
Japanese director Kazutaka Watanabe introduces NHK’s film An Artist of the Floating World, based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro and starring Ken Watanabe as an ageing painter revisiting his past.
Labour of Love
Tala Prystaetska, creative director of Ukrainian period drama Love in Chains, describes the challenge of making this ambitious 48-part series and why it has found success at home and abroad.
Feig state
Paul Feig, the director of movies such as Bridesmaids and Ghostbusters, talks to DQ about life behind the camera, why history is the best critic and his efforts to back new voices for the screen.
Under the surface
Director Julien Trousselier tells DQ how he added a splash of realism to French sirens-focused drama Une Île (Apnea), the latest in a slew of shows about the mythological beings.
Bend it like Beecham
Gurinder Chadha, director of Beecham House, tells Michael Pickard about changing the perspective of British-Indian stories and her triple role as writer, director and producer.
Cold case
Juan Ignacio Sabatini, the director and executive producer of Chilean drama Inspector Rojas: In Cold Blood, tells DQ about the story’s real-life origins and explains how the series pushes the crime genre in a new direction.
Nature of the Beast
Japanese director Nobuo Mizuta tells DQ about the challenges of making a romantic drama in the shape of Nippon TV’s Weakest Beast, the story of two 30-somethings struggling to find love until they unwittingly cross paths.
Bay watch
A family liaison officer discovers a personal connection to a missing persons case in ITV drama The Bay. DQ speaks to lead director Lee Haven Jones about filming the series, casting Morven Christie and why he believes actors are often neglected.
Nothing but the truth
Channel 4’s factual one-off The Interrogation of Tony Martin is a groundbreaking film billed as the first verbatim drama. Writer/director David Nath reveals how it was pulled together from real police interview transcripts.
Making Friend
L’Amica Geniale (My Brilliant Friend) is one of the most eagerly awaited dramas of the year. Director Saverio Costanzo tells DQ how he steered the ambitious period drama, based on Elena Ferrante’s novel, for Italian broadcaster Rai and US cable network HBO.
Sea view
Jordi Frades, director of Spanish period drama La Catedral del Mar (Cathedral of the Sea), tells DQ about filming the epic series and why he wanted to stay true to its source material.
Staying alive
Writer-director Thomas Cailley introduces DQ to Ad Vitam, a French sci-fi thriller in which two detectives are tasked to investigate a mass suicide in a futuristic world in which death has been ‘cured.’
Karppi diem
Following its debut in Finland, crime noir drama Karppi (Deadwind) is rolling out worldwide on Netflix. DQ speaks to co-writer and director Rike Jokela about introducing a new female detective into the Scandinavian crime genre and the birth of ‘Helsinki noir.’
Walking tall
Ali Bilgin, the director of Turkish drama Ufak Tefek Cinayetler (Stiletto Vendetta), tells DQ about steering the Star TV series about revenge and rivalry between four old school friends.
Road trip
Mystery Road is the latest Australian movie to hit the small screen. Series director Rachel Perkins discusses working with stars Judy Davis, Aaron Pedersen and the stunning Western Australian landscape in a show that blends cop drama and outback noir.
In the Zone
Directing brothers Jorge and Alberto Sánchez-Cabezudo talk about the inspiration behind Spanish thriller La Zona (The Zone), an eight-part drama that follows the hunt for a murderer three years after a catastrophic nuclear tragedy.
InBetween two worlds
Australian director Nash Edgerton makes his television debut with Mr InBetween, a dark comedy-drama about a hitman juggling his personal and professional lives. He tells DQ about the battle to get the series made, 13 years after the film that inspired it.
Drama of Biblical proportions
A Belgian drama inspired by the Ten Commandments sees a modern-day Moses commit a string of gruesome crimes. DQ leans more about the series – 13 Geboden (13 Commandments) – from director Maarten Moerkerke.
Worth the Hassel
Ola Rapace stars as a detective investigating a brutal murder in Swedish drama Hassel. The show’s lead director, Amir Chamdin, reveals the demands of taking charge of his first television series.
A cut above
With more than 200 hours of television drama in the can, Canadian director Don McCutcheon tells DQ about working on Murdoch Mysteries, the changing role of directors and why he thinks his best work is yet to come.