silent short film / 2005
written / directed by: Jana N.
cinematography: Martin Preiss
Little boy fights loneliness by making his mum appear any time he wants.
"Film Mum was my second silent film shot while studying directing at FAMU. The rules were quite simple: no dialogue.
Martin Preiss, cinematographer, got Aaton 16 mm camera, basic set of lights and exactly 366 meters of B&W film. The budget allowed us to have 3 shooting days only. Today it feels like a luxury. Perfect prep was a key to successful shooting; from blocking to testing the exposure on digital camera, step by step, day by day, we were getting ready for the actual shoot.
There was another aspect that made the whole (pre)production process exciting: I’ve never worked with a child actor before. Vojta, casted for the role of Little Boy, proved to be very talented non-actor. He was very natural in front of the camera and, at the same time, very aware of the lens and light. I consider myself lucky.
Following film techniques of silent film era was truly challenging for me. Storytelling weights on visual approach, the audio track is composed entirely of wildtrack, room tone and music. Consider this the toughest way to learn the craft of film making thus I highly recommend it."
BTS foto by: Michal Cerny