5Q's w/: Shelby Eames "Nėædra" Director

QUESTION#1: How do your top 3 favorite films influence your filmmaking?:

My top 3 favorite films are always changing, however, I could share about my recent most favorites "qui m'ont touché au fond de mon coeur." The Color of Pomegranates by Sergei Parajanov because of the mystical and surreal shots that feel like moving surrealist paintings, and for the subject matter, which tells me that there's no limit in film to the kinds of people that we can do portraitures of (that being 18th century Armenian poet Sayat-Nova). Much like Nėædra, I felt a kinship in watching the film, recalling a past life. Next would be Wings of Desire by Wim Wenders. The writing, the theme, the use of black and white film with the contrast of color is done so well to illustrate the co-existence of humans and their angelic counterparts. The shots, blocking, and the fact that these are probably some of the only aerial shots that I like... And finally, an all-time favorite for me is Kill Bill, because we have Beatrix Kiddo as a female protagonist on her bounty for revenge. I find that all of the scripts I have written involve unsung female heroes, whose silence is more powerful and captivating than their, and whose words, when they do use them, break through the clutter and chaos of life.

QUESTION#2: What do you wish someone would ask you about your film and why?:

How I came up with and the process of making the sacred, alien language.

QUESTION#3: What scared you the most about making this film?:

My visa in England running out (though this was a great way to force me into an all-or-nothing, it has to happen now-or-ever, mode of work).

QUESTION#4: If you can only pick one of these options to make your next movie: 1) unlimited budget but only a single take of every shot 2) Academy award winning composer, but they're not allowed to watch the film 3) A-list cast, but they're directed using only charades - then why would you make that particular choice?:

I would pick unlimited budget but only a single take of every shot. For my next short that I'm planning to make as a passion project (e.g. auto-financed and using only what we have), I intentionally want to practice shooting on 16mm so that I have to obsessively plan every shot and all of the blocking in advance. I think it's too easy to have a digital camera and rely on multiple takes rather than taking meticulous preparation. As for a composer, I have one I like and he's not academy-winning, but he does watch my films so we can compare notes. A-list cast... I care more about my intuition and the feeling of an actor than the prestige. But there are certain ones I would love to work with someday.

QUESTION#5: What's does the future hold for this film and you?:

I hope that I can turn Nėædra into a feature. I have a big backstory behind it which would require at minimum a feature film or a series to fully tell. Here, in this short, I had about 6 minutes, limited budget and time so it was more about illustrating the world I had envisioned.

Please add any social media tags/usernames that you'd like to share with our readers:

@shelbylynneames