Behind the scenes with Michael Matthews // Director of ‘Sweetheart' featuring Inge Beckmann
Chew catches up with Michael Matthews, director of the short film Sweetheart featuring Inge Beckmann, and finds out what he has up his sleeve...
Tell us about yourself; where are you from and how did you get involved in making films?
MM: I arrived in Durban at 0 years old and then left when I was 18. I’ve just always loved films, but I only really started to think of it as something I wanted to do when I finished high school and took a gap year in the UK. I moved to Cape Town and studied film at City Varsity for 3 years, from 2004. Since then I don’t know what I’ve been doing.
How did you get involved with the Be Phat Motel film company in Cape Town and what is the craziest thing you have gotten up to as a team?
MM: We all had a similar ideal, so we just went for it. We - Sean Drummons (screenwriter), Daniel Mitchell (editor), Shaun Lee (cinematographer) and myself (director) - started Be Phat Motel as a base and then just focused on films we wanted to make. We found our feet that way, learning as we went. Ah jeez ‘craziest things’… A few things went down at the Loerie Awards a couple of years ago that would have had Sean Drummond shot, if publicly exposed. There have been many pranks, good pranks. A year ago Sean and I drove 7000kms around the country, spending a month on the road in search of a perfect location for ‘5 Fingers’. It got a bit rank.
One of your highlights of last year must have been directing and releasing the film ‘Sweetheart'. What has been the response?
MM: The preview screening responses in Cape Town, New York and Australia have been really great and a lot of fun, but it has not been released publicly anywhere yet, so that’s a whole other stage of the process. Only a few hundred people have seen the film, so it will be great once it starts playing through the local and international festival circuits, which begins during the next few months. The first one in SA is the Cape Winelands Film Fest.
What did you enjoy most about making the 'Anarchy' fashion film?
MM: It happened in a jiff, and everyone involved were straight with their opinions and thoughts, so there was no BS, which was great! Also, there was a lot of trust, so I changed a lot of my ideas on the day as we were shooting. Normally it feels like damage control for me on set, trying to get my pre-conceived shots executed in a precise way. A lot of what I like about ‘Alchemy’ happened on the day when nobody was watching. (watch the film)
You seem to enjoy working with jewelry clients … any particular reason for this?
MM: The melbournemetalcollective were great to work with and I love their products. The fashion world takes their craft very seriously, because it’s oversaturated and there’s a lot of competition. It’s good to work with people who want something really badly, and are putting in the required work for it. I’m interested in doing more fashion films.
You guys have been working on Be Phat's first feature film for the past year and a half. Can you give us a bit of an inside scoop?
MM: ‘Five Fingers for Marseilles’ is a modern day African Western, set in a rural township. If things go to plan we will be shooting in August. We’ve had a large amount of local and international interest, but it’s a fully South African project, that will be done in local tongue. It’s a culturally rich, and socially relevant film, but at the same time, a slick entertaining Western. Sean is finishing the 3rd draft of the script at the moment, and then we’re taking that project with us to NY at the end of March to open up some more options with it.
Which directors inspire you most and why?
MM: I’m generally more inspired by individual films, but here are some great guys: Early Luc Besson, early Tim Burton, early Spielberg, Paul Thomas Anderson, Chan-wook Park and the Coen Brothers. What Peter Jackson has done within the studio system without ever shooting outside of New Zealand is inspiring. Ang Lee’s ability to move between genres and styles is inspiring.
If you could work with any two actors, who would it be and why?
MM: Hitler and John Lennon, because they would change my life and my brain… and whatever made, I’d want to see it.
I believe you are collaborating with Inge Beckmann on your next project. Do tell.
MM: There was a very interesting project we almost shot at the end of last year, but I’ve been away from SA longer than I was supposed to, so haven’t been able to get it done. I miss her face. Hopefully we’ll do it as soon as I get back around in May. It’s… ahhh… a very conceptual 2 or 3 minute short film with some music in the middle. It’s quite a technical challenge and features Jewelry from henson. Should be good. Get behind the new movie she’s in; it’s really important that South African’s support films like this. It’s the only way for our movies to progress. ❤
