"You Believe in Angels, Mr. Drowak?" reveals humanity at margins
The cast of "You Believe in Angels, Mr. Drowak?"
The cast of "You Believe in Angels, Mr. Drowak?, shortlisted for the Golden Goblet Awards Main Competition, talked about their film at the 27th Shanghai International Film Festival crew meeting on Friday.
The film follows the story of Lina, an optimistic college student, who has enrolled in a social work initiative designed to help marginalized communities.
During her engagement, she encountered Mr. Drowak, who unexpectedly possessed an unexpected talent for writing, and uncovered the dark memories lurking behind his captivating words.
Scriptwriter Bettina Gundermann explained her reasons for choosing to focus on marginalized people like Drowak in the film.
"I have always been very interested in these types of socially marginalized individuals and wondered what caused their misanthropy and hostility toward others," she said.
"Their image is by no means flat, and it is erroneous to merely categorize them as losers."
In order to concentrate the audience's attention on the solitary elderly man Drowak, who is portrayed by Karl Markovics, director Nicolas Steiner indicated that significant contemplation was dedicated to the employment of color tones.
Director Nicolas Steiner explained the use of different color tones in the film.
Scriptwriter Bettina Gundermann expressed her understanding of marginalized people in society.
"A contrast between black-and-white tones and warm tones was adopted in the film," he explained. "We used the black-and-white world to symbolize Drowak's tragic past, while employing warm tones to reflect the changes that the girl brought into his life."
Photographer Markus Nestroy subsequently added that they also employed different lenses to shape Lina and Drowak whose inner worlds are totally different.
"When filming the scenes featuring Drowak, dull and static shots are employed, whereas for Lina, more vibrant and colorful shots are used to highlight her vitality," he said.
Lead actress Luna Wedler, whose films had been screened three times at the Shanghai International Film Festival before, also shared her thoughts on playing her role.
"Lina is a talkative girl who is also very observant of things around her," she said. "In order to portray this character well, I engaged in conversations with people on city streets before filming to experience her life.
"I am also very grateful to the crew members. The costumes, props, and some set designs they provided all contributed to shaping certain details of this character."
Lead actress Luna Wedler shared her thoughts on playing this optimistic and talkative role in the film.
Photographer Markus Nestroy used different lens to shape the two main characters.
