Roy Andersson - Cannes 2007

Roy Andersson interviewed at Cannes 2007 (video on Arte website) for Du Levende / You, the living

On narration :
"With Songs from the Second Floor, I wished to break with the traditional linear storytelling, I was so tired with it, so bored. So I decided to make a movie about the human being, all individuals together who represent the human being. I'm telling a story through many persons instead of a few lead protagonists."

On camerawork :
"Approximately 20 years ago I realized commercial filmmaking was going to an end, and I considered stopping making movies altogether. I'm a fan of the Italian neo-realism, and documentaries. I found a way to cleanse filmmaking and condense towards more abstraction. I stopped to move the camera, to cut scenes, back to a simple way to make films, like Lumière, Chaplin, very very simple. Also I was very impressed by the Spectator Theory of French critic André Bazin : the audience should have the possibility to decide what's important in the scene. The director shouldn't not "write on the nose" of the spectator what is important. Let the audience decide."

On lighting :
"For me the camera represents history, the memory. That's why I prefer a soft ambient light without shadowy corner where things could be hidden or escape the sight of the audience. You have to stand there in the light and be honest.

On camera address :
"In documentary people can look into the lens. But in fiction they cannot. But I like it and I allow myself to be a little playful because I'm so serious. It gives a good connection between the movie and the audience."