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Josh Safdie: Rubber prevents conception, usually. Here it breeds life. Sometimes I’m described as a gassed up helium balloon. Throughout my childhood, I was told to calm down. The Red Balloon was an early film that shook us (our father grew up in Italy/France). Because it was one of the first movies we saw and we were already familiar with the book (the child-novelization of the film), it was very deep for us. Lamorisse’s classic taught us about loneliness and the human condition, all through the companionship of a balloon.
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After Andy sent us that video, Benny and I were interested in this sci-fi element to a creature… like a lifeless piece of rubber living among humans. We were also most interested in the personal monologue, i.e.: people who would talk to a balloon. I talk to many things—anyone or thing that will listen. But then again, I’m pretty alone. The characters we’re attracted to are islands. The balloon is just an extension of our own perspective and attraction to human life.I love how much you vary the balloon's perspective. Sometimes you use close-ups, wide shots, while other shoots seem voyeuristic. What were all of the techniques you used to film a semi-animate object?
There weren’t many “techniques.” Often we talked with Sean Price Williams about the balloon and referred to it as “he” so it was no different than establishing perspectives and shots for any other character in a film we had done. Because the balloon lives on the streets, we were mostly relegated to our perspective of him via street photography.Did you have any serious mishaps with your titular star?
Sure, he died and came back to life a bunch of times. Thanks to John Furgason.What are you guys working on now?
We’re currently unleashing Heaven Knows What, another street opera. It's a feature film that follows Harley (based on the real-life memoirs written by Arielle Holmes, who plays Harley) through her self-imposed dramatic life on the streets and her love with both Ilya (a beautifully evil and destructive boyfriend) and heroin (the not-so beautifully evil drug).Jeffrey Bowers is a tall mustached guy from Ohio who's seen too many weird movies. He currently lives in Brooklyn, working as a film curator. He's currently the Senior Curator for Vimeo's On Demand platform. He has also programmed at Tribeca Film Festival, Rooftop Films, and the Hamptons International Film Festival.
