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Your new movie Machination
- in a few words, what is it about?
Ivan Malekin:
Machination
explores the unraveling of an anxious woman named Maria who is suffering
from undiagnosed schizophrenia. Her suppressed past trauma resurfaces
after being suddenly thrown into a global health crisis, and we watch as
she tries to cope with her worsening mental state.
The pandemic, and
all the restrictions and lockdowns that came with it - to what extent has
that informed your movie, and did you have the idea for Machination
prior to the pandemic or is the movie a result of it? Sarah Jayne:
The initial concept for Machination
was born in early 2020, when we were shooting our cat documentary ... So
it's a result of the pandemic due to all the insane media propaganda we
were unwillingly subjected to in Malta on a day to day basis. This is
including all the conspiracy theories on social media posts about the
pandemic at the time like 5G causing Covid. Over time, as we developed the
story and met with our lead actor Steffi Thake, her character deepened,
making Maria more of a victim of her past trauma and not just another
person swept up in the craziness that comes with going down the rabbit
hole of conspiracy theories and the pandemic. (Other)
sources of inspiration when writing Machination,
and is any of it based on personal experiences? SJ:
We can all relate on some level to Maria's plight. I mean, we have all
lived through the pandemic the last couple of years. So what we were
experiencing first hand, what we were seeing online, hearing from others
and the media, it's all in there. Plus one of our parents is a very
paranoid individual, so Maria started that way, but she deepened and
developed in other ways, and Maria became less driven by conspiracy
theories. Before Ivan even wrote the concept for Machination
a friend suggested we watch Clean,
Shaven
as a reference to mental illness portrayed correctly, and there are
elements from that film (which we highly recommend) which we kept in the
back of our minds. Particularly the use of sound to show the character’s
distress and to help the audience get into the mind of a person suffering
with mental illness. Machination
is I believe your first horror movie - so is that a genre you're at all
fond of, and some of your genre favourites?
IM:
Some critics will argue Machination
is not a horror, yet others agree the film is horror drawn from real life
as the pandemic was, and still is, scary to many people. We have made a
couple of short horror films previously, Midnight
and Sibling
respectively, but yes, this is our first feature in the horror genre.
We
are fans of sophisticated and meaningful horror films like Get
Out
and It
Follows
which use the genre to draw attention to current social issues, or films
like The
Witch
which is so full of atmosphere and suspense it leaves your breathless.
What can you
tell us about your movie's approach to the horror genre?
IM:
The horror stems from Maria’s mind, so we tried to take the viewer inside
her disconcerting world. We used low camera angles, Dutch tilts, odd edit
choices and framing that jumped back and forth, all in an attempt to
disorient the audience and give them a sense of unease and dread.
Sound
design by Gerard Mack played a huge role too in building the foreboding
atmosphere. The snatches of voices Maria hears, the conversations that
fade in and out, the build-up to an onslaught of noise and terror, plus
the jarring and staccato music; it all played a critical role in cementing
the horror of Maria’s every day existence.
Sarah
Jayne is also writing a horror novel, she loves gothic literature and dark
themes and also Hitchcock mind benders, so that is probably where some of
the off-kilter elements that crept into Machination
came from too.
So
we approached the horror genre not with an idea to jump scare the audience
or offer cheap thrills, but with the idea to build a sense of relentless
tension and for the audience to live inside Maria’s unraveling mind: a
real life experience of horror.
Do
talk about your overall directorial approach to your story at hand!
SJ:
As directors we approached the story with a sense of balance in mind; we
have all lived through the pandemic and different people experienced
different things, so we didn’t want to say only our point of view is
valid. We wanted the audience to be able to take something away from Machination
no matter your views on the pandemic.
To
achieve this, we focused on the internal struggles Maria is facing –
even working with a psychologist to determine what Maria may be suffering
from. Our approach as directors was not to just make another pandemic
film, but to make something that is informative, relatable, and offers
multiple layers. There were a number of ways this was achieved – through
Maria’s past and how her trajectory unfolded, and also in the visuals –
the shots we used, the editing choices, the art department look.
We
also use improvisation in our work. We only write story outlines then work
closely with actors in rehearsal to explore the character in depth and add
additional layers. When we film, we have an idea where we want each scene
to go, but how we get there is up to the actor. We also encourage actors
to respond naturally to whatever is happening around them, and for us,
this leads to the most authentic character and story.
You've
already made a bunch of movies together in the past - but what was your
collaboration on this particular film like?
IM:
Unlike our previous film In
Corpore,
Sarah Jayne took on a much larger role within the art department for this
one, designing the colour palette of the film and making all the costume
choices. While I worked as the cinematographer for Machination,
my first time helming the camera department on a feature.
So
we took more responsibility personally on Machination
– something that was forced on us due to the pandemic and restriction on
how many people could gather in a group in Malta when we shot the film.
For a lot of Machination,
the crew was only three people; Sarah, myself, and a production assistant/allrounder to help out. But now that we have done this, we actually
enjoyed keeping things so ultra small, taking on the extra roles, and are
looking to do it again.
What
can you tell us about Machination's
lead Steffi Thake, and what was working with her, as mostly the only actor
on the screen, like? SJ:
Steffi is an underrated superstar who should be cast in more leading
roles. She was our first choice for the role of neurotic Maria, after
seeing her in the short film Camilla.
Had Steffi declined we would have had to postpone our idea until we found
an actor who could bring what we wanted to the table. Despite acting from
a young age and having a solid theater background in Malta, Steffi
hadn’t worked with improv – it was her first time. It was easy to work
with Steffi - she was very open to our vision and helping us bring Machination
to life, and of course we spent a lot of time working closely
with Steffi to find out who Maria is, and how her story would unfold. We
couldn’t imagine anyone else in the role – Steffi brought not only a
personal understanding to the character, but she could empathize with
Maria and see her like no one else.
Do talk about the rest of Machination's
cast, and why exactly these people?
SJ:
The smaller roles of the landlord played by Andrew Bonello, and Maria’s
boss played by Sean James Sutton, were cast because we knew they were
roles suited to the people playing them. We knew both Andrew and Sean from
Malta’s short film scene and we made the offer as we always wanted to
work with them.
Rambert
Attard, who played Maria’s brother Yorgen, was a different story. He
answered our casting call for actors, and after meeting him and chatting
about Yorgan’s character in the film, we knew that Rambert has a clear
idea of the character’s motivation, his sensibilities and his cunning.
Rambert, like Steffi, has an extensive theater background in Malta and has
recently starred in a few films. He was a joy to work with, very
professional and understanding of his character, even his darker secrets.
A few words about
the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere?
SJ:
We were a tiny crew, less than 6 people most days and it was a really
grass-roots shoot. This was in part due to Covid restrictions as stated
earlier, but in all honesty we like keeping things small and on a
micro-budget. After going through this process more than once, no matter
how grueling and limited in resources like funds and visual reach your
production may be, or feel, you get accustomed to working this way.
This
was the case with Machination.
There were no egos, the crew and even the actors worked in unison to get
what we needed done. The crew was like an octopus, one body and multiple
arms - everyone helped everyone, directors were ironing, the DOP was
taping windows black, assistants were having a say about costume. The on
set atmosphere was collaborative – a team effort, and it’s rare to
find that on a movie set that is not pure indie.
Anything
you can tell us about audience and critical reception of Machination?
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SJ:
From the reviews we are receiving we can conclude that Machination
is really making the audience think. The subject matter aside, it’s
evident to audiences that Machination
is not a clear cut pandemic film – it’s more, it’s a multi-layered
look at a women’s breakdown. The different viewpoints have been
interesting, mostly about Maria’s trauma, some have picked up the gist
of it, some are not too aware of the full extent of her psychosis. We
don’t want to say too much and dictate the audience's train of thought -
everyone has different life experiences and health experiences, both
mentally and psychically, and everyone will have a different viewpoint.
It’s up to audiences to take what they will from Machination
and our view on the pandemic and Maria’s mental state.
The
$64-question of course, where can Machination
be seen?
SJ:
That will cost you! But less than $64 dollars, lucky enough. Machination
is now streaming on Vimeo On Demand for less than the price of a cinema
ticket, plus you get some exclusive special bonuses:
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/machination
Thanks
for the interview!
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