“A love thriller seen through blind man’s point of view.” Filmmaker Teemu Nikki on THE BLIND MAN WHO DID NOT WANT TO SEE TITANIC which is screening at SxSW 2022!
Welcome to SxSW! Is this your first SxSW experience?
First time and attending in person.
How did this whole project come together?
An old friend of mine, Petri Poikolainen, is an actor with MS disease. He is blind and in a wheelchair. I wanted to make a film with him before he is unable to act. The production started two years ago. We premiered in Venice and won the audience prize!
While working on a project, what’s your creative process?
I try to find a way to see the world through the protagonist.
What was your biggest challenge with creating this feature, and what was the moment where you realized “Yes, this is IT!”?
I guess the challenge was the timing. We had to shoot the film quickly. We were shooting a scene, where all the crew was crying. At that moment I knew we were doing something special.
I am a tech person, so I would love to know about the visual design of the movie from the cameras to the formats used and how it was made from a technical standpoint!
Black Magic Ursa mimi pro and I think it was Prores444. We tried to create a blind man’s perspective. We used only one 35mm lens, plastic wrapper around it to make it more blurrier.
What are you looking forward to the most about showing your movie at SxSW and where is it going next?
The reactions of the audience. It’s not a easy film to watch. And the film is travelling around the world.
What is the one thing that you would say to someone who is wishing to get into making movies, especially now as the world is changing at such a fast pace?
If you want to do movies. Do movies.
This film and many others like it will be showing at South By Southwest taking place March 11-20. For more information point your browser to www.sxsw.com!