Son of a Lion R: Benjamin Gilmour Land: Australien/Pakistan 2007 Drehformat: MiniDV Format: 35mm, Farbe Länge: 92 Minuten Sprache: Paschtu mehr Informationen

Der elfjährige Niaz lebt mit seinem Vater in einer Kleinstadt im Nordwesten Pakistans. Bereits seit Generationen verdienen die Einwohner ihren Lebensunterhalt mit der Herstellung von Waffen. Auch Niaz' Weg scheint vorgezeichnet. Er träumt jedoch davon, endlich eine Schule besuchen zu dürfen. Unter den Jugendlichen gilt Niaz als Außenseiter. Als er sich schließlich weigert, in die beruflichen Fußstapfen seines Vaters zu treten, brechen in der Familie aufgestaute Konflikte aus.
Der australische Regisseur Benjamin Gilmour hat über drei Jahre an seinem bemerkenswerten Debüt gearbeitet. Das Drehbuch entwickelte er gemeinsam mit seinen Laiendarstellern, Einwohnern des Hauptschauplatzes Darra Adam Khel und Angehörigen des Paschtunenvolks. Entstanden sind authentische Dialoge und Szenen, die uns einen raren, gleichzeitig tiefgründigen soziokulturellen und politischen Einblick in diese Region ermöglichen. [aus dem Forumprogramm]

How would you describe the aesthetics of your film?
Our film SON OF A LION is clearly a film that has gone from mini DV to 35mm blow-up

Why did you choose to shoot on a digital format (was it solely for financial reasons, or did aesthetics play a role)?
Shooting SON OF A LION on mini DV was primarily for the sake of safety, and I mean physical safety to the filmmakers. As the film was shot in the tribal areas of Pakistan and as the director I needed to remain undetected by the authorities and extremists alike, I had to use a small camera which was easy to transport and hide.
In terms of aesthetics, the frontier of Pakistan is so beautiful to the lens I would naturally have liked to shoot on film stock, but after the film went through post I am still totally amazed at what can be done to mini DV to make it look film-like on the big screen. Luckily, although SON OF A LION was shot for around $20,000 it attracted Australian Film Commission funding for around $350,000 which allowed for high end on-line work. This took the film from video to 35mm via an HD intermediate at Sydney's Frame Set & Match (FSM) a brilliant company who put alot of personal attention into the film, removing flaws, steadying shots and colouring etc with incredible results. Anyone interested in seeing just what is possible to do with DV to make it stand alongside films shot on Kodak filmstock should see SON OF A LION.

Which format exactly did you choose (MiniDV, DVCAM, HDV, HD...), and why?
I chose miniDV, the first shoot shot on a PD170 and the second shoot on a PD150. As a director with no previous history of filmmaking and never having shot a single frame of film, I needed a simple camera which I could handle well. The Sony cameras fit my need well and despite having a Pakistani cameraman with me I enjoyed shooting much of the film myself in the end, finding I was able to use the camera easily and smoothly especially for tracking/follow-shots etc.

What was special about shooting digital (e.g. compared to 35mm, was it your first time with dv or are you used to it ..)?
As I have not shot with film, I am unable to compare the two formats, but what I found most special about using DV camera was I could have a huge shooting ratio at minimal cost, as a new filmmaker this allowed for mistakes to be made. I also loved the unobtrusive nature of small cameras. On set the camera does not then become the center of everyone's attention, the action goes on as though the camera was never there, its easier to forget there is a camera when it is the size of a shoe. Everything feels more natural, and being a drama going for an observational doco feel, this is precisely what I wanted to achieve.

What was your shoot-edit ratio?
60:1 but that included plenty of 'behind-the-scenes' footage not intended for the actual film, another bonus of shooting mini-DV.

One good word about DV / HDV / HD (or two):
Versatile.

One bad word about DV / HDV / HD(or two):
Lower resolution.