Gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello have drawn an increasingly large following as the decade as worn on, but this year their cinematic profile has raised dramatically. In Berlin this year Madonna unveiled her Filth and Wisdom, staring frontman Eugene Hutz, and now comes a full blown tour documentary filmmaker Margarita Jimeno, Gogol Bordello Non-Stop. The film made its North American bow at AFI over the weekend and screens again this Wednesday at the Arclight. The Bogota, Columbia born, Williamsburg based Jimeno, who has made shorts and worked in the art and editorial departments of NYC indies for a decade, caught up with us to discuss her fascination with There Will Be Blood, her desire to adapt Que Viva La Musica! and where to catch Sid Vicious on You Tube.
What films or television shows have you seen recently?
One film I finally watched recently was There Will Be Blood, I thought I’d fall asleep to be honest, but I stayed up until 2AM+ watching with wide open eyes, ears, and sometimes mouth too. I was blown away, it is a contemporary classic! I recently saw The Pleasure of Being Robbed, Patti Smith: Dream of Life, and La Rabia. I watch You Tube these days (no actual TV for me), so recently I found this amazing clip with Nancy Spungen and Sid Vicious on a NY cable show days before they died, quite a time capsule.
Which ones stuck with you and why?
There Will be Blood is a classic piece of cinema. Great acting and music, beautiful sets, and gut-wrenching drama at its center.
Does your interest in them have anything to do with your own work as a filmmaker? How do the films that you think of as “influences” affect your own style and preoccupations as a filmmaker?
In some cases it’s not so much a specific film’s influence, but more the point of view of a particular filmmaker or a group of people that has influenced my work. Like Werner Herzog, or Dogma 95. It has been more valuable to my filmmaking process to read interviews with people such as Jean-Luc Godard, Werner Herzog, Lars Von Trier, or Mike Leigh than to make mental notes about their films.
How often do you read fiction? Do you wish you read more?
I’ve never spent more than 2 months without reading fiction in the last 15 years, but this year I have been reading academic books and essays, by Zizek, and Daniel Pinchebeck. Actually I’ve read two stories from Jonathan Lethem’s Amnesia anthology. Yes, I want to read more fiction and I already have a few books in my shelf waiting.
What would be your ideal literary adaptation and why?
My first option is a novel by Colombian writer Andres Caicedo, Que Viva La Musica! It’s one of those stories that’s close to me…a classic teenage coming of age tale about a girl in the 70’s that lives for music and partying, yet it has a very insightful social commentary; it ponders universal dilemmas. The way the writer wrote about music is fantastic, and for this reason the film would need a big budget because the music ranges from Rolling Stones to Richie Ray. Another obstacle is dealing with a cult classic novel, you don’t want to get a lot of hate mail if you mess it up! It would need some real thought (and money) to do this one right. Perhaps the road to go is to do something inspired by the book, the best film adaptations are the ones where something unique is brought to the story yet the novel shines though, like Blade Runner, or The Dead.
How, if at all, has reading informed your filmmaking?
It has very much, especially when writing characters. I think here’s where I’m influenced the most. Because you are usually reading into the character’s mind, it has been very helpful when I’m directing actors too. I think human understanding would take at least 3 lifetimes, but thanks to literature you can spend a couple of years and you have a very broad understanding. Of course I’m talking about classic literature, like Bronte, Dostoevsky, Austen, Conrad, Orwell, Steinbeck, Voltaire, etc etc etc.
What are you listening to recently?
So much I’ll just list in no specific order: Nico Muhly, Sigur Ros, The Doors, There Will Be Blood soundtrack, Devendra Banhart, Megapuss, Virus (80’s Argentinian rock), Reverend Beat Man, Arvo Part, Yann Tiersen, Apocalyptica, Doveman, Likke Li, Entrance, and local bands like Pink Noise, Sea Sick, and Dorit Chrysler.
If you could collaborate with one musician on a film, who would it be and why?
Well, I actually have a couple of people who I already contacted for two projects I have. So it is hard to choose only one, but each has a musical and performance quality which I’m interested in capturing on film. For example going back to influences I’m taking Tony Gatlif’s approach to musicians in his films, to make my own films. It’s not a secret about the musicians I have contacted, they are: Devendra Banhart, Eugene Hutz, Dorit Chrysler, the Kolpakov Trio, Maria Benjumeda (Flamenco singer), and Martin Vejarano (Colombian percussionist).
What would be the ideal pairing of filmmaker and musician for a concert film?
Hmm…..what about Werner Herzog and Gogol Bordello (The Circus Tamer) or Harmony Korine and Sigur Ros (Subnatural Powers) or Madonna and Jean Luc Godard (The Odd Couple) or Lars Von Trier and Justice (House Metal Gut Punch..Ahh! So many options…
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