5 Questions with Adinah Dancyger

Co-directors Kaya Wilkins (left) and Adinah Dancyger (right)

1) Can you talk briefly about your background, and how you first got interested in filmmaking?

Filmmaking sprung out of my inability to conform to the farcical system of schooling. My parents are creative spirits at heart and I always felt akin to artistic expression. NYC paved way for eclectic friend groups and by high school one of them became an art collective. I shyly documented that time, got really into French New Wave (laughing at myself here) and convinced my teacher movie reviews were better for me than essay writing so he let me do that instead. I left school during lunch hours then somehow got into Bard and went with the intention to make films. My college resume had “Co-founder of Movie Club” on it because my friend and I screened Blue Velvet once. 

2) What’s the backstory here - what was the initial idea and how did it evolve from there?

Kaya and I had made two videos prior to this project “IUD” and “Dance Like U” for her first album, Both. Time had gone by and we caught up and timing aligned again to want to make something again. The foundation for the visuals came from locations Kaya was thinking about (Japan and originally Norway). It was a lot of listening to the environment, sharing moods, themes, images, more words and shot listing ideas that morphed and kept morphing. The collaborative process from start to finish was deeply intuitive. I really don’t know how to explain it with Webster’s words. 

3) What was the biggest challenge in making this film? And generally what part of the creative process do you enjoy the most, and the least?

I’d say the challenge, as with any filmmaking endeavor, is resources. A majority of the actual experience was just Kaya and I, so it was physically arduous especially in the snow climate. On the other hand those challenges allowed for a creative freedom that I wouldn’t have traded for anything. By creative freedom I don’t mean the aesthetic (that we intentionally chose) but the spirit of making it. Perhaps the biggest challenge was convincing Polish customs my film stock couldn’t go through the x ray. 

4) What’s a film you’ve seen recently, new or old, that you really loved and why?

In light of self-isolating I rewatched Je Tu Il Elle by Chantal Ackerman. She’s just so good. This movie feels so simple and so her own. It has one of my favorite scenes ever- just this very simple eye contact play between these two characters that says everything and nothing. 

5) What’s next for you?

Writing and making small weird videos when I can’t write.

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http://www.adinahdancyger.com

IG: @adinahdancyger