5 Questions with Ben Kitnick
1) What have you been up to since we last spoke in December?
Well other than huddling for warmth around burning Amazon boxes, I’ve been trying to stay productive while finding peace in this slowdown. My girlfriend and I drove cross country to be with family, only stopping for gas. Got a flat in Tennessee, slept in a Cracker Barrel parking lot in Texas, and currently are relaxing in the Southwest. It’s been a universally surreal time but I think we’ve made our experience even stranger.
2) What’s the backstory here - what was the initial idea and how did it evolve from there?
I’ve wanted to tell a narrative using stock footage for awhile, and under quarantine it became the only way I could make something. The deliberately broad nature of stock footage results in an impersonal quality that emotionally fit the story. I also love the abundance of awful business stock footage available so the idea of professionals making deals and shaking hands being responsible for COVID transmission was amusing.
3) What was the biggest challenge in making this film? And on the flipside, what came the easiest?
The biggest challenge was building a narrative. I knew it would be kind of abstract, but I wanted there to be a general through line. I think the final shot pulls it together. I’d say the easiest aspect was finding the tone. It came as soon as I started putting footage together and it was cathartic to make.
4) What’s a film you’ve seen recently, new or old, that you really loved and why?
I recently watched Caveh Zahedi’s In the Bathtub of the World. Very affecting and the video diary format is super relevant despite it being 20 years old.
5) What’s next for you?
I’m currently in the final stages of a documentary I shot in Haiti last year, writing some scripts with my pal Stavros who was featured in my short Exit Statement, and looking for new dates to shoot a short I was excited about pre-COVID. It takes place 90% in a bathroom, but no potty humor.
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