5 Questions with Hanna Utkin ("Whistle in the Outer Lands")

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

I grew up in NYC - specifically in Staten Island, in a community right by the beach. It was really fascinating for me to be able to walk down miles of shoreline and find the cool animals, interesting artifacts and strange characters that always seemed to wash up somewhere.

It was the movie 'Pan's Labyrinth that got me into filmmaking. I distinctly remember being in the theater, watching the credits roll and thinking 'I want to learn how to do that.'

2) What was the initial idea for this project and how did it evolve from there?

Last summer, aside from the pandemic and the protests, a lot of New Yorkers were riddled with daily noise from fireworks going off every night.

In the evenings, I would walk by the marshlands and hear how badly the fireworks were disturbing the wildlife. Every time a firework went off, there was a chorus of crying from songbirds, peacocks, gulls, dogs and other beings. It was really heartbreaking to hear the terror that it havoked on them, especially at night when these creatures are feeling most vulnerable to predators.

From there I got the idea of a whistle being echo'ed by a foghorn.

3) What was the biggest challenge in making this film? And the easiest part?

The biggest challenge was figuring out what I wanted to say. I had shot a bunch of experimental imagery but had to sit with it for a while before I got clarity on what the film was actually about. Eventually, the research I did on acoustic ecology really helped me figure out what the intuitive energy was behind the piece.

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

I rewatched Brick (2005) recently, which is a film that I really love. It's such a stylized film but it's remarkably compact and simple at the same time. I'm trying to study the cinematography of it because I think it really succeeds in telling both the story and the inner emotions of the characters through imagery. It's also a really good portrait of alienation, deception and extreme loneliness.

5) What’s next for you?

I just shot my first ever narrative short film! I'm really excited about it. It was shot in Chicago and it's about hook-up culture - both the ills and blessings. Some of it is scripted, some of it is improvised. Definitely a nod to Joe Swanberg in there.

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hannautkin.com | IG: @13477utkin