For this series of interviews, I’ve chosen 8 questions as a tribute to the iconic 8mm camera, diving into the vision and passion of each filmmaker/actor.
Harry Waldman is a filmmaker who has been watching movies since as long as he can remember. He has worked on a number of various films and has written, directed, and edited “515”, “Enter the Room”, “In the Backseat”, “Bay for Blood” and “The Corridor Crossing”. He also has a few more projects in the Pre-Production stage.
Is there a movie from your childhood that sparked your love for cinema, or was it something that developed gradually?
While I have been watching movies since I was very young, and there were some blockbusters like Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, etc. that I absolutely loved from that age, Memento is the one that sparked my obsession with film. I first watched it at a friend’s house in 7th grade. It was actually his parents’ recommendation, and I was kind of a rebellious kid, so I was skeptical. I was quickly proven wrong. While I was confused by the twist ending, I was also very intrigued and immediately wanted to watch it again.
I forgot about the film for some time, and about two years later, I stumbled upon it at a Blockbuster. I became so obsessed with the movie that I watched it five nights in a row, learning something new every time, as Christopher Nolan drops so many Easter eggs throughout the film. In general, I really prefer to watch new films, and I often get tired of repetition, but Memento is one of the few films that I can revisit over and over without ever becoming even slightly bored with it.
Due to the ingenious plot structuring, smart script, incredibly complex characters, and truly shocking twist ending, Memento is the first film that I became obsessed with and is still my favorite film to this day.
Which filmmaker inspires you the most, and why?
I’ll need to highlight a few filmmakers here, as it has changed over time. Christopher Nolan is the first film director who I specifically followed. As mentioned earlier, Memento is the first film to truly blow me away, and I became obsessed with it ever since. And when I saw Batman Begins in theaters a few years later, I was really impressed by the darker, more serious tone that the film went with and saw Christopher’s name in the credits as the director shortly after the film ended. That was the moment that I learned of the influence that a director can have on a film and have followed Nolan closely ever since.
As I have become older, I have really come to appreciate directors who went away from the mainstream, like David Lynch and Gaspar Noé. Lynch’s authentic filmmaking style, extraordinary atmosphere-building, and ability to seamlessly transition from lighter tones to darker ones (and vice versa) is phenomenal. And Gaspar Noé’s harsh and uncompromising narrative arcs, accompanied by some of the most striking use of colors and visuals that I have seen in any film, have made me a giant fan of his. Both directors have had a lot of influence on my work, particularly Enter the Room. I have even received a few comments from other filmmakers telling me that Enter the Room reminded them of some of those two directors’ films, which I take as such an awesome compliment.
If you could organize your own film festival, what kind of films would you show, and why?
I really like this question, as I have become pretty obsessed with attending film festivals over the last couple of years. So, if I were to organize my own festival (an idea that has crossed my mind recently), I would definitely want to run a “Genre” festival. Most of my favorite experiences at festivals have been either horror festivals or genre festivals. The atmosphere, the outfits (and sometimes costumes) that attendees are wearing, and, of course, the films are what make me love these types of festivals so much.
I have always been a big fan of genre films. Science fiction is my favorite genre, and horror, thriller, fantasy, action, and comedy are all genres that I am a huge fan of, particularly when they are mixed together. In general, I really like “extreme” films. There are plenty of standard drama films that I like just fine, but I tend to enjoy myself the most when a film is more unhinged. I have seen so many incredible genre films at these types of festivals, whether it be something lower budget that is wild, wacky, and unlike anything I’ve seen before, or something bigger budget (or at least looks like it has a bigger budget) and so professionally made that it basically looks as good as “world-class” films of the genre.
What’s a challenge you’ve faced as a filmmaker/actor, and how did you overcome it?
The first real challenge for me was actually making a film, as I didn’t go to film school. But to cover something more related to the actual process of filmmaking, my first real challenge came during production for my short film, Enter the Room. As this was my first professional film, there were naturally a lot of obstacles that I faced. But the toughest one had to be scheduling the shot list.
While I think I had a decent knowledge of cinematography at the time (at least for someone newer to filmmaking), I didn’t fully grasp the importance of saving time by tactically picking and choosing the order of shots that would be captured throughout each day. This mistake led to more lighting and camera setups throughout the shoot than were necessary. Fortunately, my Assistant Director, Mo Nazar, was on point during the entire shoot and really helped to keep things moving quickly. Because of this, we were able to finish the film in about 2 ⅔ shoot days, even though we had initially scheduled four days for the shoot.
Can you describe a moment on set that has left a lasting impression on you?
There are many moments on set that I will never forget. But I think I have to go with one that happened on the first day of my latest short film, Bay for Blood. I mentioned previously how long it takes to reset lights, camera, sound, etc. when switching angles on the set of Enter the Room, but for some reason, it really stuck with me when I ran into the same issue with this film.
I made the mistake of thinking that, since I had made another short film (In the Backseat) after my first one, Enter the Room, my increase in experience and knowledge of filmmaking would make certain day-to-day activities move much more quickly and efficiently. It is true that some processes can run at a faster rate, but this isn’t true for all aspects of filmmaking. Yes, I created the shot list for Bay for Blood in a more efficient way to prevent unnecessary setups. But those setups still took just as long.
On the first day, I was silently panicking quite a bit as minute after minute went by with each new setup. Fortunately, we did finish on schedule, even if we wrapped a bit late on our second shoot day. Overall, this was a really good learning lesson for me—that I need to be fully prepared to understand how long certain setups, particularly with lighting, can take. This way, I can schedule enough time for all of my future film shoots and ensure that we continue to finish on time.
If you had the chance to make a film about your own life, what genre would it be, and who would play you?
I am really glad that you asked this question, as my answer is about a film that I hope to make in the future and is considered to be my dream project. This idea is an animated film (I am obsessed with animated films and hope to consistently make them in the future) that involves a young adult (based on myself) who is going crazy because of being locked up in his apartment due to COVID.
All of his personality types and emotions (influenced by Inside Out) work together through a handful of intense and intimidating trials in order to get his mood up and prevent him from doing anything drastic. Throughout the film, he contemplates committing suicide, and they do everything in their power to prevent this from happening.
I am not quite sure who I would want to play myself, but it would need to be someone who speaks fast and is energetic, neurotic, and a bit hot-headed. So maybe a Jesse Eisenberg type or someone with a similar style could work for the main character.
What are your top three favorite movies of all time, and what makes them so special to you?
First would be Memento. As mentioned previously, the ingenious plot structuring, intelligent script, strong characterizations, effective use of color, the score, attention to detail, and of course, the crazy twist ending are what made me fall in love with this film. And the fact that I still think about Memento quite often to this day is what makes it my favorite.
Second would be The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. While I think all three films from the trilogy are essentially perfect, the last one is my favorite because it so successfully delivers the ultimate payoff from one of the most epic journeys ever put on the big screen. Often, with my favorite films, there might be two or three moments in which I am incredibly moved from an emotional standpoint. In this film, that number seems to be closer to 12–15 (maybe even more) times—something that I can’t say about any other film I have seen.
While I often love watching stories that are a little more complex, like Memento, grand, epic adventures—when done right—can also be some of my favorites. And there is no journey that I enjoy watching more than the one in this trilogy. Some have complained that the ending drags on for too long. I understand where they are coming from, but that extended finale seemed necessary in order to wrap up such a long and exhausting journey. Even if I had the power to do so, I would not even consider removing any of the closing scenes from Return of the King.
Technically, my third favorite film is The Dark Knight. And while this film is obviously different from Return of the King in many ways—and arguably pushes the audience to a level of dread and fear that even Lord of the Rings doesn’t—there are enough similarities between these two movies that I would like to include another film.
So, with that being said, my third film of choice is The Shining. There are times in which horror mixed with comedy is my favorite type of multi-genre film, and this film might be the best example of that. On a technical scale, I love everything about this film, including the iconic Jack Nicholson performance, the awesome set designs, the haunting visuals, and one of the most intense chase scenes I have witnessed in any film.
In addition, I don’t think I have ever felt closer to having a heart attack than during the first time I watched the long one-take of Jack slowly creeping toward Wendy while she desperately swings the baseball bat in an attempt to fend him off—particularly when he mentions bashing her brains in…
Memento may challenge me intellectually, and Return of the King may move me emotionally to a point I can’t reach when watching The Shining. But this film contains the horror and comedy aspects that the other two do not, and these are two genres that I absolutely need in my life.
If you could share one life lesson with our readers, what would it be?
My number one piece of advice for our readers, and especially for aspiring filmmakers, is that I would not recommend becoming a filmmaker unless you absolutely love doing this and breathe it day in and day out, as I (and a handful of filmmakers I have met) do. It is a long, expensive, and stressful journey that often doesn’t come close to giving you back what you put in from a financial or recognition perspective.
But if you truly love doing it and receive the level of satisfaction that I do from working on and completing your films, I think that you should continue to push forward, and hopefully, things will work out. And even if they don’t, you will always have something to be proud of, and no one can take away the satisfaction that you receive from completing your passion project.
If you want to know more about filmmaker Harry Waldman, take a look here!
aeyenah 