Short interview: Asitha Ameresekere

How long did it take to make 14? Was it difficult to get financing?
The production of the film took two days, post-production took one month. My previous short film won an award at the Cinessonne Film Festival/France which partly financed 14. The rest was self-funded.

Which thoughts come to mind concerning a “European cinema community”?
I have always thought of my filmmaking process as being close to Europe than anywhere else, because its cinema community – filmmakers and audiences – believes in short film as its own genre. This way of thinking filters through into feature films also. It is quite different from other world communities.

If you owned a theatre for one night, which films would you screen?
If one night constitutes a triple bill, then the films would be: THE PUMPKIN EATER (1967, by Jack Clayton), UN COEUR EN HIVER (1992), by Claude Sautet), and WOMAN IN THE DUNES (1964, by Hiroshi Teshigahara).

What is your next project?
I am developing a feature which is the sequel to one of my short films, set in the north of England as focussing on a military family during the Iraq war. I am also writing a screenplay about people smuggling in Mexico.