Open: filmmakers talk

Anton Dolin is a dear old friend of mine. Coincidentally he's also the biggest Russian film critic and author. He's one of the nine critics to vote on the Screen International's jury award at the Cannes Film festival. Anton's the author of a dozen books on film and directors (Dogma 95, Jarmusch, Roy Anderson and other auteurs), as well as the editor-in-chief of the bi-monthly 'The Art of the Film' magazine. The man is well-read and well-watched. So I grilled him on the trials and tribulations of the critic's job, the best way to enjoy a film festival and why does he have this ONE STRANGE CHOICE OF A FILM in his top-10 list of the greatest films ever shot. Recorded in the lockdown over an instagram-live, excuse the quality of the sound!

15 questions answered. A bonus episode based on the questions sent in by my Instagram followers. Apprentice-mentror schemes, are these too archaic? What do most cinematographers overlook when shooting? What's the best way (and the worst) to meet new directors?

Cinematographer Edgar Dubrovskiy interviews producer Jenni Haberstock and the managing director/executive producer of Pulse Films US commercials arm Hillary Rogers. How do directors get (or not get!) signed? Do we need showreels? Why is digital better than film for the young directors? Jenni: https://www.instagram.com/jennihabs Hillary: https://www.instagram.com/hils.alive Edgar/Open: https://instagram.com/edgardubrovskiy

Benedict Spence has shot The End Of The F***ing World (season 2), In My Skin, Charlie Brooker’s Wipe, commercials for Visa, Samsung, Playstation, Microsoft and Mastercard. Edgar Dubrovskiy has shot feature documentaries including The The Mystery Of DB Cooper (HBO/BBC), Mark Ronson: From the Heart (BBC), Running in North Korea (Vice/Olympic Channel), commercials for Bentley, Adidas, Cos, Swarovski and Beats. I've recently discovered Ben has a file where he writes down his fails and mistakes. I also have a file where I've been writing down my fails and mistakes. We needed very little encouragement (a couple of beers each + the lockdown) to open them files and delve into the worst fails and the lessons we've subsequently learnt. Ben: @benedict_spence_dop Edgar/Open: @edgardubrovskiy