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VEE-TALENT:
Sofya Gollan
Sofya Gollan is one of the most successful deaf film directors
working today.
Sofya
Gollan with Sydney Harbour Bridge in the background
Sofya started out as an actor. What
first made her want to direct? 'Well, [acting] was quite boring,' she
says, 'because I was always given "victim" roles, the role of
the stupid deaf person – just stupid roles really. I wanted to play
normal people! So that was when I decided maybe I could make a film. That
was eight or nine years ago.'
Sofya's first film was Swallowing, about a girl who can't swallow
her medicine. 'I didn't want guns, violence, swearing, murder!,' Sofya
says, 'I just wanted a nice story – something that many people could
identify with.'
Sofya attended the Australian Film, Television and Radio School, which
she describes as a 'wonderful experience'. 'You're working with other
people who love films,' she says. 'You're training to become a professional
film-maker.'
Filming down under
Sofya isn't afraid of a challenge, as her film Chlorine Dreams
demonstrates. 'The idea for that film came from a single image,' she explains.
'I was daydreaming one day, and I had this image in my head of a girl
having a tea-party under water. I wouldn't recommend it to other film-makers
– shooting an entire film underwater!'
In Not the Usual Victim, Sofya was the main actor as well as
the director. 'Really, I wrote it for a friend,' she says. 'But my friend
couldn't do it. So I put myself in the film. I wrote, directed, produced
and acted in the film – phew!'
So what advice would Sofya give to budding directors? 'There's no fast
and easy way!', she says. 'I say the same to hearing film-makers –
you have to persevere. You can make films – make them as cheaply
as you can. That way, you'll get the experience you need.'
More info
For more information about film-making, plus useful contacts for training
and careers, see Calling
the Shots.
The second Film and TV awards for deaf people will be held in November.
See Newsdesk for details.
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