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CANNES
VEE-REVIEW
NEWSDESK
VEE-TALENT
Sofya Gollan is one of the most successful deaf film
directors working today.
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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