17/05/2017 - Estonian director Mart Sander talks to Cineuropa about the reactions to his feature debut, Behind the Random Denominator, which screened at Haapsalu

Mart Sander is well known in his native Estonia as a musician, artist and TV presenter of such shows as Dancing With the Stars and Pop Idol Estonia. He has now added filmmaker to that list, with his debut feature, Behind the Random Denominator [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mart Sander
film profile], recently receiving its world premiere at the Haapsalu Horror Film and Fantasy Film Festival (HÕFF) in Estonia. The horror film sees Sander star as an unnamed man who – during a night alone in an isolated house – finds that reality is not all that he thought it was. Providing an homage to horror films of the past while also supplying a few surprises, the film is a rare genre offering from the Baltic region. Cineuropa talked to Sander about the movie and the reactions to it.

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Cineuropa: Tell us a little about yourself and your background.
Mart Sander: I consider myself primarily a musician – I began training at a very early age, and I’ve had a lot of success as a singer and conductor. It was in the musical theatre that I began to direct, and that led me to complete my Master’s degree as a director at the BFM (Baltic Film and Media School). If you were to ask a “regular Joe” in Estonia about me, you would probably be told that Sander is a TV personality. In recent years, I’ve garnered recognition as a writer, and I’ve published at least one novel per year for the last four years.

Tell us where you got the idea to make a feature out of Behind the Random Denominator.
I wrote this as a one-man horror play for myself, to tour with. I was extremely lucky to be invited to a theatre festival in New York, where I performed the show on Broadway and won an award. After touring the US, I thought, “That’s quite enough of that, but there should be a quality recording of the performance as a souvenir.” So we actually started out with more humble plans, but the project gradually grew, and at one point, we began shooting a feature.

You play a lot with the clichés of the genre. Would you call yourself a genre fan?
Absolutely. I’ve probably seen all available horror films from the past, from the very early years on. I adore old movies, and despite the fact that horror as a genre changes with every generation and mutates into new, more resistant forms, I still love the way the filmmakers began to employ clichés to achieve a certain effect. I go through a multitude of these clichés in my film, but I try to twist them into something new, so when you think, “Oh, I’ve seen that, it’s been done a million times before,” then it takes you to the exact opposite of what you thought it would be. I love manipulating the viewer.

What would you say the scene is like in general for genre films in the country? With very few being made, do you think that can change?
I think it could change. A good horror film only needs a good story; the rest can take shape in the head of the viewer. If you lack an original idea, you can pile up special effects, rubber creatures and heaps of internal organs, but the effect is tepid. The reason why young filmmakers love horror films is simple – put a couple of teenagers in the woods, in a basement, in the desert, and you have a good premise for a horror flick. It’s cheap to produce. But once you add a good, novel idea, you might have a minor masterpiece on your hands. You don’t need money; you need imagination.

How was the film funded – was it all self-financed?
It was an ultra-cheapie and was largely self-financed. Luckily, I had a team that was very professional and motivated, so the film has the look of having respectable production values.

How have Estonian audiences reacted to the film?
The opening night at the HÕFF was like a dream come true – nothing went wrong, the correct file was played, the subtitles worked. The turnout was a massive surprise. I think the viewers were really cool, reacting to every detail. But then again, they were genre aficionados who know the rules of the game. An “everyday viewer” might not get the subtleties and may accordingly find the film either really boring or really corny, or both.

What do you plan to work on next?
I’m currently working on a massive television project. It’s a historical drama series called The Whores, based on my own bestselling novel. It’s a war-spy-treason epic, produced in the context of the centenary of the Estonian Republic. I’m the creator, writer and director, and also the editor and composer. When I say that this will be the most expensive drama series ever produced in Estonia, you’ll understand the burden of the responsibility I’m currently under!