A German film distributor called Störkanal will soon release a special edition German DVD of WEAPONS. I have been sent a list questions to answer for the booklet. Instead of posting all the answers here at once I will answer a single one each day.

Question #3

Have you ever take a look on the independent film scene in Europe, and when yes what are you thinking about it? Can you name maybe also one or two independent films from Europe who really impressed you?

I’m not aware of which European films are considered ‘independent’ but I am certainly a huge fan of European cinema in general. When I was 18, I moved to New York City to study film at NYU. I think I first got into European cinema through the films of Werner Herzog who is now hugely popular in the US and even lives and works here, but 10 years ago was not nearly as well known. His film STROSZEK was a big influence on WEAPONS, in terms of style. Herzog’s cinematography, editing and casting of non-professional actors was inspiring to me. I watched a dozen or more Herzog films at NYU and he continues to give me inspiration. There’s also a film directed by the actor Gary Oldman called NIL BY MOUTH that I saw at NYU in a special screening. It’s a powerful film. And it opened my eyes to British Social Realism, films of Mike Leigh, Ken Loach and Alan Clarke. Alan Clarke’s MADE IN BRITAIN is awesome. Another great European film that inspired me was a French film called LA HAINE. This film definitely encouraged my first feature (BOMB THE SYSTEM) more than WEAPONS. MAN BITES DOG was a big inspiration on WEAPONS. That film was one of the first and most successful “pseudo-documentaries” I had ever seen. Watching that film as a teenager I got the idea that a compelling film could be made without using the traditional methods of coverage, three-act structure, or even a conventional screenplay. And speaking of the fake-documentary at the end of the 90’s we were all studying the so-called Dogma-95 movement in Denmark and following the films of Lars Von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg very closely. THE CELEBRATION and THE IDIOTS were both favorites amongst our crew at NYU. Once I moved to NYC all these films were at my fingertips thanks to an awesome videostore called Kim’s Video on Bleecker Street. Sadly I walked by there the other day and discovered that store is closed down. I personally stapled the poster for my first feature film BOMB THE SYSTEM on the wall of that store the week it opened at the Cinema Village.