Welcome to the The Hot Seat.
Every month we will feature a filmmaker who is redefining West Coast filmmaking. It's time we start shining that ever elusive spotlight onto those in our community who are at the forefront of the BC Indie Revolution.
Each featured filmmaker will answer the same 10 questions, giving insight into their minds, inspirations, aspirations and dreams. The first five questions are rapid fire. Quick. Juicy. Intriguing. The last 5 are more profound, insightful, all about filmmaking.
Last month Tesh Guttikonda invited the force of creativity Adriana Marchand to brave the Hot Seat. Let's dive in!
Master juggler of the multi-hyphenate career path, Adriana can be found behind and in front of the camera at any given moment. Known for her enlarged heart and all seeing eye, she’s made a name for herself as a performance and design focused director, while production designing for numerous independent Canadian films that have drawn praise at festivals across the world, including TIFF, AFI, SXSW, and CANNES. Proven calm enough to meditate next to a tarantula, Adriana was one of two Canadian filmmakers selected to join Apichatpong Weerasethakul in the Yucatán jungle for an experimental filmlab last summer.
Her most recent directing work includes music videos for Warner Bros. artist Diamond Cafe - ‘When you Can’t Resist.' and canadian independent artist Sophia Stel with ‘The Bus’ in 2023. Adriana’s first short film ‘MAUNDY’ went to the 75th Annual Festival de Cannes with Telefilm Canada’s: Not short on talent programme in 2022.
You can catch Adriana throwing Bananas while giving financial advice to the Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs on TV’s across North America during this hockey season.
By Brian Van Wyk
1. What is the first film you can remember having an effect on you?
PaperMoon (1973) - Peter Bogdanovich
My dad showed me this movie when I was 10, it changed my life. Not only was Tatum O'Neal’s character named Addie, but she made this film opposite her father. I realized the magic of creating something with family.
2. If you could work with one filmmaker, dead or alive, who would it be?
Eiko Ishioka (1932-2012) - Art Director / Costume Designer
Eiko’s art direction in ‘The Cell’ (2000), ‘Bram Strokers Dracula’ (1992), and ‘The Fall’ (2006) continues to inspire me to this day. As a woman at the helm of creating some of the most iconic dreamlike worlds, she had the trust of major directors to take her dark visions into reality. I strive to work with ground breaking creatives, as freely and boundary pushing as she did back then.
3. If you could remake any film, what would it be and what would you change?
Jurassic Park has always been my dream franchise to work on. I think my Jurassic Park would have to be more fashion, more lynchian. Perhaps a Jurassic Park/101 Dalmatian hybrid. Something that takes us more into the aesthetic and economy of their violence - velociraptor birkins.
4. What is your biggest passion outside of being a filmmaker?
What is ‘outside’? Everything is connected and I enjoy connecting the dots. I don’t stop. I receive quests and I complete them. Developing intentional work experience that can uplift and expand our community, usually through bridging talent with the right people to help turn their ideas and desires into reality. That’s my biggest passion.
5. What are you working on now?
Maundy
This week is fun, we’re headed down to LA to dress and shoot some friends for the Vanity Fair Young Hollywood Party. Having a few custom pieces made and flown in from London with designer, Mia Coco Chambers. But in the midst of all this we’re still pitching our comedy fantasy series ‘Midgirls’ with my co-creators Dide Su Bilgin, Carolina Martinez and Tanner Munson.
6. Creatively, what inspires you to continue your journey in filmmaking?
Actors, Musicians and Designers. A good performance is everything, I love filling my home with talented expressive people who can support and generate ideas with soul and intention. People who bring diverse experience and stories that differ from my own challenge, inspire and excite me. Listening to music and spending time with friends who create music helps me with my ability to draw imagery and story. Taking any opportunity to travel and meet other filmmakers, watching and discussing their work, will always be something that drives me forward. Meeting and surrounding myself with pure talent is paramount. Be there, be confident and make yourself available, because supporting and uplifting those around you will always directly impact your karmic journey, in any profession.
7. Who are your frequent collaborators and what do they bring to your projects?
(Secret Family Recipe)🤫
8. What is the most rewarding part about being a BC filmmaker? What is the most challenging?
Diamond Cafe - When you can't resist
Vancouver is the shit. I don’t know why people keep complaining about it. It serves as the greatest, most low-profile lilypad to jump from. So many incredible artists have started their careers here. But too many photographers, stylists, musicians, filmmakers, actors, have left because we couldn't fulfill their dreams. The rain helps us prepare and get the work done, but for what? There’s simply not enough, there's a weird ceiling. The biggest challenge we face is the mindset. We have all the resources to do what huge creatives in LA, New York, and London do but we need more support from investors, bigger brands and talent to keep production alive and at home. The city needs to open up to the diversity of Vancouver creatives, build better infrastructure to develop artists, support the independents, and accept Vancouver's underground. What are we known for as a city if everyone leaves? What makes us cool is that we don’t need fancy parties or red carpets to know how good we are. But it would be nice to have a city behind us, and to give us the freedom to rock at it.
9. As a filmmaker, how do you measure success?
Symbols and fated connections. You have to see beyond the unknown. Thinking about where this is going to take me, what’s my top festival? I need to make X amount of money in order-to… all that bullshit will only get you so far, and most likely hinder your ability to receive quote-on-quote success. A trophy can be a like on instagram from someone you look up to, or even a stranger looking at you a second longer because they know you’re up to something special. Having goals and crossing lists is integral to keep the movement of your energy forward, but thinking about success and money is really limiting to discovering the magic, all the beautiful little things should be seen as wins.
10. Who’s another BC filmmaker you’d like to spotlight?
Dide Su Bilgin, my Turkish sharpshooter. A woman who changed whatever definition of work ethic I may have had, to an unshakable belief that anything, I mean anything, can and will happen.