Interview with Briar March

by Max Segal | 12:36 am 26/07/2010

Briar March is the director of There Once Was An Island, SICK Wid It (Homegrown: Dance Films), and Michael and His Dragon (Homegrown: Quirky Stories).

Tell me about There Once Was An Island.

It's about an island called Takuu, and about their situation following three islanders as they make a decision whether to leave the island because of the environmental changes on the island.

Was there a challenge in coming up with a narrative device for the film?

Yeah, it’s a good question because not much happens on an island and a lot of the things that occur in the film really have some kind of intervention with the filmmaker. Collaborating with my characters and kind of initiating things to film in a way. The islanders want a scientist to come and visit the island, so I actually was involved in getting the scientist to come. So I did kind of intervene in a way that I think works, ethically I am very comfortable with how I worked. Collaborating with them was the best way because it still allowed them to be active participants in the film. Generally you are hearing their voice.

You have 2 other films in this festival, it’s quite an event for you!

One film is called Michael and His Dragon which is screening in “Quirky Stories” in the Homegrown section; the other film is SICK Wid It, it’s about TURFing (taking up room on the floor), these guys in Oakland who are responding to violence and gangs by making their own dance form. It's part of the dance programme screening only in Dunedin.

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