An inteview with Bear Damen
IFFG will bring the world to the fortress from 13 to 16 April. In the coming weeks you can get a taste of what the film festival will have to offer. This week an interview with Bear Damen, producer of War Pony, on Saturday 15 April at the IFFG. War Pony is a film about two boys living on the American Pine Ridge Indian Reservation: Bill, who wants to chase the American Dream, and adolescent Matho, who wants to grow up. Both deal with themes such as poverty, disrupted families and exploitation by the dominant white culture. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and won the prestigious Caméra d'Or.
Bear, you are involved as a producer in War Pony, but you do much more within the film world.
“I love and hopelessly believe in film. I am mainly a director and writer and started with music videos and commercials (he directed, among other things, a video clip for the famous artist James Blake and commercials by Mini, Patta Napapijri, Zalando and Hornbach, ed.). It has slowly grown into an international activity in Europe and America. Then I started production house Couscous with a friend.”
What do you do as a producer?
“After you have made the choice whether you want to invest time and money in the film, you help with all kinds of aspects: from finding the cast to the budgets. You arrange everything to make the film a reality.”
How did you get involved with the movie War Pony?
,,At one point Sacha Ben Harroche came to us with the script of War Pony. We were immediately enthusiastic and believed very much in this story. Little is known about Native Americans. Many people, also in America, do not know what the living conditions are on these reservations. What I think is important to say is that directors Riley Keough (known for Daisy Jones & the Six, Logan Lucky and The Terminal List, among others) and Gina Gammell have done research for War Pony for a very long time. They have made contacts and friends on the spot so that they can tell the truth of this story. It is a project with love for this hopeful story. They were busy for years before a camera was even turned on. This film was not purely conceived in Los Angeles. Non-actors are also used. Almost all the people in the film are people who actually live there.”
What do you hope people see in this movie?
,,You always hope that you succeed in telling people the essence of the script. This movie has several layers. One layer is generally showing how people live there, showing their existence. The other layer is telling a hopeful story of two souls growing up there and moving through it in their own way. That can also give an emotional layer.”