SJ. Ramir

Into Daylight DV, 5', 2009 New Zealand

Tell me something about you and artistic background.
I began as a photographer of landscapes in New Zealand. I would travel quite extensively, photographing areas for geographic magazines, books, calendars etc. After a while I began to see these landscapes, not in a necessarily beautiful way - what I mean is, not in the way a tourist would see them, or a 'Lord of the Rings' fan. They began to lose their 'chocolate box', 'postcard' beauty to me. I felt that I was beginning to see the real truth to their existence, meaning they were neither beautiful nor ugly in the physical sense, but were an intangible influence on peoples behaviour.  I became more interested in expressing this, than photographing these mountains in a pretty way. I wanted to create films where by these beautiful landscapes became quite an oppressive environment - one that was gruelling, merciless and had to be overcome, rather than to be admired or in awe of. I became interested in the movement of people or mankind through these environments, and the metaphors for these journey's.

Tell me about this film, initial idea and work process.
Into Daylight was shot in the Lindis Pass region of New Zealand. It's an area of tussock hills (Tussock is a thick, yellow sub alpine grass) in the South Island. I'm interested in exploring the theme of journeys - not just in the physical sense, but the journeys that we make either spiritually or in the imagination. I do this by the placing of actors in geographical landscapes, and filming their movements through these landscapes. When I shoot my video works, I generally use custom-made lens filters to create a visual distortion with the video pixels. I like the idea of eliminating details in an image that aren't required - as a way to create ambiguity and mystery. For Into Daylight, I used a new filter that I'd just made myself. I wasn't too sure how much it was altering the image until I began editing, and I could see the footage taking on an underwater quality.   

Are you working on new projects at the moment?
I spent December filming in a volcanic region of New Zealand, called the Tongariro National Park, as well as an area close by called the Rangipo Desert - which isn't really a desert, technically speaking. Things just don't grow there due to gale force winds, erosion and volcanic ash soil that makes it inhabitable.  Much of the footage that I shot was very strong, and it helped that I had a clear vision for this new project. I have just recently completed this film. It's probably the most realized piece of work that I have created. It's titled Rangipo Desert Redemption. The whole project was financed by the Screen Innovation Production Fund, which is a partnership between Creative New Zealand and the New Zealand Film Commission.

Do you have specific influences in your film/video making?
I would't say that I have obvious influences in my work. The videos and films that I create come from a very personal place, within.

Why is it important for you to show your film/video in a festival?
Quite often an interesting thing can be the contrasts between films. This can be a very dynamic tool. When you have a programme of many different films screening one after the other, each film can have an impact in itself.

What role do you think Oslo Screen Festival should have to promote your work?
I'm glad to have my film Into Daylight screening at the 2010 Oslo Screen Festival. The mere fact that the festival exists, is evidence enough that it's helping to promote video art and experimental film to Norwegians.