Waltz with Bashir

Roman Paul came to India a fortnight ago for the theatrical screening of his acclaimed production Waltz with Bashir. The film had premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2008. It went on to win a Golden Globe Award and a Cesar Award and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and a BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language.

Paul spoke to t2 on the making of the animated documentary, the films he has chosen to be screened on UTV World Movies (Buenos Aires 1977 on August 16; Hana-bi on August 23, Karnival on August 30, 8.30pm) as well as his next project with Bond girl Eva Green.

On his second trip to India, Paul was “amazed”. “When I came to India in 2003 for a lecture at a media conference in Mumbai, there was no awareness of cinema outside India. The situation is so different now,” said the Bafta and Golden Globe-winning producer, marvelling at “the steps India has taken to open up to the West”.

He was here to witness another such step — the inauguration of the theatrical release of his globally acclaimed production Waltz with Bashir in Mumbai by UTV World Movies.

Waltz with Bashir is about the 1982 Lebanon war. The German producer’s first brush with the region was Paradise Now, a Golden Globe winner that also became the first Palestinian film to get an Academy Award nomination, about the last two days in the life of a suicide bomber. The film, shot on location in West Bank in 2004, was filmed amid landmine blasts and missile attacks. “It was an extremely difficult situation and the conflict escalated further while we were shooting.” In hindsight, Paul admitted he “would not risk it again”.

Waltz with Bashir created a stir last year as much for the recognition it received in the festival circuit as for the unusual technology used. “It was a full-length animated documentary, but we did not use rotoscope,” Paul explained.

Roman Paul

In the more common rotoscope technique, once the filming is complete, the artist takes over, tracing over the live-action film movement, frame by frame. “What we did is a mix of computer animation and hand drawing,” he said. The film was first shot as a 90-minute video and then transferred to a storyboard, based on which illustrations were drawn. “The characters, drawn with classic animation, were then split up in segments so they could be moved by computers.” The process was even more remarkable as they were working on “a limited budget”.

Live action takes over briefly at the end with news archive footage of the Sabra and Shatila massacre, in which hundreds of Palestinian and Lebanese civilians were killed.

The German producer was introduced to the director Ari Folman through an Israeli friend. “Ari was already working on Waltz with Bashir and we were extremely impressed by the quality of the material,” he recalled.

The documentary was sparked off by a friend of Folman recalling incidents of the Lebanon war in which they both served on the Israeli side. Ari, who could remember nothing himself, decided to find out more by interviewing others. “Memories are not what we see before our eyes. Animation comes closer to capturing the semi-reality,” Paul explained. He still remembers the 15-minute standing ovation the film got at Cannes.

Paul is aware of Bollywood. “It is very popular on German TV where dubbed versions are watched for exotic content.” He had seen a Hindi film once at Locarno Film Festival, dragging himself to the auditorium with a hangover on a Sunday morning but thoroughly enjoyed the experience. “Bollywood is an artform by itself.”

Paul has no quarrel with Hollywood’s hegemony. “It has always been like this — there’s independent cinema and there’s Hollywood — and we always hope for respect.” He said he does not mind as “they have their star system and we have Cannes for glamour. And they also take talent from us”.

Paul is busy with his next film Womb, which stars Bond girl Eva Green, of Casino Royale fame. “It is an intriguing film with an interesting question — what happens if we can bring back people we loved and lost to death. There is a lot that can be achieved with technology but are we ready for it? The film deals with the unsolved moral question.”

Leaving the audience with questions and ideas is what makes for the beauty of independent films, he signed off.