Interview: South African director presents in movie criminal gangs violence

"I wanted to combine in my film a place I'm familiar with the a story of violence happening in South Africa," South African director Oliver Hermanus told Xinhua in a recent interview.

"I'm always influenced by movies and in this case the opening sequence with the landscape of East of Eden by Elia Kazan was inspiring, scenery is very important in my movie," Hermanus said during an exclusive interview to Xinhua presenting his movie The Endless River in competition at the ongoing Venice Film Festival.

The movie tells the story of two fragile souls, a man and a woman, in a place dominated by criminal gangs and their rules. They both lost someone they loved and at certain point, even if they do not love each other, they will be obliged by the circumstances to start a new life together.

Director Hermanus began his career as a press photographer, studied at the University of Cape Town and then at the London Film School. He was at Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard with Skoonheid (2011). His graduation film, Shirley Adams, premiered in competition at the Locarno International Film Festival in 2009.

In a festival with lots violent movies, Hermanus explained his take on the issue, he said "we are reflecting on violence because it's there, I don't think we are creating it without a reason, my commentary is on the fact that we are living in a continuously more violent global society."

"That's something filmmakers are taking to heart. Other filmmakers can make comedies but lots of time the idea behind is to entertain people because their lives are hard and they need to be out of the world for a moment," said the director.

According to Hermanus, then people are not aware enough about the extent of violence so it's up to filmmakers to show them this reality.

"It's important to be aware that extremely violent things are happening and causing human suffering in the world," he clarified.

Asked then about his opinion on Chinese cinema, the South African director recalled "I went to school with a Chinese film director Flora Lau, she is now based in Hong Kong. Then as Chinese directors, I like Ang Lee because he is one of the most versatile directors alive, he can make anything. I'm a big fan also of Wong Kar Wai and finally I appreciate the early films of Zhang Yimou."

The South African director is very enthusiast about Chinese civilization, he said, "it's a fascinating country and I would like to explore some opportunities there. It's such an ancient society and its culture is a synonymous of human culture." Endit