)
Peer Review: Niclas Larsson
)
From Swedish pole vaulters to irreverent documentary series, MJZ's Niclas Larsson shares the people and art that have inspired his vibrant and varied career spanning acting, award-winning short filmmaking and commercial directing.
Who are three contemporaries that you admire?
Marcus Ibanez. He assisted me when he first started out, and it now a director extraordinaire. Very impressed by every move he makes.
Athletes have always inspired me. They literally work out several times a day. If only artists could approach work the same way…
Bi Gan. Anyone not keeping an eye on this young filmmaker right now really should.
Armand Duplantis. Pole vaulter holding the world record at 6.27m, and fellow Swede. Athletes have always inspired me. They literally work out several times a day. If only artists could approach work the same way… but I suppose Chaplin and those old-timers did.
Above: Swedish pole vault world record holder Armand Duplantis.
Please share 3-4 pieces of work that exemplify great direction?
Human Mask by Pierre Huyghe (2014). Someone once told me: a good director can tell a story without using words.
How To, With John Wilson is an extraordinary feat in documentary direction. It extends Robert Frank’s work into something laugh out loud funny, yet unmasks society’s darkest corners. The final episode How to Track Your Package is the finest documentary-short I’ve ever seen. John Wilson has something to say. And he says it loudly.
A director should be able to convert truths into poetry.
John Galliano’s time at Maison Margiela. The Artisanal Collection from last year. Especially the video with the Adele song... hit hard. Possibly the most accurate depiction of the time we’re living in. A director should be able to convert truths into poetry.
Above: Film for fashion director John Galliano’s Artisanal Collection for Maison Margiela.
What do you like most about the work that you do?
The likes on instagram.
You have to be obsessed, regardless of the format, in order to do this job properly. Every frame counts.
What has your career journey been like so far?
Steep. It’s been levelling out for the past year as I’ve focused on longer format storytelling, however I’ve always been as excited for two hours as I have for 60 seconds. You have to be obsessed, regardless of the format, in order to do this job properly. Every frame counts.
Above: Official trailer for HBO series How To, With John Wilson
What is one thing every director needs?
High EQ. Your job is to translate human emotion through manufactured realities. People need to believe in what they see, and one thing they are great at is calling bullshit on stuff they don’t. You just need to be better at it.
People need to believe in what they see, and one thing they are great at is to call bullshit on stuff they don’t.
Did you have a mentor?
Spike Jonze was instrumental in getting my first feature off the ground. Ruben Östlund has also been very supportive. I had a nurse back in high school that did a lot for me.
Above: Trailer for Night of the Hunter directed by Charles Laughton.
Who is the greatest director of all time?
Charles Laughton. Crushed by critics and audiences at the time, but Night of the Hunter, his first and only film, is arguably the greatest movie ever made. We wouldn’t have the Coen Brothers, Wilder, Altman, Lynch, Malick… even Kubrick (!) without that film. It’s a tragedy (and crime) that Laughton never directed again.
‘“AI is no joke” an associate of Sam Altman told me at a party a few years ago. I think I agree.
What’s changing in the industry that all directors need to keep up with?
‘“AI is no joke” an associate of Sam Altman told me at a party a few years ago. I think I agree. I believe you have to understand something deeply before you’re qualified to criticise it.
