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Susan K. Wilkofsky: Boker Tov! So pleased to meet you this morning, Eran. I’m Susan Wilkofsky from the Texas Jewish Post and I’m here to talk to you about your wonderful film, The Band’s Visit.

Eran Kolirin: Good morning, good morning.

SKW: I want to get right to a question about the Academy Awards, since they are coming up shortly. I read that your film was nominated for an Academy award, but it was disqualified. You must have been so disappointed.

EK: No! (pause) Well, maybe for a couple of days.

SKW: You got over it?

EK: Yeah, completely.

SKW: Was there a rule that the film had to have less then 50% of its dialogue in English in order for it to qualify for the foreign film category?

EK: Apparently there was, yes.

SKW: Someone brought it to my attention, that perhaps the disqualification was motivated by anti-Semitism. (He lets out a little laugh), because your film shows Israelis in a very positive light.  It shows them as kind and generous and sexy too! 

EK: I don’t think you should think too much about that decision that was made. It wasn’t motivated by anti-Semitism, it was about regulations.  There was a movie from the Far East that was disqualified this year, and the year before a French movie. So.....

SKW: It happens.

EK: Yes, it happens.  It has to do more with established regulations.

(At this point, we decide that it’s much too noisy in the restaurant and we had outside where the street traffic is just as bad).

SKW: So your film is opening all over the country, where are you headed next?

EK: San Francisco.

SKW: They will love it there, but they will love it everywhere.  It’s “bands” together so many basic human emotions - it’s universal.  It could have happened anywhere, do you agree with that?

EK: Ahhh…..

SKW: Okay, between two countries that have a tenuous relationship.

EK: (little laugh) There are elements in the movie that are universal and can happen anywhere, but on the other hand, if you are familiar with the region and certain codes then you can see things that are specific to that region.

SKW: I see your point, but the message of loneliness....

EK: Yeah, of course, of course! The main thing is that the story touches a lot of people
because it has a universal theme.

SKW: There wasn’t anyone in the theater yesterday that didn’t feel for those characters.

EK: Yeah, I hope so. I hope you’re right.

SKW: And the humor, are you always so funny?

EK: (chuckles).  I don’t know.

SKW: Your timing was perfect and you really balanced the humor with the right proportion of drama. Do you see yourself as a funny guy? Were you the class clown?

EK: The movie is kind of a mirror of oneself. There is a proportion between humor or sadness and philosophy and laughter which exists in the movie in the same amount I have within myself. If you make a movie and you’re honest, it should come out in such a way that it resembles you.

SKW: So you are serious some of the time and funny other times?

EK: Yes, at the end of the day that is so.

SKW: Well, it struck the perfect balance, laughing one minute and searching for tissues the next. I love a film that takes you through a whole range of emotions.

EK: (laughter)

SKW: Everyone is making the same statement: “It’s based on a true story, right”? And I informed them that it wasn’t.  Which only makes it more astounding that you conceived of the story without basing it on anything that really happened. Especially where politics are concerned, it is never explicitly mentioned.

EK: There’s a context to film, and sometimes the absence is stronger than the presence.  Sometimes the tension between your expectations and what is delivered is part of what makes you (I hope) think and wonder.

SKW: Let’s talk about the music, specifically Chet Baker.  How familiar are you with Chet Baker? He’s not a household name, even in the states, except maybe in Oklahoma, where he’s from.

EK: I wasn’t all that familiar with Chet Baker. I sometimes take the music in the film out of context, out of regional context, just to introduce something different. It’s also an important part of the story of Haled, the young trumpet player who wants to escape and dreams he is somewhere else.  So he so he clings to this Chet Baker persona.

SKW: It was a lovely touch. Everyone is familiar with the tune, Funny Valentine.  And now we know who made it famous! Was it difficult getting the music clearance?  It’s not like you could have substituted a different song.

EK: It was more of a money issue, but at the end of the day it was okay.

SKW: And the inclusion of Summertime. The singing of Summertime from Porgy and Bess around the dinner table is my favorite scene. Loved it!

EK: (laughter)

SKW: Let’s talk about festivals.  Was Cannes the first festival you entered? 

EK: Yes, I was anxiously waiting for an answer. I was hoping very much to be accepted at Cannes.  And it was very exciting.  It literally opened up the whole world to this film.

SKW: That’s a filmmaker’s dream! Were you surprised when you opened up the envelope with the news?

EK: (a hearty chuckle) Well, actually, it was a phone call.

SKW: And since then, you’ve won so many awards! You’ve swept every major category of the Israeli Film Academy, European Discovery of the Year, Un Certain Regard - Jury Coup de Coeur at Cannes plus 30 more! Do you ever glance at the message boards on the International Movie Database?

EK: Sure.

SKW: I’m amazed at the different comments. People are beginning to politicize the message boards.

EK: You mean the discussion boards? I haven’t read them thoroughly.

SKW: You should. They begin with comments on the beauty of the film and lead down a pathway that discusses the unfair treatment of the Palestinians at the hands of the Israelis. A subject that isn’t even addressed in the film at all!

EK: I will read them.

SKW: On a different note, I was surprised that none of the actual band members were Egyptian.

EK: You cannot cast an Egyptian actor in a movie in Israel.

SKW: How did Sasson Gabai feel about portraying an Egyptian?

EK: Good - Sasson Gabai is a Jew.  He was born in Iraq, he’s from an Iraqi family. In some way, he’s playing something that touches his own very personal morals. His mother tongue is Arabic, he likes the language - it is something that moved him.

SKW: It seemed that the band members all got along so well, how did they communicate, in Arabic?

EK: No, they all speak Arabic, but they only spoke Hebrew together.

SKW: Even the Israeli Arabs speak Hebrew, like Saleh Bakri?

EK: Of course.

SKW: So tell me about your next film, Pathways to the Desert.

EK: I haven’t really been able to develop it. Ever since Cannes, it’s been really hectic for me.  Hopefully soon I can begin again.

SKW: We hope you finish it soon.  If it’s 1/2 as good as The Band’s Visit, it will be quite a smash! In the meantime, enjoy all the success the has come your way. It’s well deserved. Thank you Eran.

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