Peer Review: Wolfberg

Who are three contemporaries that you admire?

This is a very difficult question, as it's hard to pick only three people out of the probably hundreds we admire for their work. So, I'll focus only on those who have recently caught our attention.

Kristoffer Borgli always manages to surprise with a completely unconventional narrative. For the first half of the film, the genre remains unclear, which makes it especially enjoyable for people like us who have seen a lot and can usually predict where the story is going. 

Robert Aramayo hilariously offended his audience with an incredible performance in I Swear, which is, for me, one of the most authentic performances I have seen, delivered with complete honesty.

Oliver Tree, who recently passed away, was one of our favorite artists. We admired him for his multitalented persona, entertaining and sophisticated at the same time. His music videos had a uniquely consistent sense of madness, and he will definitely remain at the top of our playlist.

Please share 3-4 pieces of work that exemplify great direction.

Donate Life - Coleman Sweeney. Great twist in the storytelling, brilliant build up, great casting, its dramaturgy and editing pace made us watch it over and over.

Burger King - Confusing Times. A cinematic masterpiece with a haunting atmosphere, free from the usual marketing clichés.

We believe each story deserves its own voice, so we avoid relying on ideas or techniques simply because they've worked before, we don't want to repeat ourselves.

John Lewis - Tableau. The camera work, choreography, art direction, and casting are all at their best. This film must have been incredibly difficult to put together. Great respect to the entire crew.

Columbia - Engineered for Whatever. A brilliant concept, executed beautifully. We love the mixed-media approach and its honest tone.

What do you like most about the work that you do?  

What we enjoy most is that every new project is an opportunity to start from scratch. We believe each story deserves its own voice, so we avoid relying on ideas or techniques simply because they've worked before, we don't want to repeat ourselves. That constant variety is what keeps the work exciting and helps us deliver something fresh.

We often end up surprising ourselves with ideas that neither of us could have imagined alone.

What has your career journey been like so far? How did you end up working together?

We met while working on a mixed-media project that combined animation and live action. It was a great experience, and we realised it was nice to have a partner, directing can get lonely. That's when we decided to collaborate on another project, and we've been working as a directing duo ever since. We find working as a directing duo to be a great setup, as projects often overlap, allowing us to divide the workload without things becoming too hectic.

What is one thing every directing duo needs?

I think it helps that we have different personalities, which gives us a bit of detachment and perspective on each project. There's usually one of us in the lead. We also have different skills, and when we read a script, we can usually tell who is better suited to lead the project. The other then takes on more of a supervisory role, looking over their shoulder and, of course, coming up with all the smart ideas.

We find ourselves both excited and confused by the pace of change.

How do you balance bringing your own individual visions and inspiration to a project? 

As mentioned before, we both come from different backgrounds, live-action directing, graphic design, and animation, and we listen to different kinds of music. That gives us four eyes on every project. We often end up surprising ourselves with ideas that neither of us could have imagined alone.