German's debut film perfectly Canadian
Weird sex, dark, shameful secret, humour balance in award-winning Marion Bridge
April 18, 2003
Katherine Monk, Film Critic Vancouver Sun
As the name might suggest, Wiebke von Carolsfeld is German, but in the beautifully ambiguous universe that is Canadian film, von Carolsfeld's debut feature Marion Bridge is perfectly Canadian.
The story of three sisters trying to come to terms with their mother's imminent death, Marion Bridge demonstrates such consistent Canadian themes as dysfunctional relationships, a conspicuously absent family member, weird sex, a dark and shameful secret, rugged landscapes and death.
It's also quite funny, and the clever balance between darkness and light is no doubt one of the chief reasons why Marion Bridge picked up the award for best first Canadian feature at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall.
For von Carolsfeld, the prize was certainly an honour, but more than anything, it was a sign that after spending 13 years in Canada, she finally belonged.
"I have a split personality when it comes to home. It really depends on where I am. When I am in Germany, I refer to Toronto as home -- when I'm in Toronto, I refer to Germany as home," says von Carolsfeld, who passed through Vancouver on the festival circuit.
"But with the recognition of your peers, you get a different feeling. I remember when I won the award and [David] Cronenberg was there, and I remember my first job was working on one of his movies, and I suddenly realized that I really was a part of it. I have been a part of the film community here for a long time, but that really made me feel I was accepted -- and as a German, obviously, that was a big deal."
Von Carolsfeld never really set out to become a Canadian. Like most things that really work out, it was an accident. She fell in love with an Icelander and followed him to Ontario. They got married, but the union didn't last long, leaving von Carolsfeld sitting on her medieval literature and history degree -- and not much else.
"I started doing a lot of crappy jobs -- because as an immigrant, you can't really get work in your designated field. You end up cleaning toilets, and that was fine, but I thought if I have to start from scratch, I might as well do something I'm interested in, so I applied for film school at Ryerson."
Despite her university degrees from Germany, von Carolsfeld didn't meet the entry requirements for Ryerson because they demanded Grade 13, or its equivalent, which simply didn't exist on von Carolsfeld's transcript. She was rejected.
"The rejection really spurred my initiative because it was so wrong. So I decided to volunteer at a cable station, then I got to work on [Cronenberg's] M. Butterfly as a trainee."
Because she felt she had nothing to lose, and was not afraid of potential rejection, von Carolsfeld called pros around town and landed a stint as an apprentice with Cronenberg's long-time editor Ron Sanders. For the next seven years, von Carolsfeld worked on a variety of projects, including Cube, Exotica and Eisenstein.
She also began to develop, write and direct her own short film ideas. Over the course of her creative endeavours, she edited one of writer-actor-director Daniel MacIvor's (Past Perfect) short films. The two became friends, and MacIvor began to show von Carolsfeld the material he was working on.
"I read Marion Bridge -- which was based on a play -- one day on Toronto Island. I was sitting on a beach, and I read it, and I told Daniel it was the best script I had ever read. Time passed, and more time passed, because it takes a long time to get a film like this into production -- but he eventually asked me if I was interested in taking it on as a director. He had other projects, and he felt this one needed a feminine touch."
Before von Carolsfeld optioned the script, she picked up the phone and called her friend and favourite Canadian screen talent, Molly Parker, to see if she would come on board.
"Molly was in my first short film and I always saw her as Agnes -- even though Agnes was the oldest one in the script, I wanted to change things around to make the ages work, so Agnes became the youngest sister instead of the oldest."
Once she had Parker in place, von Carolsfeld looked to fill in the rest of the blanks, and just before the picture began to shoot in Sydney, N.S. she hired Rebecca Jenkins to play the de facto family matriarch and older sister.
"They had great chemistry. They'd go out together during the shoot and people assumed they really were sisters -- in a good way. They got along very well together."
The only real challenge von Carolsfeld faced over the course of the shoot was weather. The very first day they were scheduled to shoot exteriors, they woke up to gale-force winds. "Behind us, a truck blew over. That's when we made the decision to move the day inside. We weren't supposed to, but there was a stairway I liked, so that's what we did. But even then, we had to keep gaffers hanging on to the lights outside just to make sure they wouldn't blow away."
Von Carolsfeld says she learned more about the essence of Canadian film-making on that one, terrible, wonderful first day because she faced the biggest challenges she'd encountered to date.
"I think adversity makes you challenge yourself in a different way. It cranks everything up to a different level, and you can create something unique -- and powerful. I think that's why that one scene on the stairwell with the two sisters is as powerful as it is: because it pushed us all. We were all emotional to begin with," she says.
"I think we're very fortunate in this country, because film-making comes from a very pure place. It's not about money here. It's about the story and the people. That's why I always find it so strange that Canadians are so negative about the film industry here. We have two masters in Cronenberg and (Atom) Egoyan and there are many interesting films made here every year," says von Carolsfeld.
"But even in Germany, you talk to Germans about German film and they are just as negative. We all compare ourselves to the Americans -- for no reason. So, at the end of the day, what does it mean to be Canadian? What does it mean to make a Canadian movie? I think, to me, it's about being real. We are very natural in this country. We accept difference. We accept different images. We don't mind if things don't look pretty -- or if there is closure, or not. We're very open-minded and tolerant, and that's what makes this such a wonderful place to be. I mean, I'm German ... and I'm an award-winning Canadian film-maker."
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Weird sex, dark, shameful secret, humour balance in award-winning Marion Bridge
April 18, 2003
Katherine Monk, Film Critic Vancouver Sun
As the name might suggest, Wiebke von Carolsfeld is German, but in the beautifully ambiguous universe that is Canadian film, von Carolsfeld's debut feature Marion Bridge is perfectly Canadian.
The story of three sisters trying to come to terms with their mother's imminent death, Marion Bridge demonstrates such consistent Canadian themes as dysfunctional relationships, a conspicuously absent family member, weird sex, a dark and shameful secret, rugged landscapes and death.
It's also quite funny, and the clever balance between darkness and light is no doubt one of the chief reasons why Marion Bridge picked up the award for best first Canadian feature at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall.
For von Carolsfeld, the prize was certainly an honour, but more than anything, it was a sign that after spending 13 years in Canada, she finally belonged.
"I have a split personality when it comes to home. It really depends on where I am. When I am in Germany, I refer to Toronto as home -- when I'm in Toronto, I refer to Germany as home," says von Carolsfeld, who passed through Vancouver on the festival circuit.
"But with the recognition of your peers, you get a different feeling. I remember when I won the award and [David] Cronenberg was there, and I remember my first job was working on one of his movies, and I suddenly realized that I really was a part of it. I have been a part of the film community here for a long time, but that really made me feel I was accepted -- and as a German, obviously, that was a big deal."
Von Carolsfeld never really set out to become a Canadian. Like most things that really work out, it was an accident. She fell in love with an Icelander and followed him to Ontario. They got married, but the union didn't last long, leaving von Carolsfeld sitting on her medieval literature and history degree -- and not much else.
"I started doing a lot of crappy jobs -- because as an immigrant, you can't really get work in your designated field. You end up cleaning toilets, and that was fine, but I thought if I have to start from scratch, I might as well do something I'm interested in, so I applied for film school at Ryerson."
Despite her university degrees from Germany, von Carolsfeld didn't meet the entry requirements for Ryerson because they demanded Grade 13, or its equivalent, which simply didn't exist on von Carolsfeld's transcript. She was rejected.
"The rejection really spurred my initiative because it was so wrong. So I decided to volunteer at a cable station, then I got to work on [Cronenberg's] M. Butterfly as a trainee."
Because she felt she had nothing to lose, and was not afraid of potential rejection, von Carolsfeld called pros around town and landed a stint as an apprentice with Cronenberg's long-time editor Ron Sanders. For the next seven years, von Carolsfeld worked on a variety of projects, including Cube, Exotica and Eisenstein.
She also began to develop, write and direct her own short film ideas. Over the course of her creative endeavours, she edited one of writer-actor-director Daniel MacIvor's (Past Perfect) short films. The two became friends, and MacIvor began to show von Carolsfeld the material he was working on.
"I read Marion Bridge -- which was based on a play -- one day on Toronto Island. I was sitting on a beach, and I read it, and I told Daniel it was the best script I had ever read. Time passed, and more time passed, because it takes a long time to get a film like this into production -- but he eventually asked me if I was interested in taking it on as a director. He had other projects, and he felt this one needed a feminine touch."
Before von Carolsfeld optioned the script, she picked up the phone and called her friend and favourite Canadian screen talent, Molly Parker, to see if she would come on board.
"Molly was in my first short film and I always saw her as Agnes -- even though Agnes was the oldest one in the script, I wanted to change things around to make the ages work, so Agnes became the youngest sister instead of the oldest."
Once she had Parker in place, von Carolsfeld looked to fill in the rest of the blanks, and just before the picture began to shoot in Sydney, N.S. she hired Rebecca Jenkins to play the de facto family matriarch and older sister.
"They had great chemistry. They'd go out together during the shoot and people assumed they really were sisters -- in a good way. They got along very well together."
The only real challenge von Carolsfeld faced over the course of the shoot was weather. The very first day they were scheduled to shoot exteriors, they woke up to gale-force winds. "Behind us, a truck blew over. That's when we made the decision to move the day inside. We weren't supposed to, but there was a stairway I liked, so that's what we did. But even then, we had to keep gaffers hanging on to the lights outside just to make sure they wouldn't blow away."
Von Carolsfeld says she learned more about the essence of Canadian film-making on that one, terrible, wonderful first day because she faced the biggest challenges she'd encountered to date.
"I think adversity makes you challenge yourself in a different way. It cranks everything up to a different level, and you can create something unique -- and powerful. I think that's why that one scene on the stairwell with the two sisters is as powerful as it is: because it pushed us all. We were all emotional to begin with," she says.
"I think we're very fortunate in this country, because film-making comes from a very pure place. It's not about money here. It's about the story and the people. That's why I always find it so strange that Canadians are so negative about the film industry here. We have two masters in Cronenberg and (Atom) Egoyan and there are many interesting films made here every year," says von Carolsfeld.
"But even in Germany, you talk to Germans about German film and they are just as negative. We all compare ourselves to the Americans -- for no reason. So, at the end of the day, what does it mean to be Canadian? What does it mean to make a Canadian movie? I think, to me, it's about being real. We are very natural in this country. We accept difference. We accept different images. We don't mind if things don't look pretty -- or if there is closure, or not. We're very open-minded and tolerant, and that's what makes this such a wonderful place to be. I mean, I'm German ... and I'm an award-winning Canadian film-maker."
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