“The cinematography was of course incredibly important to me because I graduated as a cinematographer.” Quote by Pirjo Honkasalo
“In all my documentaries I did all the camera work, but in fiction I didn't want to do it myself. I think the machinery is so heavy and demanding that you would leave the actors alone for a long time.” ThinkingWantLongActorsFictionLong TimeCamerasHeavyDocumentariesMachinery Author:Pirjo Honkasalo
“If you fill your time as a director talking about lights and technique with the crew then it's frightening for the actors to be left alone. Somebody has to keep them safe from the mess that is the machinery.” IfsLightActorsLeftTalkingDirectorsSafeTechniqueMessFrighteningCrewMachineryLeft Alone Author:Pirjo Honkasalo
“We exaggerate the difference between documentary and fiction. I think that on some level a fiction film is also a documentary on the actors. You can't wash away your life's history, which is written on your face, unless you get a facelift.” ThinkingFilmFacesActorsDifferencesLevelsFictionWrittenYour FaceDocumentariesFacelifts Author:Pirjo Honkasalo
“When I make a documentary I shoot very little but I hang around with my camera for a long time. I look at the people for a long time through the loop and then when I see something interested then I shoot. I think that I have become very sensitive to these things.” PeopleThinkingLooksLittlesLongLong TimeCamerasSensitiveDocumentariesLoops Author:Pirjo Honkasalo
“Every documentary is subjective. It's a total lie to say there are objective documentaries.” LyingObjectivesDocumentariesSubjective Author:Pirjo Honkasalo
“This is going to sound crazy, especially in America where there is a total inflation of the word "love," but in a sense you have to love the people in front of the camera. There has to be trust between the one who is behind the camera and the people on the other side, so that they can relax. They have to feel they are safe, and that way they don't have to pretend just because they are scared.” PeopleWayFeelsAmericaSoundSidesBehindsCrazyFrontsSafeCamerasScaredRelaxInflationWords Love Author:Pirjo Honkasalo
“I don't think the concept of "directing actors" exists in the sense that if you get what you order from an actor you'll always get bad acting. Every actor is scared just like a regular person.” IfsThinkingPersonsOrderActorsActingConceptsScaredBad ActingDirecting Actors Author:Pirjo Honkasalo
“I like to get something that is impossible to verbally order. Sometimes it's something the person is not even conscious of, and it's something you could never ask of them specifically. It's just there.” PersonsSometimesOrderAsksImpossibleConscious Author:Pirjo Honkasalo
“When I auditioned actors I never make them act. I choose a long symphony, then I tell them to sit down and I play the symphony for them. Then I sit and I look at them. I always pick a piece of music that has up and downs, very dramatic parts, very quiet parts and really sensitive parts so that it can produce different emotions.” LooksLongDifferentPlayActorsEmotionPiecesProduceQuietPicksDown AndSensitiveDramaticSymphonyUps & DownsDifferent Emotions Author:Pirjo Honkasalo
“I went to England when I was 13-years=old and then I went again when I was 14. When I went for the second time I felt like the first summer I was there it was a waste because I didn't exist yet.” YearsFirstsFeltWasteSummerEngland Author:Pirjo Honkasalo