Peer Review: Jason Evans

Who are three contemporaries that you admire?

Gillian Garcia is a filmmaker and photographer who best captures the type of restraint I aspire to. There’s such a lightness to her work, I love her ability to amplify subtle moments that would otherwise seem insignificant.

AG Rojas is someone whose world-building I’m always enchanted by—from his short films to his even shorter light studies. More importantly, he’s always working ‘in community’ with his collaborators, both in front and behind the camera.

I think it’s important for filmmakers to remember at the end of the day, so much still comes down to understanding human psychology.

Michella Bredahl creates portraits of young people in domestic spaces, capturing very tender, vulnerable moments. I’m deeply moved by how she frames the world, the way light falls through a window or how a person lays on a bed. It’s clear she has a lot of love for the people she puts in front of the camera.

Above: Aplos, directed by Gillian Garcia

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

Jonathan Glazer - Birth. Nicole Kidman’s performance as a young widow is brilliant, specifically in the opera scene, which takes place moments after she’s confronted by a young boy claiming to be her reincarnated dead husband. This scene feels so deeply transcendental—a two- minute single shot, which slowly zooms in and then holds on Kidman’s face as a wave of grief, despair, and astonishment hits her. The entire film is a masterclass in atmosphere, not only for Glazer’s direction, but also for its beautiful lensing by the incomparable Harris Savides.

My mum was always into fashion, she was the gateway for me into image-making.

Apichatpong Weerasethakul - Memoria. Sound is always a major source of inspiration for me, and this film is all about hearing, listening, and feeling (The Conversation, La Ciénaga, Hunger, Safe, and The Sound of Metal are some others). Memoria starts with a bang that wakes up Tilda Swinton’s character and then propels her – and us – into a narrative that is directed more by environmental ambiance than dialogue. It reminds me how great direction is so much about being focused on details and, yes… listening.

Above: A scene from Birth (2004) , directed by Jonathan Glazer.

Martin Bell; Mary Ellen Mark - Streetwise. This is what it looks like when the filmmakers take their time to establish a relationship with their subjects. Based on a photo series by Bell's wife, the late great Mary Ellen Mark, this 1984 documentary follows a group of homeless Seattle teens. Tiny, Rat, Dewayne, Lou, and their friends are beautiful in front of the camera, despite their bleak situation, and as impossible to forget as any outstanding performance celebrated by Hollywood.

Back then, fashion wasn’t considered real advertising, so I had to start from scratch and make my own work in order to prove myself.

Nan Goldin - The Ballad of Sexual Dependency. Technically these are photographs, but before Ballad was an iconic photo book, it was a slideshow; made from hundreds of diary-like images which Goldin would screen at bars and nightclubs, accompanied by a soundtrack. It’s the perfect example of how sequencing informs storytelling, which is a huge part of directing to me. If you haven’t seen the doc on Goldin, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, definitely check that out. 

Above: A scene from Memoria, directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul. 

What was your journey to becoming a director?

I grew up in Australia immersed in photo books and independent fashion/music mags. My mum was always into fashion, she was the gateway for me into image-making. I studied graphic design and went on to work as an art director. 

When I moved to New York, seventeen years ago, I was art directing fashion campaigns on the agency side. At the time, photographers weren’t interested in making ‘video’ content, so it fell on the art director to get together with a DP to shoot what you could, then cut it together yourself. I did that for seven years, before focusing on directing full-time. 

Back then, fashion wasn’t considered real advertising, so I had to start from scratch and make my own work in order to prove myself. At first, I worked with friends and non- actors who allowed me to build on their own personal experiences, to develop stories that (I hope) honoured their lives. 

I was fortunate to have the support of some incredible casting people, such as Eleonore Hendricks, Michele Mansoor, and Geraldine Baron, who taught me heaps about communicating with people in front of the camera. Now I feel comfortable in most situations, working across lots of different types of projects.

Above: Opening scene from Streetwise, directed by Martin Bell.

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

Working in collaboration with others to bring something to life.

What is one thing all directors need?

Community. Find your people.

Above: Evans' film for MoMA.

Who was the greatest director of all time?

That’s impossible to answer. Some filmmakers who’ve been important to me include: Abbas Kiarostami, Agnès Varda, Alan Clarke, Alice Rohrwacher, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Barbara Loden, Béla Tarr, Bruno Dumont, Chantal Akerman, Charles Burnett, Claire Denis, Gus Van Sant, Hayao Miyazaki, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Jonathan Glazer, Kelly Reichardt, Krzysztof Kieślowski, Lodge Kerrigan, Lucrecia Martel, Nicolas Roeg, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Pedro Costa, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Robert Bresson, Tarkovsky, Tsai Ming-liang, Wong Kar-wai, Yasujiro Ozu. 

Never lose sight of what makes us human.

All of them I admire for their ability to stick to their own voice.

Above: TRUTH, directed by AG Rojas.