Ask the Director: Jasmin Baumgartner

Your way into filmmaking was like...

I quit school when I was 15, from then on, I was a rookie trying to get as much knowledge in all areas of filmmaking as possible. I couldn't do anything else. I was all in. Filmmakers are make-believers for a lifetime. It starts, by telling what you do.

Where do you get your inspirations from?

Listening to music often sends me onto visual trips. Maybe limitation is inspiration. There are endless thoughts to go on. You have to sort them. There are so many ways to tell the same story.

What is your driving force to do a film?

There was no plan B. It's a long-term investment. Never thought about it. Never will.

From Baden to New York City, what makes it so important to be international?

Baden is the center of the universe? Baden is New York City. Idaho is Langenzersdorf.

Festivals are international. Film sets are where they are. Austria is small but change the lens and it's getting bigger. Film is an international language.

How to start the creative process and tools you use:

I think in movies even when I am not working. But thinking about the creative process tends to kill creativity.

Just give a fuck. Find your own storytelling-rules. Nobody else can teach you the way your brain works.

On storytelling:

There are too many books on storytelling and too many people talking about it. If there would be that one rule, the magic would be gone. Keep in mind that you should love the story so much that you could spend a lifetime on it. It's not always about the story, it‘s about the telling too. Just give a fuck. Find your own storytelling-rules. Nobody else can teach you the way your brain works.

Short films, music videos, commercials, you have a wide variety on what you are working on. Is there any favourite category you like to work on best, and why? What are the different approaches to the different categories?

Documentary teaches immediacy and it is always about the story. There are good and bad stories. Altogether the realistic approach in every field of my work focuses on the people in front of the camera. The category is secondary. My documentary work trains the immediate and intuitive decision making and the music videos focus on aesthetics in combination with rhythm and flair - that isn’t far away with my approach to work with brands. It's mostly about the idea. Never be humble and fall over bureaucracy.

Do you feel your Method Acting Class with Susan Batson improved your work as a director?

Method acting has a lot to do with emotional control and film is known for selling emotions. It felt like something I truly believed in to understand. But the range between knowledge and experience in acting is huge. 

I work after a simple rule. Don't work with assholes.

The best way to work is in a good atmosphere on set, what makes a good collaboration?

I work after a simple rule. Don't work with assholes. With that I mean people, which don't value the work of others. Good work is based on appreciation. As a female director you often fulfil a quota in preselection, and in the end a ten years older man is getting the job anyway. I can do the car commercial with a russian arm too.  If a collaboration works out, I continue it. That certainty of pulling in the same direction. You're like a band. Preparation is the most important. It should never be understaffed or overstaffed. The team must feel valued. The more freedom the directors have, the better the collaboration.

What makes a good idea to a movie? What catches your attention?

Who decided what is a good story? I am not sure there is or ever can be fairness on what films are allowed to come into being. I cannot understand why everyone is so scared of funding ideas that are cross-genre, even though they often are the best ones. Trying to fund a film feels like a get-tough-training, constantly breaking your heart before taking you to the next step. So i think it is kind of normal to feel alone in this system. But I truly believe that if you’ll get through this process, you can have a chance to prove your story was worth telling.

Favourite documentary:

Reindeer spotting - Escape from Santaland but all-time-fave film: My own private idaho.

Be open to criticism in general and learn that not every criticism has to affect you.

Tips for aspiring filmmakers:

Go to film festivals and watch as many films as possible. Find people you trust as critics. Be open to criticism in general and learn that not every criticism has to affect you. Go to film school. I’m sure there are other ways but it helps a lot. The best thing about the job is that you're not getting old, you're just getting better.

Advice to your 20 year old self:

Invest in ideas instead of gear. Don't think it will ever be fair. Very often when you think you aren’t working, you are. Don't drink cheap alcohol. Show up! Say hi!

What's your spirit animal?

Snoopy. He can do the happy dance and claims to hear chocolate-chip-cookies calling him.

Cool Instagram accounts to follow?

@kodak_shootfilm, @7isatribe, @harrystyles, @dawsonscreek_world