Matthias Lebeer, young Belgian Film Director
I am extremely happy that today I can take CATALYST a step further by launching the first interview article! And who better to put into the spotlight someone who has made his job out of letting others shine.
Matthias Lebeer is a young Belgian film director currently living in London but working all over the world directing advertisements, music videos and short films. In 2008 his short film "Brod Ludaka" was shortlisted for the Academy Awards, this summer he shot the exciting TV series GT Academy (which you can watch on ITV on Thursdays starting January 2013) and he recently wrapped the music video for the Belgian rock band Sir Yes Sir.
He was so very kind to act as my guinea pig last Friday and to experience my still budding interview skills first hand. We had a wonderful and lively chat about his career as a film director over drinks and nibbles in Booking Office - the bar of the wonderfully restored St-Pancreas Renaissance Hotel, as he was just returning from a trip to the continent.
Welcome back to London. Where are you coming from and what have you been working on?
I just came back from the continent where I spent two days in Amsterdam pitching a new project, I also spent four days in Brussels preparing to shoot a commercial. The last one got rescheduled last minute and will now be shot 14th and 15th of December. Shooting commercials often means knowing when the project starts, but never really knowing when and if it is going to be completed. This depends on many factors: the client, the advertising agency and all the variables dealt with by the production company like the actors and the location.
What made you decide to go into film making as a director? Do you remember making that decision? How did you feel?
My passion for making audio-visual content doesn't come from a background in the industry – nobody in my immediate family is active in it. I am also not the biggest movie geek in the sense that I don’t know everything about films nor actors. Honestly, I would probably even lose in a movie quiz. For me it is more about the desire to create and to visualise a dream. I also love to direct a team and work together to create a strong product. I decided to go to film school and train as a director after having made a film with my best friend. I loved the experience and wanted to make film making my job!
Which project are you most proud of up to now? Why is that?
I am most proud of the music videos I have directed because they all started with one of my own ideas. These ideas get developed and take on different form in the process of making the video, nevertheless it makes me proud to think that it started with me and it is also very interesting and education for me to see how they develop.
You recently worked with the band Sir Yes Sir on the music video of their first single longing=good taste. Who came up with the concept of the video? What is the process like for making such a video? Btw I like both the song and the video even if some of the images make my stomach turn over a bit.
I came up with the concept of the video for Sir Yes Sir. I first started out with the idea of the band having a lavish dinner at a grand chateau, relating the title and the lyrics of the song to the visuals. But developing the idea further, we came to the conclusion that it needed something raunchier, so the lavish dinner remained, yet the location changed to a slaughter house (les abattoirs d’Anderlecht near Brussels). It was a great location to film, yet the smell was horrible as the plant is still in full operation and the animal carcasses were hanging there. I felt a bit bad for the vegetarians in the band as well as the extras. Luckily, the band was very cooperative, Dries, the base player, of the band, ate 4 full cans of whipped cream and Alban, the saxophone player, ate americain prepare (which is prepared meat) non-stop from 8 in the morning to 8 at night. Thank god they could stomach it!
So the process of making a video starts by taking a blank piece of paper and writing down my thoughts and ideas. Usually you only receive a rough briefing so I when I develop my ideas I follow my gut instinct. I believe it is very important to trust your gut instinct, it is often right. But as I already mentioned, concepts and ideas still develop with the client you are working with.
Also, I do really have to like the song and the band before I can fully commit to the project. I always aim to be original and try something new - things that I have always wanted to do.
What is the most glamorous situation you have got yourself into thanks to your job?
It was rather by accident that I got myself into this ‘glamorous’ situation, and I didn’t even realise it at the time. A couple of years ago I went to the Cannes Lions, the advertising festival that takes place in Cannes every third week of June, and as I was the only one there from my team I decided to go for a drink on my own at Baoli. I was sitting at the bar when a blond girl comes up to me and tells me that she wants to take a picture of me because I look very much like her drummer. I thought it was a bit of a bizarre question but since she was very nice I obliged. We continued talking and she said that she had just entered a casting for the latest Woody Allen movie (Vicky Christina Barcelona). She also mentioned that she had just been to Belgium for a concert, even showing me pictures of the festival. But I still did not realize who she was. Until the morning after my penny dropped, I had just spent the evening with Duffy. She’s very nice and we’re still friends today.
Which director(s) do you admire and why?
I admire many directors: certainly Sam Mendes and Dougal Wilson both UK based directors and both strong in storytelling. Mendes, who you know from American Beauty, Road to Perdition and his latest Skyfall, just makes wonderful work. Dougal Wilson is most known for his advertisements that are able to link emotions so well with the brand that he is making the ad for. He brings the brand to life - have a look at the Safe store and the John Lewis ad.
Other big names everyone should keep an eye on; Scorsese, Ang Lee, Jacques Audiard and Inarritu
Which films should we definitely see?
Some recent or upcoming films you should definitely go and see are 42, A Late Quartet, Any Day Now, Argo (a very well-paced suspense thriller), Barbara, Luv, Lincoln (with Daniel Day Lewis), Not Fade Away, Parker (with Jason Statham) and West of Memphis. All these films are related to actors, directors and a style that I like. There are also a couple of films which cross my mind almost daily: Chinatown, Rear Window, Platoon, Apocalypse Now, The Pianist, A Prophet, The Departed, Léon, Amadeus and Blue Velvet
What is your dream project?
I really want to direct costume dramas - series like Boardwalk Empire or Deadwood. The more I can create a world which is not the one of today the happier I am.
Who are the actors you would you really like to work with in the future?
There are a lot of actors and actresses I would love to work with: Jason Stratham, Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo Dicaprio, Natalie Portman, Mélanie Laurent and Carice van Houten. I already had the opportunity to meet some of them – quite glamorous right J
Why have you settled in London?
London offers a lot of interesting opportunities to be creative and to do the type of work I enjoy the most. One of the reasons I live in London is because I want to make more music videos for bands I like: I Blame Coco, Basement Jaxx, Birdy, Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Plan B, James Blake, the XX (and upcoming: "Friends"). Also London holds the head offices of many large brands which makes it a good place to be for advertising.
Thank you very much for taking the time for this interview!
From his selection of favourite advertisements that he sent me, as well as the movies and TV series that he lists as his favourites, it is clear that he admires those who are able to transfer strong emotions through the crafting of a series of images supported by the right type of music and sounds. From his work that I have seen so far, he is well on his way of becoming one of the director he so admires. A true storyteller.
If you want to read more about Matthias or see his work, go to his website: http://www.matthiaslebeer.com/
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