Berlinale-Blogger 2017
BerlinalePeople: Oliver Husain, artist

Part of a series of mini profiles on the movers and shakers that make the Berlinale one of the most important events in the international film calendar: the filmmakers, programmers, industry promoters and visitors. 

Name & role: Oliver Husain, filmmaker. Born in Frankfurt, lives and works in Toronto. My video installation “Isla Santa Maria 3D” is showing in the Berlinale Forum Expanded exhibition February 8-20, 2017 at the Berlin Academy of the Arts.

This is my 1st Berlinale.

My favourite Berlinale program(s): Forum and Retrospective.

Why being invited to screen at the Berlinale is special for an international filmmaker:
It’s almost Cannes!

What I won’t miss off-Berlinale 2017:
Very excited about the retrospective of Indian painter Bhupen Khakhar at KunstHalle. I had the pleasure of meeting him in person as a young guest student in Baroda and was hugely influenced by the early encounter with his gentle, queer, un-classifiable work.

What you need to know about my film:
"Isla Santa Maria 3D" (trailer) is based on the myth of an island formed from the remains of a replica of Christopher Columbus’ flagship. Its wreckage is pulled out of time, into a non-linear narrative that overlaps truths and fantasies to re-imagine possible futures.

"Isla Santa Maria 3D" had to be 3D because:
It would be too boring in 2D! It was my first experiment with stereoscopic technology, and I realized that long, static, tableaux-like scenes work best for the audience to explore the dimension of the space, and experience the depth of vision. We would have shot it in a completely different rhythm for 2D.

interview by @JuttaBrendemuhl