FII Interviews: Charlotte Munch Bengtsen Talks About Ladies In Filmmaking
This yr’s Oscar nominations have seen many good editors who’re ladies – from Sarah Broshar for The Fabelmans to Monika Willi for Tár. Sharing this desk of improbable ladies is the editor of India’s shining entry on this yr’s Oscars for Finest Documentary Characteristic – Charlotte Munch Bengtsen. All that Breathes, directed by Shaunak Sen, set within the backdrop of social unrest, tells the story of two brothers and their quest to save lots of the raptors of Delhi’s skies. Charlotte’s exceptional filmography consists of Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Act of Killing to The Truffle Hunters by Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw. Her deft enhancing stitches the world of the 2 brothers and its many contexts with invisible seams. Sen mentions, “The logic of the edit was not narrative however emotional.”
FII reached out to Charlotte to talk to her about her journey from being a dancer to an editor and subsequent expertise on the planet of documentary movies. The next dialog is a condensed transcript of the identical.
Q: You studied movie enhancing at NFTS, UK after switching out of your profession as a dancer. How and why did you determine to make the swap?
Charlotte: It was a heartbreak. I feel at first I assumed I may do each. Till I utilized for the movie college they usually stated if you wish to do that it’s a must to decide – you possibly can’t do each. It was actually via dance I obtained launched to the artwork of enhancing. My dance firm wanted a trailer produced from a dance efficiency. Strolling into the enhancing room and seeing the work in progress from the editor, I immediately fell in love with the artwork, and I knew I needed to study it.
At the moment, I had been doing nonetheless images on the facet. I used to be all the time trying to create actions – via enhancing I felt I may unify all my expertise from being a dancer and dealing with nonetheless images. I didn’t have time to waste being already 33 after I made that call, so I left my dance profession at a excessive level, however in some way, I nonetheless really feel I’m dancing after I edit. Being a pupil once more was essentially the most intense and thrilling two years of my life, but in addition a time (when) I felt useless scared.
Q: What was your expertise navigating via the early years of your profession?
Charlotte: Earlier than graduating from NFTS in 2009 I had already gotten the chance to edit the documentary Complaints Choir with a good friend of mine, director Ada B Soby, so I moved again to Denmark. However quickly after commencement, I obtained a telephone name asking whether or not I used to be to return for an interview with Joshua Oppenheimer in London. I stated sure, and jumped on a airplane again to London.
“I got here from a dance the place you have been barely paid, so for me, the transition to enhancing felt like I used to be hanging gold. I used to be extra upset concerning the distinction in energy and pay when it comes to completely different artwork varieties, I felt I used to be the identical artist, performing dance or enhancing movie, however not valued equally in pay within the two fields.”
Charlotte Munch Bengtsen
Assembly Josh and having been one of many editors on The Act of Killing has been a blessing to my early years within the enhancing path, but in addition when it comes to constructing a relationship with Josh as each a mentor to me and an expensive good friend. To this present day I’ve been fortunate to have the ability to seek the advice of with him on lots of my tasks.
Additionally Learn: Ladies Slicing Cinema: FII In Dialog With 5 Indian Editors
Q: Most of your well-known edited movies are documentaries – did you deliberately select this as a particular space of labor? What about enhancing documentaries attracts you?
Charlotte: It was not a aware option to be specializing in documentaries from the start, it sort of turned out that approach. I do keep in mind most of my classmates have been going for fiction as a result of it appeared like doing a function drama would offer extra recognition as an editor. Issues did change with The Act Of Killing I consider additionally in that respect of style recognition, reaching bigger audiences.
I’m drawn to engaged on documentaries as a result of I just like the artistic technique of discovering the story within the enhancing room. You’re employed with construction, characters arcs, plots, music and many others.… I prefer to take possession of the movie however in a approach the place I enable myself to be the interpreter of the administrators’ imaginative and prescient and the fabric I’m handed over with. I enable myself to work intuitively, I by no means attempt to drive an thought on high of a movie, however all the time attempt to take heed to the genuine voice of the fabric. This, I consider is a talent I’ve been in a position to attract on from being a dancer, engaged on an emotional stage.
Q: As an editor have you ever felt that there’s a gendered disparity in energy and pay, particularly within the division of enhancing?
Charlotte: I consider I’ve been geographically spoiled being primarily based most of my enhancing profession in Denmark. We’re a small movie neighborhood, although very sturdy internationally. There was a protracted listing of sturdy ladies movie editors, like Lars von Trier’s editor Molly Malene Stensgaard. I got here from a dance the place you have been barely paid, so for me, the transition to enhancing felt like I used to be hanging gold. I used to be extra upset concerning the distinction in energy and pay when it comes to completely different artwork varieties — I felt I used to be the identical artist, performing dance or enhancing movie, however not valued equally in pay within the two fields.
Q: The filmmaking course of has been overwhelmingly male-populated. In your years as a movie editor, what sort of shift have you ever noticed, if any?
Charlotte: Working in documentaries, you discover extra ladies than in fiction, each as administrators, producers and editors. I’ve had many ladies colleagues and may’t discuss what shift there was total in movie.
Q: That is your first Indian venture. How did you get entangled with All that Breathes? How was your expertise?
Charlotte: Sure, it’s my first Indian venture. I obtained contacted by Rise Movies in London after they have been researching attainable editors for All That Breathes. Shaunak watched From The Wild Sea by Robin Petre, which I had just lately completed and felt drawn to the best way we have been approaching the human-animal relationship within the language of the movie. We had a zoom name and that was the start of our work relationship.
“I feel it’s tough to generalise as a result of each women and men can act very in a different way or the identical, however… maybe it’s that girls administrators have extra endurance being within the enhancing room day after day with out having the necessity to go do one thing else. In the course of the edit interval, the enhancing room turns into this intimate area the place you share your private tales and tune in emotionally with one another, there’s naturally one other sort of bonding.”
Charlotte Munch Bengtsen
It is a little more crowded within the enhancing room than what I used to be used to, but it surely was completely a really gratifying course of that quickly felt like an prolonged household.
Additionally Learn: 5 Ladies Editors In Indian Cinema We Ought to Know About
Q: You have got labored on documentaries the world over, how do you alter to the shifting geopolitical contexts? What’s your technique of empathising with the textual content?
Charlotte: I’ve been doing many documentaries which are socio-politically and geographically away from me. I’m not scared about that. I additionally assume that getting concerned and never realizing a lot might be a bonus. This was additionally fascinating for Shaunak (All that Breathes) that I used to be not from India. As a result of I don’t enable myself to get sentimental, not realizing the backstory. I purely have a look at what I see on display, on the timeline, that they current to me – and I dive in. After Shaunak and Vedant (second editor) got here all the way down to Denmark, we slowly began attending to know extra… you begin to trade tales. Political, cinema historical past – you slowly get your image collectively.
Q: You have got labored with Robin Petre in ‘From the Wild Sea’. Have you ever labored with different ladies administrators? How completely different has your expertise been, working with them?
Charlotte: I’ve labored with many ladies administrators, like Ada B Soby – we’ve labored on three function documentaries collectively; I’ve labored twice with Irish dir Oonagh Kearney and simply final week I picture-locked a brand new function documentary by Danish director Mette Carla Albrechtsen. Later this yr, I’ll work with Elizabeth Lo from the USA.
I feel it’s tough to generalise as a result of each women and men can act very in a different way or the identical, however… maybe it’s that girls administrators have extra endurance being within the enhancing room day after day with out having the necessity to go do one thing else. In the course of the edit interval, the enhancing room turns into this intimate area the place you share your private tales and tune in emotionally with one another, there’s naturally one other sort of bonding. Although, I do additionally expertise this working with male administrators, the place the enhancing room turns into this protected area for ideas which are occupying your coronary heart and thoughts.
Q: Do you assume there’s a motive we’ve got seen so many ladies has populated and excelled within the division of enhancing in cinema?
Charlotte: Extra within the outdated days, while you needed to minimize celluloid, you needed to be very organised and neat – in any other case, you’d lose your strips. I feel possibly that’s one thing that speaks extra to ladies.
Maybe additionally it is our nature… we prefer to nurture, and we’ve got endurance and empathy with characters. I don’t assume we’ve got the identical should be within the limelight, however we really take satisfaction in pulling the strings from behind the scenes.
Q: Enhancing as a career is usually invisible, particularly if carried out effectively, to the viewers and typically even the critics. Does it come throughout as a disaster within the career?
Charlotte: I don’t see it as a disaster, it’s the character of performing the artwork of enhancing, whether or not you’re a man or a lady and I additionally consider that it’s a craft that pulls performers who don’t have any need to be on the forefront and who enjoys being the invisible artist behind the craft. Someway it is advisable be an extrovert to direct movies, not all of us are. I typically get requested if I wish to direct my very own movie. Completely not! I didn’t change into a movie editor as a result of I’ve a secret need to change into a director, I’m in it purely due to my love for the artwork of enhancing and the method of sculpting a movie from the enhancing room.
If we may make an even bigger understanding of the function of the editor – I feel that’s vital. Like I didn’t know what the function of an editor was earlier than I walked into the room first time myself. I feel it should occur slowly – as documentaries have grown huge within the final ten years, possibly folks may even begin to perceive how they’re conceived.
Q: What sort of voice, based on you, does an editor lend to a piece?
Charlotte: I can solely speak from the angle of creating documentaries. The voice you lend is the software to have the ability to interpret and translate the director’s imaginative and prescient into the movie. Figuring out of the Danish documentary scene or with worldwide administrators — I haven’t skilled being patronised or ignored. Enhancing movies just isn’t about being technical, you’re a storyteller. Discussing narrative and construction, tone and rhythms will nearly all the time have its personal difficult moments between you and the director… it’s a part of the method of discovering the movie.
Additionally Learn: By The Lens Of Preetha Jayaraman: One Of India’s Main Ladies Cinematographers
Q: As a documentary editor, you’re employed with real-time footage, that features quite a lot of violent and distressful content material. How does immersing your self in such photos have an effect on you? Do you could have a “detox” course of?
Charlotte: I’m undecided if I’ve a detox course of that I take advantage of – maybe subconsciously I’ve my strategies. However I suppose it’s a bit like I can’t think about the way you as a surgeon might be unaffected by having to chop an individual open, see all of the blood and many others. Sure, on first viewing of violent or disturbing content material, you say ‘rattling, I can’t do that’ and possibly it is advisable take a second for your self or name the day without work somewhat too early, as was the case just a few instances after I was working with footage from battle zones within the documentary Warfare Photographer. However you then additionally get used to it and you utilize your expertise because the surgeon makes use of his to achieve the operation theatre.
Q: Are there any ladies peer editors you look as much as?
Charlotte: Sure, many each on the worldwide scene in addition to the Danish scene – Molly Malene Stensgaard, Nanna Frank, Åsa Mossberg, Anne Osterud… I feel the Danish scene of girls editors is kind of sturdy.
The interview has been paraphrased and condensed for readability, on the interviewer’s discretion. FII thanks Charlotte Munch for her time, endurance, and illuminating insights into her work.