FreshFilm and Noside are trilled to introduce Animal, a film directed by Thomas Kelly.
Animal portrays a boxer through the depiction of a fight he most certainly will lose.
James Chaney, an American-born boxer, recalls and narrates this feeling himself in a rather poetically way.
Being in Thailand is as much a spiritual as a professional quest for him. This film describes different contrasts and dualities between the West and the East, rituals, spirituality, violence... The story of an American in an Asian universe.
— What moved me was to explore the other side of this man, this boxer with an imposing physique, an animal, whom everything leads to win. We discover in his defeat, his weakness, his sensitivity, his humanity.
While growing up my father and I would rent VHS tapes from the local blockbuster and I found myself absorbed completely by the UFC tapes. Once the fascination took hold it never let go. I began wrestling in high school as soon as I could and when the opportunity to train Brazilian jiujitsu was realized I immersed myself. The idea of this first fight was as simple as having seen a thing I loved and wanting to become closer to it.
When my name was called I walked down the dirty concert house steps, sticky with spilled drinks and stinking of stale beer, the waiting area littered with discarded razer blades and nails. Curiously enough I felt no fear. I knew in my heart that this was something that I could do better than anyone else believed I could. Fighting wasn't new or scary, it was a part of growing up and I'd already proven to myself that I wasn't made of glass.
Where does the idea for the film come from?
TK: The idea is mainly based on the boxer's state of mind when he is losing a fight. And how, within a few seconds, he mentally perceives his defeat. I wanted to capture that short moment when he said to himself, "It's over for me, I'm going to lose. It is probably a moment of abandonment as emotionally strong as the one when he would say to himself: "I will win".James Chaney, the lead actor, recounts himself quite poetically in a long interview I did during the shooting where he explains how he prepares himself for battle, for any fight. Being in Thailand is as much a spiritual as a professional search for him, he decided to live there to learn and specialize in Muay Thai. This film describes different contrasts and dualities between the West and the East, rituals, spirituality, violence... The story of an American in an Asian universe, he is foreign, he loses...
Why Thailand?
TK: At first, I went there to make an advertising film and I took the opportunity to be there to get into a creative process that does not respond to an order. Considering the setting that was open to me, I wanted to make a personal film.The day we won the tender for the commercial and got confirmation of its shooting in Thailand, I asked my producer if I could stay another day to make a short film while taking advantage of the team already on site. He said, "Okay, but what do you want to film?" I replied: "I need a camera, my chief operator and we're going to invent something. I have a month to write it down, time to go.
How did you meet James Chaney?
TK: While thinking about the film to be made, I immediately focused on a portrait with a central character. I wanted to create a story about a person, a psychology, I thought that without it the film would not exist. I went on Facebook to look for an actor in Bangkok, already having a movie about boxing in mind. I really like the aesthetics of the movements, the speed, the rhythm of boxing, it's beautiful to film and to the image. While scrolling on my computer screen, I see James Chaney's little card where I read: I am a professional boxer, I live in Bangkok, I also do a few stunts and the actor. I immediately sent him a message: "I'm coming to Thailand in 3 weeks, I'm looking for an actor for my film, let's make a Skype". When he asked me what it was about, I replied: "I don't know yet, I haven't written it down but I have 3 weeks to do it".
Didn't you worry about choosing an unknown, inexperienced actor?
TK: While talking to him at length on Skype, I thought he had a possible "face" for the film, with a certain sensitivity despite the visible blows. Although when I first met him, I found him a little harsh when he talks. At that moment, indeed, I was afraid that it would be complicated to take him where I wanted to go, to lead him... But, when I met him in this hotel in Bangkok, that I questioned him about defeat, about what he felt when he lost a fight, about his state of mind, I was quickly captivated by the way he was inhabited by boxing. He spoke intelligently about it and it became more interesting, it was spiritual at the limit of the mystical. And then I thought to myself, "Wow!I also asked him how it was going before a fight. He told me: "I stop thinking, my mind becomes empty". To concentrate for him is to remove all the words from his head and keep only images. The dialogues, the thoughts..., he extracts everything that can bother him. A bit like an animal, he doesn't think, he doesn't speak, he only has images left in his head. He seeks to regain a primal state, like a wild beast during a fight.It was taking a risk to choose him as an actor, the whole game is based on him... But it was a nice risk. As soon as I decided to give him this role, after all it was pretty fast. At the same time, it's a first film, which meant for me to confront a real exercise. It might have been too easy to hire an experienced actor. Being both a bit of a novice determined my choice.
How did you meet James Chaney?
TK: While thinking about the film to be made, I immediately focused on a portrait with a central character. I wanted to create a story about a person, a psychology, I thought that without it the film would not exist. I went on Facebook to look for an actor in Bangkok, already having a movie about boxing in mind. I really like the aesthetics of the movements, the speed, the rhythm of boxing, it's beautiful to film and to the image. While scrolling on my computer screen, I see James Chaney's little card where I read: I am a professional boxer, I live in Bangkok, I also do a few stunts and the actor. I immediately sent him a message: "I'm coming to Thailand in 3 weeks, I'm looking for an actor for my film, let's make a Skype". When he asked me what it was about, I replied: "I don't know yet, I haven't written it down but I have 3 weeks to do it".
Is your chief operator to some extent also a novice?
TK: Hunter Daly is 24 years old, he is a young English op' conductor already very talented, whom I had met in Paris. I liked his work, I really wanted to work with him. And above all, that he grew up in the business like me. I thought it might be an opportunity to propose him for the shooting of the commercial and to continue with him on my short film. I was also very interested in setting up a team where everyone could be involved in the creative process. I liked the idea of improvising. This film was made at the time, with a somewhat disjointed method, in a hurry... An hour before the shooting, I was still on the script writing.
Didn't you worry about choosing an unknown, inexperienced actor?
TK: While talking to him at length on Skype, I thought he had a possible "face" for the film, with a certain sensitivity despite the visible blows. Although when I first met him, I found him a little harsh when he talks. At that moment, indeed, I was afraid that it would be complicated to take him where I wanted to go, to lead him... But, when I met him in this hotel in Bangkok, that I questioned him about defeat, about what he felt when he lost a fight, about his state of mind, I was quickly captivated by the way he was inhabited by boxing. He spoke intelligently about it and it became more interesting, it was spiritual at the limit of the mystical. And then I thought to myself, "Wow!I also asked him how it was going before a fight. He told me: "I stop thinking, my mind becomes empty". To concentrate for him is to remove all the words from his head and keep only images. The dialogues, the thoughts..., he extracts everything that can bother him. A bit like an animal, he doesn't think, he doesn't speak, he only has images left in his head. He seeks to regain a primal state, like a wild beast during a fight.It was taking a risk to choose him as an actor, the whole game is based on him... But it was a nice risk. As soon as I decided to give him this role, after all it was pretty fast. At the same time, it's a first film, which meant for me to confront a real exercise. It might have been too easy to hire an experienced actor. Being both a bit of a novice determined my choice.
How was this film made ?
TK: First, I find the actor. Then, I decide to produce this film with the production company Fresh Film (based in London) which entrusted me with the production of the advertising film. So she very quickly gave me her agreement to accompany me and plan an extra day of shooting in Thailand. We both invested a little money, knowing that the production costs there are advantageous. The travel and accommodation expenses being already covered for the shooting of the ad', it was a perfect opportunity, otherwise I would never have been able to do it. The shooting was done in only 16 hours. It was a real tour de force, just like the post-production, a one-week marathon where I didn't get much sleep and prepared both films at the same time. I filmed the commercial first and the next day the short film. I must admit that everything was favourable to me, I was able to use the light provided for the commercial, some set elements, the camera, the low production costs... I also really liked this process, its urgency. I remember that when the main film was being prepared, we were going to have beers with the chief op' next to the hotel and we were still writing the script for the short film on the bar table. It was in a rather pathetic place but we were overexcited by the framework, the context, the situation itself that was before us. It also allowed us to imagine a rather funny construction (beer helping) but very improvised. And then as I went along, I started describing scenes, how it was going to happen, the preparation, the fight, the meditation...
Today, everyone is fascinated by winners, why did you focus on defeat instead ?
TK: When I met the actor James Chaney, I hadn't yet decided on that, but I thought loosing was interesting subject. Letting go, that very moment when you stop fighting. The film often plays on blur, I wanted the viewer to feel an uneasiness, a certain vertigo that symbolizes everything that happens mentally during this short moment when we realize that it's over, that it's lost. This moment when you know your opponent will win and it's irreversible. That's kind of the deep meaning of the film. When we lose, all the human side reappears, thoughts flow into a return to reality. We don't win all the time, we lose too. In general, we lose more than we win. What is beautiful in the film is to discover the other side of this man, this boxer with an imposing physique, an animal, that everything leads to gain. We discover in defeat, its weakness, a sensitivity, its humanity. He can lose.
