Each younger individual has that longing to discover a that means in life. Numerous adults, additionally—if you turn into older, you’re so busy getting your day organized that you simply neglect to ask your self, “Why am I doing this?” I’ve had younger adults in earlier movies of mine as a result of I discover it attention-grabbing that second in life if you’re nonetheless open, if you’re nonetheless looking for your place. So, for me as a filmmaker, it’s an excellent alternative to query sure positions.
My movie doesn’t choose and say, “That is proper and that is flawed, and they’re the nice ones and they’re the dangerous ones.” That’s the bizarre factor about “Membership Zero”: It’s a must to select as an viewers what you consider it. And in some unspecified time in the future, the way in which these younger folks begin to imagine in Miss Novak and her concepts has quite a bit to do with their urge to alter [things], to essentially make a distinction—however that’s additionally threatening us older adults, as a result of we’ve got turn into used to our life. However the youthful folks nonetheless query it, and naturally it’s exaggerated [in the movie]—it’s a must to eat to reside—however what if these younger folks have determined that it’s extra essential to alter the world than to only reside? Perhaps they’re prepared to provide their lives. It’s not a movie about saying they don’t perceive that it’s a must to eat—that’s not the purpose. The purpose is possibly they do perceive that it’s threatening their lives, they usually nonetheless do it.
Your movies are sometimes known as “provocative.” Would you describe your self as a provocative individual if you had been younger? Had been you a troublemaker in school?
I used to be at all times questioning issues, however I wasn’t inflicting a number of hassle. I used to be an excellent pupil—I had superb grades, and I did every thing on time—however I questioned the academics, and this was, for a few of them, fairly annoying. [Laughs] I keep in mind that they requested my dad and mom to return to highschool, however they couldn’t complain about my grades, as a result of I had good grades—they complained about me asking infinite questions and questioning what they are saying on a regular basis.
That’s one thing that I nonetheless have that’s nonetheless annoying folks, however I’m questioning these issues that all of us assume [are] sure. It by no means satisfied me [that I should] settle for that this must be the reality—I at all times attempt to discover the opposite facet of it.
You might be usually put in the identical cinematic camp as button-pushing artists like Michael Haneke, Ulrich Seidl and Lars von Trier. Is that the place you set your self?
I’m certain that makes me a part of a bunch. However then again, I do assume that the feminine perspective that I’ve is one thing that I couldn’t discover in lots of male administrators that in any other case I’d admire. So I do really feel a bit bit extra associated to filmmakers like Maya Deren—she impressed me quite a bit, particularly once I was a younger pupil in movie faculty and we solely had been taught male administrators’ movies. They pretended that there have been no ladies! [Laughs] Later, I came upon that there have been ladies, after which I used to be actually shocked. I assumed, “I’m going to sue the movie academy as a result of they lied to us! This was not a part of the curriculum!”