- A call that had to be answered -

Born in 1974 in Amsterdam, Holland, and based in the UK since some time now, Christianne van Wijk, directed her first "movie" at the tender age of nine.

This first experience behind a camera would certainly mark her because, despite having appeared in numerous commercials and some TV series in her country of origin, and even after having initiated her drama studies and attended film school, the camera would return to claim her, this time not to let her go.

One of the most original new film directors of the current cinematographic scene, who isn't afraid to address, through her filmming, certain issues that not so long ago were taboo, is presenting today in this exclusive space, her first foray into direction with a full feature film: 'The Scandalous Four.

'The Scandalous Four' is a truly unique film, for the actors developed its entire dialogue. Amazingly so, one cannot really tell that this has been the case when watching it. And 'The Scandalous Four' is already calling a lot of interest from distributors, so obviously the formula is working commercially too.

Having co-founded the Art of Life Films production company with Madelon Veldhuizen (Producer of the Academy Award Nominated film 'Twin Sisters') there is no turning back now for Christianne, her path is clearly in direction and we are happy that she’s finally chosen that spot behind the camera.

Maybe she is not directing with so much innocence as when she was nine, but she certainly hasn't lost a bit of freshness.

It is a pleasure to interview her today and we are sure that she has a lot of good advice for those of you who are afraid to take the plunge and follow your dreams.

Do not miss the clip of the innovative and filled with life “The Scandalous Four” that we offer you above, either!

MDM: What other directors’ work, of all time, do you enjoy most?

CHRISTIANNE VAN WIJK: Ha ha, I am excited about answering this question because the timing is perfect. Over the past 6 months I have seen a small number of good films and ALL of them were directed by females!! There is artist Sam Taylor-Wood who directed her first film ‘Nowhere Boy’. The actors performances were literally perfect. This is from a combination of the talent and effort of the actors, yet also through the vision of the director and the way she has been able to convey her ideas to them. Other women like this are the humble yet inspired Jane Campion (Bright Star), Andrea Arnold (Fish Tank), Lone Scherfig (An Education) and Susanne Bier (After the Wedding). I don’t mean to sound sexist, but all these films are just so watchable and yin & yang.

MDM: There are many more male directors than female directors working in the film industry, why do you think this is?

CHRISTIANNE VAN WIJK: Well that used to be the case indeed, but that has really changed now. Female directors are everywhere and they are kicking ass. The film industry used to be a fairly inaccessible territory for women, but nowadays they are truly welcomed in the industry because it has been noticed that a lot of good films come out of their hands. I am aware that this may come across as sexist and in a way it is, but it’s just really noticeable.

MDM: What it is that you would like to achieve with your films?

CHRISTIANNE VAN WIJK: The true reason that I am a filmmaker is because I want to make a difference on our planet. In this lifetime I would like to give something back. Maybe in a past life I did a lot of damage, but I feel a strong inner desire to create entertainment that can invite people to think outside the matrix and to start questioning who they really are. My believe is that when we incarnate, our spirit inhabits the body and we journey through life in a spirited way.

Unfortunately when I look around me, I see a lot of people who are journeying in a sleep state. I want to nudge them and tickle them back to life through the productions that we make. That is why I am now in the editing stages of a documentary about 2012. A lot of people wonder what will happen in that year. In the film we interview different authors who are specialised in the subject and offer different viewpoints; all to tickle the viewer’s senses.

My aim is to generate enough money to continue making films that matter and outside of this, my ambition is to start a spiritual community which is completely self sufficient and ecological. Within this community we offer foster care for children.

I guess you could say I am slightly delusional: I want to start projects that are way too big and yet I see it as a fantastic playground and I dive into it 200%. Sometimes being a bit off the wall can really help you to make things happen. This is also how we managed to make the feature film ‘The Scandalous Four’. I mean, a period drama on a tiny tiny budget and as a first film?! 

MDM: How did you get the idea for “The Scandalous Four”, not just the idea for its plot with that unique twist, but the idea of leaving the dialogue development to the actors? Also, how was this experience for you, directing your first feature film?

CHRISTIANNE VAN WIJK: I have a very active dream life and almost all of my ideas come from there. The Scandalous Four was conjured up in a dream too. I woke up at 3am and quickly wrote down what I could remember. The next morning I wrote down all the scenes. I could see the whole film played out in my vision. From my experience as an actor I am aware of the power of improvisation and I really admire a filmmaker like Mike Leigh who will spend months with a group of actors. He will explain to them roughly where they are and what is happening with the character, but leaves it up to them to channel their dialogue. I decided to make ‘The Scandalous Four’ into a theatre play and cast the actors. As soon as we started rehearsing I felt so in my element. It felt so right. I really admired the actors and their ability to create these fictitious people. After about three months we all came to the conclusion that ‘The Scandalous Four’ should be a film and not a play. It is a shame that in the edit I have had to cut out a lot of good scenes because they weren’t adding to the story and the length of the feature was way too long.

As far as my experience of making this film goes: It was a little bit too challenging for me to be honest. I consider myself quite a nice person to hang out with, but believe you me; I wasn’t during the making of this film. The budget was so low, that everyone was forced to do more than was healthy. After a few weeks I had lost my centre and was operating on auto pilot. Not really the way I’d like to work in the future. I need a lot of time by myself to recharge my battery. During the shoot I didn’t have enough of those moments and it really affected me. It is a real shame and I have made some enemies along the way. But such is life. I’ve learned and next time I will do a better job.

MDM:Christianne, When and where will the general public be able to see the full movie?

CHRISTIANNE VAN WIJK: This is kind of up to the agent or distributor who takes on the movie. They will choose the best path of distribution. This may mean it will be shown in cinemas or that it will go to festivals and then to DVD or a combination of all this. We hope to have a finished version next month, so late 2010, early 2011 you’ve got to watch this space. Look out for the bonnets!

MDM: What other projects are you currently working on, or planning to work on?

CHRISTIANNE VAN WIJK: The next feature film I am doing is called ‘BUS 77’. 'Bus 77' is a spiritual conspiracy thriller about a London double decker bus that disappears for 2 weeks. When the bus and its passengers return nobody remembers where they have been. Apart from three passengers who have a clear memory of some very unusual events that might change planet Earth forever...That's all I can reveal.

I will be working with some very talented people in this project and we are in the process of choosing which actors we want to work with.

After ‘The Scandalous Four’ I was very tired and thought I would never have the energy to do another mammoth project like this. But a year on, I can’t wait to get started again!

MDM: Thank you again, Christianne, for being with us today. This team wishes you the very best with all your current and future projects.