Video Interview: Ariane Labed & Balthazar Lab – Olla (Short Film) | 2020 Sundance Film Festival

After a whirlwind fest tour that began back in Cannes in the Directors’ Fortnight section and ended just after Sundance with a showing at the prestigious Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, I got to sit down with filmmaker Ariane Labed and her Cinematographer Balthazar Lab to discuss her short film debut Olla —- the atypical heroes journey of a Russian mail-order bride who finds empowerment in small acts of defiance: from fellatio, to sandwich making and to applying a bit of make-up on someone who is also feeling trapped. Shot in 16mm, notions of objectification and ownership are intertwined while Labed lets ferment the comic and dreadful flowering process of her protagonist with repetition and a distinct roadmap. Here is my sitdown with the filmmaker in Park City.