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SXSW Interview: Naveen Singh, ‘27,000 Days’
Director: Naveen Singh
Film: “27,000 Days”
Category: Experimental Shorts
Sites: Official | SXSW
Screening: 5 p.m. Monday; 2 p.m. Friday, March 16; both at Dobie
Film synopsis from SXSW.com: A dying man confronts his estranged family and the remnants of his religion within the confines of his mind.
Is this your first time at SXSW? If not, what has your experience been like in previous years?
This is my first time here at SXSW. I’ve heard nothing but great things about the festival and needless to say, I’m very much looking forward to the experience.
What are your impressions of the festival compared to others of its kind around the country, and of Austin as a film town, in general?
My impressions have come both first hand from filmmaker friends who have attended, as well as through the press; Chris Gore’s book “The Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide” comes to mind as an example of the latter. I get the sense that the festival has a certain kind of energy around it that may not be as present (or is altogether nonexistent) at other festivals because SXSW celebrates not only film and music, but interactive media as well. To me, that creative triumvirate lends itself to a uniqueness that I feel is both cutting-edge and very relaxed at the same time. But perhaps that’s just my perception of Austin as a creative hotbed based on Richard Linklater films and the languid music of Stars of the Lid.
What do you hope to take away from your time at the festival?
Here’s my cheeseball answer: I just want to soak in the experience. That’s an awful cliché, but it’s true. I don’t know if I’ll ever have a chance to attend SXSW again (at least not as an invited filmmaker), so I want my initial experience here to be as memorable (and as low stress) as possible. In addition to the great film and music lineup, I’m looking forward to the seminars and panels, and, of course, there’ll be a lot of people to meet. I’m sure it’ll be chaotic — but of the good kind.
Why should audiences be excited to see your film?
I think “27,000 Days” gives people a different way to experience a story in a meaningful way, especially in the short form. I know there’s an audience out there for a film that merges influences as diverse as Stan Brakhage, Werner Herzog, Bruce Conner, George Lucas and countless others, and blends them into something that is at once fresh — and if I did my job right — emotional, too.
Are there any other films screening that you hope to see?
There’s a ton of ’em! In no particular order: “The Lookout”, “638 Ways to Kill Castro”, “Smiley Face”, “Confessions of a Superhero”, “The King of Kong”, “All the Boys Love Mandy Lane”, whatever little tidbit of info I can get about “Grindhouse” … there are several other movies, but I don’t think it’s feasible to write them all down … Oh, I’m also excited to check out what Deco Dawson has cooked up for us in the Experimental Shorts section.
Any restaurants, parties, tourist locations you want to get to while in town? If you live in Austin, where do you suggest out-of-towners visit while in town?
Hoo boy. That’s a tough question. I’m open to suggestions. I guess my modest sightseeing goals are to catch a movie in the famed Alamo Drafthouse.
When you think of Texas and the movies, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
Here’s a random assortment of things (only some of which might be related to Texas and/or the movies): I think of Terrence Malick writing “Badlands” in some cloistered room (even though the movie takes place in the Dakotas); Richard Linklater in “Slacker;” people with chainsaws; Spielberg’s forgotten classic “The Sugarland Express”; I think of Westerns, Dubya, NASA’s mission control, and the old-school Houston Rockets team with Hakeem “the Dream” Olajuwon schoolin’ Shaq and the Orlando Magic in the 1995 NBA Finals. There’s always more, but it’s getting late …
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