4th December 2015

Interview: Filmmaker extraordinaire Andy Dunn

Andy Dunn has been in the thick of British music TV for over 13 years, filming and directing projects that have taken him across the globe in pursuit of compelling stories and fascinating people. He’s made documentaries for BBC Four’s Britannia strand, short films for BBC Two’s Glastonbury coverage and was a regular director on flagship BBC arts series The Culture Show, producing specials on design, art history and popular culture.

He’s also the talented camera-wielding half of Zetteler & Dunn, our sister company that specialises in the creation of short, story-driven films for brands and people we love. We collared him for a quick chat about his current projects, future plans and what makes good documentary filmmaking. And, of course, he couldn’t say no…

Andy, what's your 2015 highlight?

Work-wise it would have to be shoots in Detroit and New York for the Art Show, a forthcoming arts series I've been directing some short features for. As much as America seems to embody a lot of what's wrong in the world these days – guns, racism, poverty, intolerance – I can't help but love being there.

In real life, there was a new baby, a new house, a new office and lots of new grey hair to celebrate.

Everyone is a 'filmmaker' nowadays, but in your eyes, what makes a really good film, long or short?

How very dare you! No, you're right, today everyone is or can be a photographer, filmmaker or journalist. I think what makes the best documentary film is always a combination of a compelling story, usually involving interesting human beings, presented in a lyrical, emotive style that elevates the film above the literal facts of the story.

Many short docs look beautiful but are, frankly, a bit dull and there are plenty of killer stories that aren't realised as well as they could be. If you get both, then you can have something people will urge their friends to watch.

What's your favourite piece of kit?

Ooh… If I had to choose it would be my Hasselblad 500C/M medium-format film camera as it gives me the most pleasure to shoot with. That's what I'd grab if I had a day off…whatever one of those is.

Tell us about your time with Harold Feinstein – why do you admire him so much?

I've been making a documentary about the life and work of Harold Feinstein for a couple of years now – very much a slow-burn, labour-of-love kind of thing. Harold was a New York street photographer who somehow fell off the radar after a brilliant early career. As a young lad he shot amazing photographs in Coney Island, where he was born, and went on to live a fascinating life, in photography, on his own terms. He was a very pure artist and a free spirit who believed in the joy and beauty of life. His work was rediscovered a few years ago by a Boston gallery owner and I started making the film with him shortly after. Sadly, he died this July aged 84.

My resolution for 2016 is to finish the film and get it out there so more people can learn about him and enjoy his work.

You recently made a film with Alex Booker, how did that go, what did you try and capture at the Booker Print House?

Yes, filming Alex and talking to him about what inspires him to spend all those hours in his studio scraping and gouging and printing away was a treat for me. Sometimes it's great to make a film that’s effectively in one room, with one character. The fact that this room has great natural light and Alex is a charming and disarmingly modest guy made it even easier.

His type of wood-block printing is such a beautiful process to observe, from initial sketching through to the physicality of the mark making and then the satisfying rolling of the vivid ink. The moment of truth when he peels the paper off the block was so exciting.

I have one of his shipwreck prints on the wall at home and it's been lovely to learn more about the kind of stories that fuel the scenes he prints. The images come alive when you can imagine those men risking their lives at sea, but who, like Alex, at the same time are thrilled by the adventure of it all and just wouldn't be happy behind a desk on dry land!

The last few months have seen you travel the world; are there any places or moments that have locked themselves in your mind – good or bad?

Filming the American artist Rashid Johnson building a temporary wall made of cinder block and Shea butter outside the Petit Palais in Paris was an amazing piece of performance art to witness. Of course, its layers of meaning referencing immigration, movement of people and current events all over the world became even more prescient a fortnight later with the terrorist attacks in Paris. So the memory of that is now both good and bad.

Sabine is your partner in crime at Zetteler & Dunn; why did you think working together on that business would be a good idea?

Zetteler & Dunn is a partnership that is truly authentic. When we work together on a film it always feels right; it actually doesn't feel like work. Our skills and experience complement each other very well and we do projects for the right reasons.

I don't know if I knew all that back when we first floated the idea of jacking in our sought-after day jobs, entering the freelance world and trying to work together as much as possible – but I had a hunch.

Sabine is one of the kindest, most honest people I've ever met with a huge appetite for art, culture and knowledge. An ideal business partner really, especially as I'm a cruel, deceitful slacker...

At least one of those things isn’t true… What are your plans for 2016?

2016 already looks to be as busy as ever. I'll be dragging myself kicking and screaming to Rio in January to make a film for the BBC, and then I'll be finishing the Harold Feinstein film, which is a Zetteler & Dunn production. And there lots more big and small projects in the pipeline…

Image captions:

Top Image: On set filming Harold Feinstein documentary Below 1. Filming where they shot Once Upon A Time in America...one of my fave films 2. Crew lunch at food truck in Detroit 3. Filming with Alex Booker 4. With Dave Grohl