'Hold On' Not Waving

Angelo Cerisara directs ‘Hold On’ for Not Waving, featuring Marie Davidson.

Words from Angelo below.

Angelo, could you talk about the ways you explored the key themes in ‘Not Waving’?

The theme is just one, and it’s the conflict between conscious friendship and unconscious love. A love triangle between teens not fully aware of themselves. When choosing between a solid friendship and an unpredictable crush, actions and decisions get stuck.

In the end, it’s an unpretentious coming-of-age film, driven by the lyrics of Marie Davidson and the music of Not Waving. It’s extra-simple, I did not want to overcomplicate stuff: there are kids following chickens and falling in love.

Can you tell us about your shooting approach?

The treatment was made by just those sentences:

“Girl is Guy’s boyfriend. Boy is Guy’s friend. Boy begins to fancy Girl. Boy still prefers the friendship of Guy instead of an unknown potential love. We feel the conflict between a solid friendship and an unpredictable crush through Boy’s eyes, who will never make a real choice. This is the core behind the film, then we can have fun…”

The most precious time was spent setting the three kids inside their roles. Eventually, when they became characters, we went around Ukrainian farmlands and events developed by themselves. I remember during the wrap drinks they were still inside their roles; there was no difference between set and real-life anymore.

The stills segment that closes is an interesting choice, what did this execution bring to the piece?

It limits the experience in time, grounding the film to realism. Now it’s finished, there’s no trip anymore: here are the polaroids. It’s a technique I’ve seen used by Andrey Zvyagintsev in ‘The Return’ – in that case, it added a nostalgic layer to his film.