Moviegoing Memories is a series of short interviews with filmmakers about going to the movies. Yann Gonzalez's Knife + Heart is MUBI GO's Film of the Week of July 5, 2019.
NOTEBOOK: How would you describe your movie in the least amount of words?
YANN GONZALEZ: As a ghost train in a queer fun fair.
NOTEBOOK: Where and what is your favorite movie theatre?
GONZALEZ: It would be a tie between the Castro Theatre in San Francisco and the New Beverly in Los Angeles.
NOTEBOOK: Why are they your favorites?
GONZALEZ: I fell in love with the first one ten years ago when I saw the old organ coming down on stage with a musician playing some Nino Rota’s themes before a wonderful 35mm screening of Fellini’s Amarcord. And I cherish the second one for being so faithful to film and screening only 35mm prints. I’m so proud we were programmed there with our one and only print of Knife+Heart.
NOTEBOOK: What is the most memorable movie screening of your life?
GONZALEZ: That’s a tough one, but I would pick the Cannes screening of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me in 1992. I was 15 then and as a local teenage movie buff I was begging for some tickets with two friends of mine. We finally got some just a few minutes before the screening. It was such an epiphany for the three of us, we were huge fans of the TV show and the movie was beyond our wildest dreams.
NOTEBOOK: If you could choose one classic film to watch on the big screen, what would it be?
GONZALEZ: Le berceau de cristal by Philippe Garrel. A fascinating underground masterpiece with Garrel, Nico, Anita Pallenberg, Dominique Sanda and one the best soundtracks ever made (by Ash Ra Tempel). On 35mm of course!