Click here to listen to the interview.
When I spoke via Zoom with cinematographer Jackie Fang on July 12, 2024, I joked that I had never been more aware of the lighting in my home (and on me). I may live in a world where a lamp is there to keep me from bumping into the furniture after dark, but the world Fang created in the short film, MINISTRY OF LONELINESS, is far more deliberate. It’s the first thing I asked her about when discussing a film that posits the eponymous public service, and the people who populate the help line that it provides. I was particularly interested in finding out how a cinematographer conveys not just a sense of isolation, but also darkness.
We went on to talk about re-teaming with director Randa Ali; the mentors she’s had along the way, being a woman in the film business in general; and as a cinematographer in particular; and standing up for herself no matter what.
We finished up with why sound matters; why arriving in this country at age 18 was a collaboration with her parents; embracing experimental film; and how she composes her own home.
MINISTRY OF LONELINESS screens at the LA Shorts Film Festival on July 26, 2024.
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