Conversation
« Directing is like joining a religion.»
PostED ON 18.10.2025
Michael Mann gives his vision of cinema during his masterclass.
© Olivier Chassignole
FAUST, MURNAU AND THE FREEZING COLD!
My encounter with cinema dates back to 1963. I was studying literature at the University of Wisconsin and during a film history class, I attended a screening of Faust by Murnau. It was freezing cold, the sky opened up, a hand reached out to me and a voice said, ‘You will make films: you will be a director!’
MAI ‘68 VS SOUTH PARK
In 1965, I was studying film in London. It was an era disrupted by the Vietnam War, with May 1968 looming on the horizon which brought me to Paris. The protesters didn’t want to talk to the American media, but I managed to do so and was able to meet Alain Geismar, Daniel Cohn-Bendit and Alain Krivine, a fascinating man whose advice I certainly used when writing Ali. There are similarities between the late 1960s and our own turbulent time, but the difference is that in the United States, there's only South Park on TV that can offer any kind of resistance!
© Olivier Chassignole
FAUST, MURNAU AND THE FREEZING COLD!
My encounter with cinema dates back to 1963. I was studying literature at the University of Wisconsin and during a film history class, I attended a screening of Faust by Murnau. It was freezing cold, the sky opened up, a hand reached out to me and a voice said, ‘You will make films: you will be a director!’
MAI ‘68 VS SOUTH PARK
In 1965, I was studying film in London. It was an era disrupted by the Vietnam War, with May 1968 looming on the horizon which brought me to Paris. The protesters didn’t want to talk to the American media, but I managed to do so and was able to meet Alain Geismar, Daniel Cohn-Bendit and Alain Krivine, a fascinating man whose advice I certainly used when writing Ali. There are similarities between the late 1960s and our own turbulent time, but the difference is that in the United States, there's only South Park on TV that can offer any kind of resistance!
Reported by Carlos Gomez
