After delivering a pair of limited series for streaming, Nicolas Winding Refn is preparing to return to feature filmmaking. Refn said diverse He announced that he is preparing to shoot his next film in Tokyo. The project will be in both English and Japanese, and will mark his first feature film since 2016's “The Neon Demon.”
The New York-raised Danish director is at the Venice Film Festival with the premiere of his short film “Beauty is Not a Sin,” produced by Art + Vibes for Italian motorcycle company MV Agusta, as well as his 1996 debut “Pusher” in the Venice Classics section.
Although he claimed years ago that “cinema is dead,” Refn now finds returning to filmmaking in the current context an act of “defiance.”
“It’s a really interesting time to be making movies because it’s so chaotic,” he said. “So to go back and make a movie again is a lot like — not starting over — but with all the changes that have happened to our society in the last five years and the technological changes, it feels like the right thing to do to me.”
“The feature film is still the mother of all mediums,” he added, and he is keen to “re-experience that process.” His new film is financed and will shoot next year. It is based on an original story whose plot has yet to be revealed, but “it will have a lot of glamour, a lot of sex and a lot of violence,” Refn promised.
“I think it's hard for me to escape my identity of being immersed in creativity. So I will always remain in that creativity,” he said.
Refn also hinted that the film will bring back themes and characters from his recent films “Only God Forgives” and “The Neon Demon.” Both films were stylish and graphic, and made waves at the Cannes Film Festival where they competed in 2013 and 2016, respectively.
Refn is also working on two other projects, one of which is related to gaming. He said he is “very fascinated by what technology can do” and that it is “the only art form that continues to evolve with creative possibilities.”
“In a way,” Refn wondered, “if the Lumière brothers, when they invented film, had invented computer games first, what would the world have looked like?”
Speaking about the retrospective of “Pusher” and his short film “Beauty Is Not a Sin” in Venice, Refn said: “It’s a bit of a strange experience, to have your past suddenly appear in this way,” and said that each title symbolizes “[his] The future and [his] past.”
MV Agusta's “Beauty Is Not a Sin” is the first commercial to have its world premiere in the Official Selection at the Venice Film Festival, and Refn expects this ad to open the door to many opportunities.
“From now on, every commercial will try to get into Venice,” he said, adding that he was happy to help launch it because branded work represents “an opportunity for the future for filmmakers.”
Refn, who was given carte blanche to direct the short for MV Agusta and previously directed Prada's short “A Touch of Raw,” said he saw “no difference between making an eight-minute film and a traditional two-hour film.”
Refn also follows the US presidential election closely, calling it the greatest reality TV show in the world. “We’re just waiting for the season to end,” he joked.
“When all the politicians have ruined the world and created so many wars and inequalities that are destroying humanity, it is the job of the artist to come and try to make the world more bearable,” he added.
