Kosta Kalarytis began his career as a cartoonist and illustrator working for the Mail and Guardian during the late 90s. It was his lifelong passion for film that led to a stint in the animation and television industry, where he specialised in producing promos and movie trailers. He has since directed feature films and documentaries under his production company One Man Band, including Mules, a hard hitting exposé on drug mules in South Africa, and most recently the feature film Dora’s Peace.
WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND AND HOW HAS THIS SHAPED YOU AS A DIRECTOR?
I was very passionate about film from a young age so I was always looking for ways to get a foothold in the film industry. With the advent of new technology things changed dramatically and I saw an opportunity to make the leap from cartoons to animation. After a few years of doing animation I made the jump to editing where I specialised in producing promos and movie trailers for television. While working there, I met a fellow colleague, Andrew Herold, who harboured ambitions as a screenwriter. Due to our shared passion for film, we decided to develop our first feature film and after a few years of raising finance, I jumped into the deep end and directed my first feature film, The Company You Keep in 2003.
The film starred a few Hollywood actors as well as some locals and although it was set on the Texas Mexican border, it was shot in SA. Having no experience on set whatsoever it was a difficult shoot for me and let’s just say that I paid my school fees on that movie. It took me awhile to recover from that shoot and I spent many years editing other people’s feature films until I was ready to direct again.
That experience shaped me as a director because it made me become more focused and thus a more confident filmmaker. I realised that you need to prepare well and to oversee every aspect of the production but at the same time collaborate with other artists in order to get your vision across.I also have a strong visual sense due to my artistic background and being a film buff helps as it allows me to draw inspiration from other movies.
DESCRIBE THE MOMENT YOU DECIDED YOU WANTED TO BECOME A DIRECTOR?
At the age of about five years old, watching a Sergio Leone spaghetti western in a dingy cinema in Vanderbijlpark where I was born. Of course I didn’t know what a film director was at that time but the strong visual sense of Leone’s films together with Ennio Morricone’s soundtrack made a lasting impression on me.
WHERE DO YOU FIND INSPIRATION?
I’m inspired by other filmmakers including some of my all-time favourite directors like Leone, Peckinpah, Scorsese, the Coen brothers, Paul Thomas Anderson and most recently Nicolas Winding Refn.
DO YOU HAVE ANY MENTORS?
Yes, plenty. Leone, Peckinpah, Scorsese…LOL.
WHO IN THE INDUSTRY WOULD YOU REALLY LIKE TO WORK WITH?
I’m really looking forward to working with a multitude of local talent both in front and behind the camera, especially our actors who I don’t think are given enough credit.
WHAT ARE YOUR PERSONAL CAREER MILESTONES?
Growing up in a small town and finding work in Johannesburg at a young age as an illustrator and cartoonist was a career milestone for me. It gave me the confidence to pursue my creative goals, which finally resulted in a career in the film industry and the production of Dora’s Peace, a film that I’m immensely proud of.
WHICH PROJECTS ARE YOU CURRENTLY INVOLVED IN?
I have two completed screenplays that I’m developing together with my friend and screenwriter, Andrew Herold, who also wrote Dora’s Peace.
DO YOU PREFER FILMING OR ILLUSTRATING?
I enjoy illustrating and filming equally and because I storyboard a lot on my films it is part of the filmmaking process, so I have the best of both worlds.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FUNNIEST MOMENT ON SET?
Well I have a great sense of humour and it’s better to laugh than cry, especially on a film set when you’re supposed to lead by example. But if I had to choose the most recent one, it would be on the set of Dora’s Peace when one of the villains (who shall remain nameless) was chasing our heroine with a large gun when his pants fell off, but then he twisted his ankle and couldn’t walk anymore and we started losing the light and then it wasn’t so funny anymore.
IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY FILMMAKER SUPERPOWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
The ability to win the lotto every week so I can have funds to make countless movies until the day I die.
WHAT ARE YOUR LEAST FAVOURITE PARTS OF THE JOB?
Eating those awful assorted biscuits and drinking that terrible coffee every day when shooting. I heard they were drinking Chivas and eating Beluga caviar on the set of The Avengers, which was shot partly in Joburg the same time as Dora’s Peace, so until our actors start wearing spandex…
IF YOU COULD PRODUCE AN AFRICAN VERSION OF A HOLLYWOOD CLASSIC, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Taxi Driver. Imagine the chaos.
WHEN YOU’RE NOT BUSY DIRECTING HOW DO YOU SPEND YOUR DOWN TIME?
Well I was a bachelor for 45 years so it was always movies, movies, movies, until I recently married and had a kid so now it’s Teletubbies, Barney, dirty nappies and a few less movies.
WHAT OR WHERE IS YOUR HAPPY PLACE?
In the cinema and with my crazy, beautiful family.
