Olivia Neergaard-Holm graduated from the National Film School of Denmark in 2013. Neergaard-Holm has worked as an editor on various Danish and international feature films and documentaries, including “Bellum,” “Little Night Hunter,” “Escort,” “Boy,” “The 11th Hour,” and “Shelley.” She wrote the award-winning feature “Victoria,” as well as serving as its editor. “David Lynch The Art Life” is Neergaard-Holm’s directorial debut.
“David Lynch: The Art Life” premiered at the 2016 BFI London Film Festival on October 9. The film is co-directed by Jon Nguyen and Rick Barnes.
W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.
ONG: “David Lynch: The Art Life” is an intimate portrait of David Lynch’s childhood and early, formative years as a young man. It’s a viscerally personal memoir that uses his own narration, artwork, videos, and photos to shine a light on the experiences that helped shape him as an uncompromising artist and filmmaker.
W&H: What drew you to this story?
ONG: First, I was obviously intrigued by the idea of getting behind the enigma — to try and figure out if there were any keys to his creative genius. But, quite quickly, what really drew me to the process was the idea of humanizing him.
He is such a big icon, and known by everyone, but he is also often seen just through that lens. For instance, most people think David Lynch is a dark person because he makes dark films, and that couldn’t be further from the truth.
The challenge to convey his personality without explaining it, to show him as a family man and painter — rather than a famous filmmaker — that really made the project interesting to me. On a personal level, making a film about David Lynch became an exploration of my own creativity and path in life, as his story was very inspiring to me.
W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?
ONG: I hope they feel inspired by David Lynch’s struggles and experiences, and come to a better understanding of how our creativity is colored by our own past. I hope any creative person will feel inspired to be as uncompromising about their art as Lynch is. Most of all, I just hope they felt they were just in the world and mind of David Lynch and they got to know him a bit better.
W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?
ONG: We had over 30 hours of interviews with Lynch where he told us his early life story. There was so much gold in there that was a real torture to take out, but we had to make some tough editorial decisions.
W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.
ONG: It was partially crowdfunded and required the generosity of many people involved to complete the film. Without them, this film wouldn’t have been made.
W&H: What does it mean for you to have your film play at LFF?
ONG: It’s great to get the recognition for our hard work. There are a lot of David Lynch fans living in London, so it’s a privilege to be sharing these stories with them.
W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?
ONG: The best advice : Go for it!
The worst advice: Be careful.
W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?
ONG: I think it’s super difficult to give advice to other female directors in a general way, because, obviously, we are all different even though we are of the same gender. But! I always say throw yourself into deep water and get good at bullshitting.
I’ve often worked on projects where I really wondered, “How the hell can I be here? I’m not good enough, and they’ll all realize my inadequacy in a heartbeat.” But I just pushed all that aside and stayed focused and, in the end, I got through.
If you fail, you’ll just learn from it and get better. That’s what most guys I know in film are pretty good at. So, don’t listen to that tiny voice in your head. That’s all I can say.
W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.
ONG: I generally hate to single out one particular film as being [my] favorite or the best. All films work on different levels for me and there are so many amazing ones. I remember [my] first woman-directed film aha-experience was “Morvern Callar” by Lynne Ramsay and, since then, she has probably been my favorite female director.
What I love about her is that she has such an experimental, cool, and visceral style of filmmaking. She’s always pushing the limits with provocative themes and she’s not afraid of being a bit over the top. “We Need to Talk About Kevin” was with me for days. It was deeply fascinating and annoying to me at the same time: I loved it. I can’t wait for her next film!
W&H: Have you seen opportunities for women filmmakers increase over the last year due to the increased attention paid to the issue? If someone asked you what you thought needed to be done to get women more opportunities to direct, what would be your answer?
ONG: I do see that opportunities for women to direct have grown over the past decade, but it still seems like there are some huge mountains to climb. Commercial interest and potential is often linked to white male directors, who are seen as making films for both men and women, whereas women are mostly thought [of as just making] women’s films.
If you ask me what should be done, I’d have to say that I think something actually has to be done on the very basic levels of society, first. Give little girls a camera and teach them tech stuff instead of giving them Barbies and princess dresses. If there is gender inequality in the film business it’s because there’s gender inequality in society.
