Talking to... Benjamin Bucher

What does IDFA offer to a young filmmaker like yourself?

It is the largest documentary film festival with projects and speakers from all over the world. You get to see what is happening elsewhere and discover very different realities through other people's projects: urgent films shot in conflict zones with people who have taken great risks, but also more intimate projects about family and everyday life. This helps you to put your own project into perspective.

The special thing about IDFA's accompanying programs is that they focus on creative documentary filmmaking and very specific questions: how to film, how to talk to your protagonists, how to tell a story that you couldn't film. These are valuable considerations, because there aren't many resources that deal with such topics in depth.

What kind of stories do you want to tell in your films?

Until now, it has mainly been encounters that have resulted in stories. Perhaps it is a point of view that I try to find in these more or less realistic narratives. Pensioners chasing weather balloons, teenagers finding themselves by teasing each other, a dancer who becomes estranged from her mother without cutting off her relationship with her. I can't say exactly what these stories have in common, but my films are always characterized by a bittersweet mood.

How did you meet the protagonist of your film?

We lived in the same building and shared a kitchen. For a long time, we hardly ever crossed paths until the pandemic hit and we were forced to spend more time at home—in the kitchen. That's where we started talking, especially about what we were cooking—both of us following our mothers' recipes.

What has been the biggest challenge in making SWEET BELONGING happen so far?

The film isn't completed yet. So the biggest challenge is to finish the film!