It's like it's sitting inside and actually doesn't belong there. So I totally went with the flow and made it, but as soon as I got into the editing room, I realized, Oh my god, I've made a film inside another, like a Russian doll. I think it's partly because I was really enjoying it as a story in its own right, and the characters in it, and what it was doing. I don't know why I didn't fully sense that while I was writing it or while I was shooting it. They all made kind of sense in terms of the choices that somebody would make.īut this was like, just a totally different story. But what I also realized very quickly was that this story was completely a story apart.

He's going down all these neural pathways due to his neurological condition that allow him in a way to visit his parallel possible existences. “The Roads Not Taken” is about parallel roads, literally, the roads we don't take in life that we sometimes look back at and say, oh my god, if I'd stayed in that relationship, what would my life be now? Or if I'd emigrated at that point in my life, what would my life look like now? That was the state of mind that Leo (Javier Bardem) is in. I actually had a feeling even while I was shooting it, even while I was writing it. I'd love to hear sort of when in the editing process you realized this didn't fit into that film and how you decided to return back to your origins in short filmmaking? It was part of your feature film “The Roads Not Taken,” which was a very personal film for you. Your new short film “Look At Me” is about to have its North American premiere. Making its North American debut after its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival earlier this year, the short is as politically provocative and emotionally impactful as anything in her filmography.Īhead of the retrospective’s opening at the Metrograph this weekend, spoke to Potter over Zoom about her latest short film, the themes found in her filmography, and the importance of discipline.

As the short progresses, the true nature of their relationship is slowly revealed. Included in the retrospective are seven of her feature films, from her groundbreaking debut to a new 4K restoration of her breakthrough Oscar-nominated film “ Orlando” starring Tilda Swinton, but also more hard-to-find films like “ The Tango Lesson,” “Rage,” and “Yes.” Along with her feature films, the theater will be screening her early shorts in conjunction with her latest short film “Look At Me,” starring Javier Bardem and Chris Rock.Īlthough originally conceived as part of her most recent feature film “ The Roads Not Taken,” her latest short “Look At Me” features Bardem as a volatile rock n’ roll drummer in a battle of wills with the frustrated director of a fundraising gala (Rock). Opening this weekend at the Metrograph in New York City, Yes: The Films of Sally Potter offers audiences a rare opportunity to engage with the totality of her innovative body of work.

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