Interview with director Leonidas Dacul Stanescu
Leonidas Dacul Stanescu is an actor, screenwriter, filmmaker, score composer and director based in Singapore. He would say his passion for films was there since childhood when he was sneaking out to the cinema to watch movies.
He has submitted to AIMAFF noumerous times with different films claiming many awards and distinctions.
Can you tell us about your dark sci-fi cinematic universe ?
I've always been attracted to dark fantasy and sci-fi, so, when I started my endeavours in filmmaking of course this would be the genre I would be touching, mostly. But in time we learn that life is not always drama, or sci-fi...life is a mixture of feelings, situations and so should be films. With this in mind I added humour, without being a comedy, to my latest projects as well as I added dark supernatural elements to some of my comedies.
CONVERSATION ABOUT: Professor Gustav and Filmmaking Universe
Talk to us about your films ? How were they created ? Any inspirations ?
More than a filmmaker I would consider myself first an actor followed by being a writer which would lead to being a filmmaker, eventually. All started in the midst of the lack of acting opportunities. Being a non local ethnicity here, in Singapore, comes with pros and cons. One of the cons consists in substantially less roles for Caucasians. I used this disadvantage to turn it into a creative tool.I learned on the way about scriptwriting, film editing, green screen set preparations and lighting, filming and editing , music remixing and equipped with a phone as a camera and a tablet for editing i literally threw myself in. Operacion Banana, the Formula was born from the desire to have My Mother [Elena Stanescu], my Dad [Gerard], my good friends Benjamin and Gino and my wife Sarah in at least one project. I had to come up with a story which I wanted to shoot at my favorite spot, the seaside restaurant Banana Beach Club in Torremolinos, south of Spain, owned by Gino. So the story of a Romanian drug dealer, his brother Gustav, an eminent weird scientist, their mother, the "Madame" of a brothel, the "Japanese" bodyguard Bunji Gotoda, the crook cop Detective Bautista aka El Buti and Gino and his restaurant, was born.
Are you self taught at VFX ?
One hundred percent yes !
Could you introduce us to Prof.Gustav, one of your main characters ?
Prof Gustav is a character I've been working on for a long time. It all started with my desire to keep practicing acting.I started with short sketches between two simple characters, Manfred, a grumpy news reporter, and Raphael, a sassy gay-ish character. Soon I wanted more, so I gave Raphael a different look, deeper development and a new name: Prof Gustav is a quirky European scientist who found a virility formula based on alcoholic beverages mostly while working in an underground clandestine laboratory. The inspiration for this character came probably from the incredible Jerry Lewis mixed with the character of Doc portrayed by Christopher Lloyd. Prof Gustav is the Co-lead in the featurette film Operacion Banana, the Formula and in the short film Dawn of Spectral Darkness. He also has a cameo in Dawn of Spectral Darkness, Ghaar.
What is the target audience of your project ?
Operacion Banana contains heavy Spanish humor so it's basically targeted to Spanish adults. Dawn of Spectral Darkness instead has a more international appeal.
FUTURE WORK AND CLOSING LETTER
What is the message the audience should convey leaving the screening of your film ?
Life is a joke, don't take it too seriously.
Did you and your team face any difficulties while shooting your project ?
The only difficulty we faced was in post. We had many great footages with the scenery that was really hard to choose which one would made it to the final cut. Directing non experienced actors [my parents and my friends] was more fun than challenging. Perhaps for the fact that Ben was looking at the camera more often that I wanted
Any future projects incoming ? Along with personal aspirations.
This year [2022] was dedicated exclusively to script writing. Prof Gustav found his way to a feature screenplay titled Local-ized with Southeast Asia audience in mind, award winner in various competitions, including placement in WeScreenplay's Diverse voices. However, the big project I love very much is a trilogy I just wrapped writing: Vampeer Saga, a supernatural character driven thriller. I will take this moment to share with you the link to my website where all my work is posted
That was the interview with our beloved creator Leonidas Dacul Stanescu. Our community is rising everyday and new talented filmakers and screenwriters get onboard. Be sure to check the rest of our interviews and why not order one for yourself to promote your work. To order an interview simply submit on the INTERVIEW OF YOUR FILM category on our Filmfreeway page.
