On the Making of Breadmakers

An article from Short End Magazine.

In the parting shot of Yasmin Fedda's Breadmakers, a baker dances to the rhythm of his own quirky beat, a simple joy apparent in each of his movements. As the image lingers, the day in the life documentary study lives within a gorgeous subtly, observing in a quiet manner the lives of people born with learning difficulties. "I try to bring different worlds for people to watch, explore and think about," Fedda comments about her work.

Working on commission as part of the Scottish Documentary Institute's Bridging the Gap scheme--a program built to assist filmmakers in the creative transition from student to professional--Fedda teamed with producers Jim Hickey and Robin Mitchell to stitch the 10-minute short together. Responding to the commission theme 'white,' Fedda, also collaborating with sound designer Marcelo di Olivera, set her focus specifically on exploring white noise, as she puts it, that space "where creative and industrial sounds come together."

In this e-mail exchange, Fedda furthers the discussion about her approach to the gentle, humanist short.

SM: At Manchester University your master's degree work was in Visual Anthropology. The term is a new one for me, and I was hoping that you could define it. What makes that art format different than say straight documentary?

YF: Visual anthropology, in it's simplest terms (people define in in different ways, some more academically, such as the anthropology of visual media, to others more filmically) is using anthropological knowledge, research and ethics to inform filmaking. It doesn't really affect style, genre or visual approach but rather the approach to the content or subjects of your films. It is assumed you spend a lot of time with your 'subjects', getting to know them and them you. It is a loose term, generally meaning that the filmaker takes into consideration the point of view of their 'subject' as much as is possible to a wider audience.

SM: Breadmakers in particular is almost lovingly observational without living out the sentimentality of a thesis. It lacks a sense of manipulative judgement on a social topic that many people have preconceived and often erroneous notions about. How did you approach the topic in this way from a directorial standpoint? Additionally, how did you go about working with Vera Lettho from the perspective of crafting the cinematography?

YF: I had actually worked at the bakery as a relief staff member for about a year and got to know many of the people in the film in that time. When the opportunity to make this film came up, I really wanted to film the bakery and its rhythm. The film was commissioned as a short, and it was hard to incorporate much dialogue in that time (due to various issues of speech clarity) and I realised that what I found intriguing was the rhythm and the space itself and all the things that happen in it, from the mudane like the tea break to the funny and entertaining. I felt the bakery was a microcosm of the centre, and it reflected my expereince of working there as well, but I wanted to try and express this through the point of view of the bakery and its workers.

It was the first time I had worked with Veera Lehto on a film, but we have known each other for many years. I am a fan of her photography and cinematography because she frames shots in a way that you can see many subtle details through them, and I felt that this would work well in the bakery; for example in the closing scene, she filmed Thomas whistling and she framed the work table in the background, so we can see a show in the foreground, and people working and arguing in the back. She understood straight away what I found interesting and what we would be filming, and we spent a lot of time waiting for the unexpected, like the whistling shot, and she was happy to put in that time, so we could capture those kind of moments.

SM: What have you taken out of the short--whether that be a learning curve or even a small detail--that's surprised you?

YF: I learned a lot in the short and felt like I finally learned how to follow a story visually. After my last film, one judge at a competition said that there was too much talking, and so that stuck in my head until I made Breadmakers, and I feel like I finally understood what he meant.

I also learned that not having a voice-over can work and didn't take away from the subjects. I am happy that people have responded to it well and found some connection with the bakers. I have been surprised by the feedback from audiences about the bakery itself and how they are impressed by the work they do.