Interview with Michael Lavine (The Wanderer)

Joshua Polanski talks to the acclaimed portrait photographer and director; they discuss the fear of dying, death as a release of pain, filming with an Alexa Mini, in 2k and out-of-focus, electric rock chords, working with Cat Power, and much more

This director, writer and producer is best remembered for the iconic portraits of music legends such as Kurt Cobain, the Notoroious B.I.G and Cher. He has published two photo books: Noise from the Underground (with pictures from 100 bands), and GRUNGE (black-and-white images of the Seattle punk scene in the 1980s).

On the filmmaking side, he has directed six short films. His latest creation The Wanderer, a visually impressive short film about death and the afterlife, premiered at the Sydney Film Festival. Michael is also working on a series called The Dark Odyssey.

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Joshua Polanski – Please tell us about the genesis of The Wanderer.

Michael Lavine – What happened was, I was at Filmquest a few years ago with my short film The Dark Odyssey [2021] and I met a couple of actors at a bar. I was fascinated by their banter and I thought I’d like to make a movie with them. So I started looking for an idea. What can I do? I applied the micro-budget theory of use what you have. I had access to a beautiful field, an auditorium and a cool car, so from there I started to piece together the concept of The Wanderer.

JP – You said that in a non-religious household and wanted to imagine your own version of the afterlife with the film. One of the aspects I see at the centre of this is a rejection of the fear of death and that some things still are scarier than death. What fears do you see as motivating The Wanderer?

ML – So, you’re not scared of dying? I sure am. Every day you live is one step closer to death. But on the other hand, once you’re dead, you have nothing left to worry about. The notion of suffering is a human condition and Morana is the embodiment of suffering, trapped in immortal pain. A classic gothic sentiment. We spend our whole lives attempting to avoid suffering, so fear of suffering seems like a pretty clear motivation. Morana offers Hopper a moral dilemma. Hopper has to decide if he is willing to kill to live. So if death is a release from pain, then immortality is a curse.

JP – Was it always conceived in black and white?

ML – Actually, no...

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