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I live pretty typical Armenian-American life: Katherine Sarafian

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  • I live pretty typical Armenian-American life: Katherine Sarafian

    I live pretty typical Armenian-American life: Interview with producer
    Katherine Sarafian

    http://style.news.am/eng/news/3421/i-live-pretty-typical-armenian-american-life-interview-with-producer-katherine-sarafian.html
    MARCH 7, 20:04

    By Anna Ghazaryan

    This year `Brave' of Pixar Studios, produced by Katherine Sarafian,
    won Oscar for the Best Animated Feature Film. In an interview with
    NEWS.am STYLE Katherine Sarafian shared thoughts about her success,
    secrets of animation and her Armenian family.

    First of all congratulations on getting the Oscar award. You have
    worked on other famous Pixar films such as Toy Story, The Incredibles,
    Monsters,Inc. and others. Now it is Brave which won the prize that all
    filmmakers are dreaming about. What do you think is the secret of
    success? Is it about hard work or work is nothing without luck?

    It's such an honor to have Brave recognized by the Academy, the
    Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and so many of our industry
    guilds. But even more rewarding is that Brave has been embraced by
    audiences. We spent more than six years making this film, so having
    audiences around the world appreciate and enjoy the film is our
    greatest reward.

    Of course, the film required a tremendous amount of diligence,
    patience and hard work. Filmmaking is highly collaborative, and at
    Pixar, we feel successful when we work together toward the common goal
    of a great film. So I feel successful if the 250 artists and
    technicians working on the film had great relationships and made
    something exceptional that will stand the test of time. If we are
    working hard and staying passionate about our work and respectful of
    each other, then we succeed.

    Making an animation film is a tough process. You need much time and
    need to be patient. Does animation-making affect person's character?

    Animation requires a particular kind of patience and discipline. It
    is not for people who need to see quick results. Our work develops
    and evolves over many years, so it doesn't look beautiful until the
    very end. We have to truly trust the process, and trust the talents
    of our colleagues--we have to hold firm to the belief that everyone on
    the crew is invested in making the best film possible. That requires
    a level of trust and respect for others. People who cannot trust
    others or who cannot remain passionate and invested in an idea will
    not enjoy the animated filmmaking process. The animation artist's
    character is all about giving creativity the time and space to
    blossom--so that means time and patience and tolerance.

    In one of your interview you said that while working on the film, you
    understood that you had much in common with your father "who was not
    great at managing people.' You are a producer and managing others is
    one of the elements of your job. What do you think is the most
    difficult in your job? What person must do to manage people well?

    My father's strength was in understanding people and empathizing with
    them, and I find that animation filmmaking requires a lot of skill in
    that area. My father was a priest, and he valued presence and being
    trusted by the parish. As a manager, I've found that my father's
    values are so much more helpful and meaningful to maintain than simple
    management. So while managing is a huge part of the job, it's not
    what really matters at the end of the day. It's the people and how
    trusted and valued they feel, and how much they believe I have their
    back and will help them with the going gets tough.

    Brave tells a story of princess Merida who lives in Scottish kingdom.
    You recreated Scotland and the costumes of the Middle Ages in detail.
    Nowadays, producers of movies are not paying much attention to the
    details. Why do you think it happens?

    I think filmmakers do pay attention to details, but it varies among
    films. At Pixar, we believe that research is important, so we put a
    lot of thought and effort into getting the details right. We wanted to
    create a believable, authentic world, something that would be
    immersive for our audiences.

    It's easier to take short cuts when making films, but on Brave, we
    felt it was important to go deep into research, because we did not
    want to create a stereotypical Scotland. We wanted a film that would
    be a new classic and withstand the test of time. That meant it had to
    feel ageless, and we were not going to take short cuts. Every
    filmmaker is different, but the decisions made on Brave were all about
    what our story required: a believable, immersive, rugged Scottish
    world with rich characters and costumes. The land had to feel epic
    and adventurous for our adventure story; the forests had to be dark
    for the more intense moments in the story; and the landscape had to be
    lush and inviting so that we would understand why Merida craved her
    freedom, riding her horse through the Highlands.

    Armenians were very proud to hear that you are a producer of Oscar
    winning film. We would like to know have you ever thought about making
    an animation film based on Armenia's history or with Armenia's
    mountainous landscape.

    I adore Armenia's mountainous landscape, and I saw many areas of
    Scotland that made me think of Armenia. I even learned that Armenia
    has standing stones, ancient relics like those depicted in Brave! I
    can't comment on specific film ideas I've considered, but I can say
    that I've heard wonderful ideas from fellow artists and friends about
    animation and live-action films that could do great justice to our
    country. I hope that these projects move forward, though they all
    require financial and community support.

    You once said that your father was a priest in the Armenian church.
    Have you preserved any Armenian traditions in your family? Do you
    celebrate Armenian holidays or cook Armenian dishes?

    We live a pretty typical Armenian-American life; I, along with my
    husband and children, all full-Armenian, are active in our Bay Area
    Armenian community. And of course, we eat every bite of shish-kebab
    and pilaf we can! We celebrate Armenian holidays and attend the local
    Armenian church in which I was baptized, raised and married.

    NEWS.am STYLE

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