continnect July 2016 | Page 15
About Anka
WIDE ANGLE: WILD WOMEN GENTLE BEASTS
continnect: As a circus artist, the women in your docu- was like what you do if you have someone. But I don’t have
film are used to being around wild animals. But as a to wait if my son wants to follow my steps. So it was infilmmaker how was your experience?
teresting to capture the conflict between two generations.
The most complex relation was with Carmen Sanders, the
German woman. She doesn’t belong circus family. Her
Anka: My interest was really to focus on the women, but mother is a writer and we speak the same language. For
animals were also the main characters of the film. How- me she was really the key to enter into this world (of
ever I was not alone, I had a cameraman, a soundman. It is women animal tamers) It was a strong experience to be
not possible to work with these women, if we do not know with them and film them. But I am glad I was not attacked!
how they behave with the animals. These creatures are
used to loud noise, tapping or music and even to people in
While promoting her current film around the world, Anka
the circus, however but they are not used to be confronted
is also busy working on her next project – Haare Von Kopf
up close and we had to work very very close and this was
Bis Fuss (Hair Form Head to Toe). The idea for the film
risky. We had to study how they behave. We had to get
comes from Wild Women - Gentle Beasts she says “Having
close to the profession to understand it. I also wanted to
spent so much time with animals while working on this
present a close and intimate image to the public. So the
film, it struck me there is a little part of hair we all humans
women were with the microphone all the time. The sound
have. How is it seen in different cultures? I am looking
you hear in the film is always coming from inside the cage.
at the tender question- men and women why do we have
So it’s not like being in a circus. The camera was outside
different hair cuts? I will be acting in the film and the
but the sound came from inside the cage.
film will be told through my perspective of hair from my
childhood to now.”
About Anka
55 year old Anka Schmid is a Swiss filmmaker born
in Zurich. She attended the DFFB (Deutsche Film- und
Fernsehakademie) film school in Berlin. Anka has spent
over 30 years as a filmmaker and she enjoys telling stories through moving pictures and sounds. She also enjoys
knowing her subject and living their life before she begins
working on her film.
Anka with her crew ©ankaschmid
continnect: What was the connection you felt with these
women?
Anka: I was happy to work with each of the women I
filmed. Namayca, the French lady is exactly a month
younger than my son. For me it was like a mirror of the
young generation. At the same time, she is not like a
teenager, she is so responsible. She is not drinking or
just doing things that you see teenagers do. Then there
is Anosa, breaking all the barriers. She is opposite of a
©ankaschmid
woman from the Arabic cliché, - blond, sexy and independent. Her late grandmother was the first female lion tamer
in the Arab world, and she is still known and respected You can reach Anka here and you can know more about
today.
the film here. You can also reach Anka on facebook and
With the Russian women, the mother is my alter ego. It Twitter
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