Director Chloe Okuno and DP Benjamin Kirk Nielsen, DFF on directing and shooting the film Watcher

Watcher is a psychological thriller about a young actress, Julia,
who has just moved to Romania from the U.S. with her boyfriend. A
serial killer is on the loose in the city, and Julia begins to feel
like she is being followed and watched from the apartment across
the street. She has trouble convincing her boyfriend and the police
that she's being stalked, and the film builds on her increasing
sense of dread. Director Chloe Okuno and DP Benjamin Kirk Nielsen
first met at American Film Institute, and collaborated on their
thesis film, a short horror movie called Slut. They both believe in
extensive organization, preparation, shotlisting and planning for
their projects. Chloe was hired to direct Watcher in 2017, and it
took some time to get the movie off the ground. They ended up
shooting in Romania during the summer of 2021 under strict COVID
protocols. Chloe liked that the script was a simple thriller that
could be told from one character's point of view. Chloe and
Benjamin looked at Rosemary's Baby, Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window,
and David Fincher films Seven and Gone Girl as references to impart
the sense of terror Julia feels. Benjamin wanted to find a simple,
straightforward way to portray Julia's isolation in a foreign city
as her fear escalates. He chose to start with longer camera focal
lengths and longer shots, then progressively move closer and closer
as the Watcher creeps closer and closer to Julia. Watcher premiered
at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and is currently playing in
theaters. https://www.watchermovie.com/ Chloe Okuno: Twitter
@cokuno_san Benjamin Kirk Nielsen: http://benjaminkirk.dk/
Instagram: @b_kirk Find out even more about this episode, with
extensive show notes and links: http://camnoir.com//ep172/
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