Olive is a new film from director Hooman Khalili. What’s special about this particular movie is that it was filmed entirely using a cellphone camera. Olive is the first feature-length film shot in this way. Not that you can tell from the footage released so far, quite frankly.
This isn’t an amateur affair by any means. It has a full cast and crew, stars the Academy Award-nominated Gena Rowlands, and has audio mixed by Skywalker Sound. But the method of shooting is something which could be done by anyone, as it uses a Nokia N8 smartphone. Albeit one with the aid of a 35mm lens adapter “in order to achieve a shallow depth of field.”
You can see a sneak peek of Olive and see Khalili discussing the filming techniques he used in a video on the Kickstarter page for the film. Although the film has been shot in its entirety, the makers are trying to raise $300,000 via the site to finance distribution across the U.S.
I really hope Olive succeeds. Not because of the film or the people involved, especially, but because of what it represents. Smartphone cameras are becoming sophisticated enough to mean anyone with an idea and an eye for visuals could become a filmmaker. And that is an effort we should all get behind.
