Nico Love* just completed his graduating film “In Threes” in the Tisch BFA Directing Program and his work is getting recognition on the international festival circuit. The film has been nominated for Best Student Film at the Berlin Indie Film Festival and has won the Gold Award for Best Experimental Film, Best Student Film, and the Silver Award for Best Student Director at the Independent Shorts Awards for the month of June. Chris Korte had the opportunity to talk to him about his work.
Chris Korte: Nico, first of all congratulations on this amazing achievement. Can you tell us a bit about your film – giving us both a synopsis and describing the formal qualities?
Nico Love: I left the story very ambiguous, inviting spectators to create their own interpretations by giving them minimal information. I shot the film on three cameras simultaneously. Each camera was aimed in a slightly different position so that when the three shots were synced together in post-production it created a panoramic triptych. Small lines divide each frame from the next, creating subtle borders to play with themes of disconnect and miscommunication on a visual scale. You rarely ever see two characters sharing the same space in the same camera, representing how the characters in the film are all feeling the disconnect from each other.
Many people that I’ve had in my life, including myself at times, create vast amounts of space between themselves and others, leaving conversations on a plane of superficiality
“In Threes” tells the parallel stories of Isaac and Margaret. Both are loners caught in a dilemma of ongoing miscommunication with the same antagonist, Judas. Their interactions with Judas operate on uneven social planes due to the masculine gender norms he plays into.
That was an important aspect I wanted to focus on: The walls that masculinity constructs to shut off intimacy. I’ve observed so many people that leave conversations on a plane of superficiality. The plane of superficiality becomes deception. The more we as individuals build walls to defer our authentic emotions, the more apparent it becomes that the words we chose not to say are the ones that require a spotlight– caught between the cracks of our sentences.
This is what “In Threes” is about; the words that the characters don’t say become the most meaningful lines of dialogue because they deceive the people in their environment into thinking that their problems are benign. This deception leads to internal isolation, each character forcefully retreats into themselves. By nature, we see the lengths of these thought patterns create tension. In response, Isaac and Margaret purge their emotional frustrations, leaving Judas to deal with the aftermath on two separate occasions. Their reactions are volcanic, a hollow emptiness that can only be filled with an explosion of geological repression.
One of the many beautiful things that I found when spending time in Berlin was how the social scenes I interacted with broke these walls.
Chris: Yes! I really felt that “tectonic” unspoken intensity throughout the film! And the scenes of “eruption” (without spoiling it for our readers!) were a release for the audience as well. What was the inspiration behind the film? You made the film after returning from your semester abroad in Berlin. Is there any connection?
Nico: The film is in many ways a direct response to a younger version of myself and how men I’ve seen in America express themselves. Emotions end up being put on the backburner and later diverted in destructive directions.
One of the many beautiful things that I found when spending time in Berlin was how the social scenes I interacted with broke these walls. Through my classes at NYU Berlin, I learned about the historical significance of clubs in the city and also got to experience them for myself. I believe that the club scene in Berlin is so popular because it allows individuals to transcend their problems and release. Clubbing becomes therapeutic in that way for many people and I also found it for myself. These are spaces where people can learn how to channel an explosion into something less destructive–a positive form of catharsis.
The film that inspired me the most for this project was Western (2017) by Valeska Grisebach. That film has become one of my favorite films of all time because of the way that Grisebach has the characters play with deception. Masculinity is explored throughout the film, focusing on the ritualistic traditions associated with it. Throughout the film, men try to “outman” each other, establishing power dynamics and emotional boundaries. The entire film feels like a long-lasting gun standoff between everyone involved. The tension keeps rising, forcing the audience to expect the film to reach a climax until the credits roll. The “gunshot” is never seen or heard. It’s genius. So many themes and techniques that Grisebach plays with in Western inspired me to make In Threes. This film was a driving force that led me to want to write the script and shoot the project.
The city gives me time to soak in new information and experiences that I can translate into new visual media.
Chris: In this case, I think it would be really interesting to screen your film as a double bill with Grisebach’s Western at some point. On another note, do you have a theory about why your film is resonating so much? We screened it here at NYU Berlin in July and the response was uniformly positive. The audience loved it and it provoked a really thoughtful and stimulating conversation after the screening. Why do you think this is?
Nico: I’m trying to tell myself that the reason is because a lot of the scenes are left open-ended, allowing the viewer to fill the gaps in the story and come to their own conclusions. During the conversation that we had after the screening, I heard so many different interpretations of little moments in the film that had never crossed my mind. I also think that this film is a bit of a COVID piece. The film focuses so much on isolation and how characters are forced to be alone due to their environment. I think that because we’ve all experienced quarantining for days on end we can all relate to isolation and how we can go crazy because of it.
I remember stopping dead on the dance floor and having the realization that I was going to do this.
Chris: The audience was particularly interested in how you made the film. Could you share a bit of the behind-the-scenes with us? What was the process like? How did you make the film?
Nico: I actually came up with the original idea during my semester abroad at NYU Berlin. I was actually dancing in a club with my friends when the idea of shooting a film on three cameras at once hit me. I remember stopping dead on the dance floor and having the realization that I was going to do this. I then started thinking about the technical difficulties of creating such a project and decided to keep on dancing and deal with it later.
“Dealing with it later” was a long process. I allowed myself to take my time with it because I had a few months before I had to pitch the idea to my Advanced Experimental Production course back in New York. I wrote the script throughout my time in Berlin and into the spring. I wrote the whole script with a friend’s apartment in mind as the setting, using the apartment space with the positioning of the windows, furniture, and doorways as key points to drive the plot forward.
When I arrived back in New York, I ran into a lot of complications. The NYU production safety team refused to let me use my friend’s apartment because the shoot would involve the crew accessing the fire escape (illegal). I had to settle for another friend’s apartment in deep Brooklyn, a street level apartment with a different setup. It called for rewriting some of the scenes and how these characters interacted with the space.
My crew consisted of 8 really close friends of mine. I chose to only work with close friends because it takes the stress off of the project and allows for clear, easy communication with everyone on the team. It made for the shoot to be really easygoing, efficient, and super fun. I was basically hanging out with my friends everyday while also shooting this film.
Everyone on set felt like they were part of a hive mind working toward the same goal.
I’m really proud of what the team accomplished. Everyone on set felt like they were part of a hive mind working toward the same goal. We went overtime on set for a few days but no one cared because we were all so focused on getting the job done.
I can’t thank you enough for all of the inspiration from the “Female Voices in German Cinema” course I took at NYU Berlin and I also owe a lot of thanks to my Advanced Experimental Production professor, Darrell Wilson, as well. He introduced me to the world of experimental diptych and triptych films, allowing me to do research on what has and has not already been done. He really helped out with my process in the editing room as well. Every week I came to class with a different cut of the film asking for his advice. He helped polish it into the final product.
While New York is a nice city to visit, Berlin is the ideal city to live in,
Chris: I’m thrilled to hear you felt so supported by faculty! Another question for you: What is inspiring to you about Berlin? You did your senior fall semester here and you are currently back again for the summer. Is this city fertile creative terrain for you? What is it about the city you love and how are you spending your time?
Nico: While New York is a nice city to visit, Berlin is the ideal city to live in. There is a perfect balance between city and nature with the surplus of parks and lakes to escape to. There are spaces for every possible subculture which speaks to how open-minded individuals here are. So many different walks of life come to Berlin to make a life for themselves and with them, fresh and diverse perspectives come to the city.
I have a network of friends here that come from all over the world. We’ve all attached a sense of sanctity to this place because it allowed us to be healthier versions of ourselves. It also is a great place to observe and listen. I learn so much from hearing others’ experiences and it helps me be able to create. The pace of life is completely different in Berlin.
The city gives me time to soak in new information and experiences that I can translate into new visual media. When I was here in the fall semester, I got my schedule down to a science where I would be diligent with my coursework during the week and experience the city on a different level on the weekend. I think that I need a schedule which allows me to learn, create, observe, and play. I found all aspects of this during my semester here and it changed how I paced my life when returning to New York.
I think that I need a schedule which allows me to learn, create, observe, and play.
Since returning to the city, I’ve been trying to live with this schedule again. I’ve been visiting a lot of museums and galleries this time around with my favorite visits so far being the Berlinische Galerie to see Julius von Bismarck’s exhibit, as well as the Khroma New Media Art Center that focuses on interactive light and video installations. I’ve also been trying to check off visiting all of the parks. There are so many and they are so large that going to Treptower or Tempelhofer Feld become whole day events.
During the weekends, I’ve been dancing away at clubs and getting to see my friends perform their own DJ sets. Since making a group of friends who live in Berlin, it’s been great to see my network of people expand and meet people who are veterans of the legendary techno scene. It makes me appreciate the culture a lot more by understanding how these people function in the city full time. Seeing the behind-the-scenes of the clubs is like understanding how a magician pulls off a magic trick. It’s really fascinating to see what it is like for DJs and well-connected clubbers socializing in the backrooms of these spaces.
The art communities that I have delved into have welcomed me with much more open arms and care less about the publicity of it all as long as the art prompts critical thinking.
Chris: Wow! What an education! This is precisely what experiential learning is supposed to provide: an opportunity to learn in an embodied, hands on way! Final question, Nico: As an artist and director, where do you hope to go next? Does Berlin fit into your future plans?
Nico: I just signed a lease for an apartment back in New York so I will be living there for at least another year. However, I do plan (hopefully in the near future) to make the leap and move to Berlin. There is so much that I’ve learned from being in this city and I feel that there is still so much for me to learn from it. The films that the above-mentioned Berlin School directors are producing here really align with my own goals as a filmmaker. If I can properly enter that space and meet more creatives that are focusing on the same formal qualities it would be really inspiring for me.
The art scene in Berlin is also much more thought-provoking. Artists here are constantly looking to create revolutionary forms of media that inspire other artists in kind. While I agree that there are people doing this in New York, there also seems to be a stronger sense of the artworld being capitalist-driven there. New York art gallery openings can become like frat parties. People end up asking each other “Who do you know here?” It’s like a social-climbing convention decorated with film photography to validate the legitimacy of the event through Instagram posts. I haven’t experienced that in Berlin.
I need a balance between nature and city with Berlin executing this perfectly.
The art communities that I have delved into have welcomed me with much more open arms and care less about the publicity of it all as long as the art prompts critical thinking. Also unlike New York, I need a balance between nature and city with Berlin executing this perfectly. This is one of the reasons why I know that Berlin is where I ultimately want to be.
I’m going back to New York in 6 days. I am sad about my departure from Berlin but I know that I’ll be back. I have a few freelance shoots lined up that I am excited to start working on. I’m in the process of writing a new script as well. I won’t say much now, but I do plan on using two of the same cameras and making a panoramic diptych similar to what I did with In Threes. Maybe I’ll call this one In Twos (haha). I’m planning on having this one be much more conversationally-driven as it is partially inspired by Richard Linklater’s Waking Life (2001).
Yet, I will still be working with the main themes of the Berlin School and trying to intertwine these ideas together. If I end up shooting this short film down the line, I’ll still be focusing on other freelance projects in the meantime to help finance my work. Thank you so much for allowing me to talk about my film and my time here in Berlin.
Chris: Vielen Dank, Nico, for taking the time to speak with me! It’s been such a pleasure and so illuminating to hear your thoughts on your film and on the city. Please keep NYU Berlin posted about In Threes as I know it’s currently up for several more awards. Also, please let us know when you are back in Berlin so we can organize another screening. Until then, I wish you the very best of luck!
*Nico Love is an NYU Film & Television freshly-graduated creative. Born and raised in South Boston, Nico moved to NYC to pursue his passion for cinematography and directing at NYU, Nico strives to translate his personal experiences into new unique ways of non-traditional storytelling.
Simultaneously, he also uses his art to create new worlds and vibrant voices for other companies. Making sure he does not compromise his artistic integrity, Nico tries a balance between work and practicing his own artistic voice mainly through short films and animations.
Contact: nl1869@nyu.edu