Interview: "Draught" Writer/Director Artem Ukropov

ROFFEKE: Draught was such a fun film to watch. Was it fun to write and direct? What part of writing and/or directing it was difficult? Or was it all fun?

ARTEM: No. For a very long time we discussed every detail of the script, altered the characters' tones and motivations, prepped for the shoot. The hardest scene was the one with all the feathers, as you can imagine. But that scene was probably the most fun.

ROFFEKE: There was a bit of Twilight, American Beauty and Ghostbusters in Draught. Was that deliberate or accidental?

ARTEM: Deliberate. We wanted to stress and accentuate them in some scenes. And as you may have noticed we had quite a few genre cliches. They all play together and are part of our main character, she lives in a fantasy, she lives in her imagination.

ROFFEKE: Some conservative people may not approve of Draught. How do you balance creative freedom versus escaping from being banned by the authorities? What are your thoughts on censorship?

ARTEM: We just wanted to add a little bit of spice, provoke just a bit. But it's all within the limits of the law and there honestly isn't anything improper or obscene.

ROFFEKE: Advice for aspiring screenwriters? Advice for aspiring directors?

ARTEM: Who am I to give advice? For me, it was crucial to have a system, ideally on a spreadsheet based of research. That's how we worked. But that's all very subjective and closer to a craft rather than creativity. But I like that kind of touch and way of working.

ROFFEKE: Your favourite film by a female director?

ARTEM: Filth and Wisdom (Madonna)

DRAUGHT SYNOPSIS
"An imaginative girl begins to feel a draft. She tries to find and eliminate the source, which is preventing her from daydreaming about the handsome boy from a nearby window, but no matter what she does, the mysterious source continues to hide and play it's games."