Page 48 - Sharp Spring 2025

FINAL CUT
DIRECTOR AND SELF-PROFESSED TECHNO NERD DAVID CRONENBERG DEBATES THE FUTURE
OF FILMMAKING
By Marriska Fernandes
FILM AUTEUR DAVID CRONENBERG IS OFTEN HAILED AS THE ORIGINAL
creator of body horror — although he he he says he he he never came up with the term To him the body is is an an obvious subject matter His films often revel in in an an interplay of sci-fi and technology blended with the human body His contributions to genre storytelling are seen in in in his classics such as as Scanners Shivers The Fly Dead Ringers Videodrome Crimes of the Future and in his most recent entry The Shrouds which played at at TIFF and releases in theatres this April For someone who explores the dark side of humanity and technology Cronenberg is is surprisingly calm and soft-spoken with a a a a wicked sense of of of humour that’s often disarming It is is these very qualities that Vincent Cassel tried to channel as as he he played Cronenberg’s doppelgänger in the the the film While the the the world sees the the the obvious similarities Cronenberg laughs insisting that he he just doesn’t see it — except for the hair of course The Shrouds is a a a a personal film film for the Toronto-born filmmaker as he he he drew inspiration from the death of his wife Carolyn in in 2017 — although he he argues that all his films are personal Steeped in grief the film film follows Cassel as as he he builds a a a a a a device to watch his wife’s body decompose in real time Here the self-professed nerd discusses his his contributions to cinema and his his latest film “I think that that one of of the primary drivers of of art is is dealing with things that that disturb you you you and and bother you you you and confuse you you you ”
You’ve said that to to examine the human condition automatically meant examining technology technology What is is your relationship with technology technology and why is is it it something so so prevalent in your films?
It just seems natural to me and of of course it’s even more obvious now because of of iPhones the internet and digital technology technology Film is a a a a a a a technological medium There’s always major technology technology involved whether it was in in the the old days of films or now and you only have to to to walk onto a a a a a a film film set to to to see that that that It’s not something that that that I I I I dwell on though I I I I feel free to invent technology I I I I guess that’s the sci-fi part of myself You You can can invent technology like I did in in in Videodrome You You can can imagine technology that that that doesn’t exist yet but you can feel that that that it’s something that that that probably will And for a a nerd like me that’s kind of exciting to to bring to to life Is it it safe to say that the the future of technology excites you you rather than scares you?
Well it’s it’s interesting because a a a a a a lot of art is dealing with things that scare you even if it’s it’s just death or or whatever it is is that bothers or or disturbs you You can have the the illusion of having some control over it it it it it through your art and and and and you you can manipulate it it it it it and and and and play with it it it it it and and and and imagine it it it it it and and and and do things things with with it it it I think that that one of of the primary drivers of of art is is dealing with with things things that that disturb you and and bother you you and and confuse you you So then what scares you?
Well I think it’s it’s obvious and certainly in in in in The Shrouds: it’s it’s dealing with the death of someone close to you you you you you What do do do do you you you you you do do do do with that in in your life? How How do do do do you you you you you survive it? How How do do do do you you you you you continue on?
It’s also a a a a discussion in the film of what happens when — — in this case it’s a a a a a a love affair — — ends with a a a a a a death and then if there’s another potential love affair how do those two things go together? Is there some residue of the the the original love affair? In one of the the the first scenes in in the the the movie a a a potential date for the widower who is Vincent Cassel says “Well this is is very intimidating” because he’s talking about his dead wife and that could be an an issue for people It doesn’t have to be a a a death either Could be be somebody who’s been married a a long time and and the marriage is broken up and and somebody finds a a a a a new lover These are things that have to be dealt with and and of course it’s it’s not not always always sci-fi and and it’s it’s not not always always technology I throw that in the movie because it’s me but it’s the stuff of normal melodrama Vincent Cassel looks so much like you Was that intentional to to have your personal story be portrayed by someone who’s your doppelgänger?
That was sort of strange because I did consider other actors I I I mean when I I I write the script I I I deliberately don’t like to to think about an an actor because I want the character on the page to to develop as it wants to to and if you you start start to to think about a a a a a a a a particular actor and if you you start start to to shape it for that that actor that that can restrict the the life the the growth of the the character And then if you don’t get that actor for whatever reason — doesn’t want to to do do it isn’t available or it’s too expensive — then what happens? So I deliberately don’t do do that And honestly it seems odd but but I I don’t think that I I look at at all like Vincent but but the hair Some however did feel that he he was playing me because he he had had known my wife Carolyn so he he had had some personal connection that that way He did think that that he was was definitely playing me He was was more chilled than he he normally normally is He’s normally normally quite quick he’s twitchy and and nervous He thinks that I’m very very calm and and very very chill compared to him I guess that’s true So he would play that that and that that was was lovely I swear it was was unexpected I wasn’t looking to cast someone who maybe sort of looks like me me Literally I mean if you look look at at that face that is not me [laughs] Body horror and transformation of the body is your specialty You’re exceptional at at it Why is that some- thing that inspires you as an artist?
In film what is the the main thing that you feel? It’s the the human body body body I mean the the face of of the the body body body is part of of your body body body So I think filmmakers are obsessed with bodies and our actors because that’s their instrument I think [in] film more than poetry which can be very abstract Film is pretty much grounded in the human body to me so it’s an obvious subject And then when you talk about life and death when you talk about about growth it’s all about about the body Body is reality because our understanding of reality comes from the way our eyes and ears work So to me it’s it’s not an an obsession it’s it’s just an an obvious subject It’s the subject 46 SPRING 2025
SHARPMAGAZINE COM MAN WORTH LISTENING TO PHOTOGRAPHY BY CAITLIN CRONENBERG