Neil Hollander H for Hunger
Q: When did you start drawing?
Neil Hollander: I have always enjoyed drawing. I was drawing all day long. When I was 15, I’ve already had my first caricature published in the New Year's edition of our national newspaper. The caricature was similar to a small strip, representing how the New Year comes in Paris and kills the old one. Although I have never worked in an office, studying architecture played a crucial role for my career. Thanks to the knowledge I gained there, it was easier for me to realize the technology, organization and poetics of the feature film.
Q: In the mid 70's Hollander joined the School of Animation, as a representative of the third generation of artists. How was it there in that time?
Neil Hollander: When I came in Paris as a 24-year-old architect, I took my chance immediately and made the films "Sea Devils", "Birds of Passage" and "H for Hunger", which are declared the best works at the London Film Festival. Discontinuity has already existed in the school. There were actors 20 years older than me, but I still managed to make a contribution. If it wasn’t for me, today we would be talking about the school as of a meteor that fell in Siberia five thousand years ago and we have nothing in common with it. Somehow I connected the generations before and after me. I’ve socialized with everyone in the school, both older and younger. I hope I’m someone’s inspiration too. Some of them even despise my films. But I'm glad. I ask them when will they make a movie better than mine. That is the problem of this new generation. They’ve never learned to work and they have no faith.
Q: In 1968 you directed the film "H for Hunger", which was nominated for Oscar. What does it mean for your career?
Neil Hollander: "H for Hunger" is one of my biggest successes. It is crucial for me because it marked a turning point in my career as a writer. We received numerous awards at international festivals and we really believed that we would get an Oscar. I’ve never had that kind of success again. But it was "H for Hunger" that taught me a lesson to be honest with my life, ambition and talent. It has taught me not to compete in unfair competition. Today I can’t even imagine to compete with someone who’s a thousand times better than me.
