Nadia Bedzhanova, Director and Photographer
Interview by Jesy Odio
Portraits by Jorge Balarezo
Nadia feels like the world is finally on the same wavelength as her about hand washing. Her germophobia had already prepared her for this year’s new hygiene discipline. Her germophobia, hypochondria and OCD also prepared her to direct her directorial debut Beware of Dog.
The New York-based filmmaker, originally from Moscow, premiered her feature at Slamdance in January. Originally there was a festival circuit planned, but the COVID-19 pandemic prompted her team, like so many others, to proceed with a strictly online release. The story is cut into thirds, and bounces between three far-flung parts of the world: Moscow, Berlin and New York. Despite their physical distance, the characters come together in cyberspace, perfectly prefiguring our lockdown lifestyle.
Describe where you are and how you’ve been feeling.
I’m currently in my apartment in Brooklyn and I’m not going to lie—I feel good. I hear birds in the morning, and see stars at night. Since the artificially built world is on pause, nature gets a chance to breathe a little bit. There’s no overwhelming transportation or construction going on—the first time in history that New York is so quiet, you can hear your thoughts and reflect on current, ambiguous events. Such an intriguing time to experience.
I know that Beware of Dog is, in part, an exploration of your own hypochondria and OCD. How have those conditions influenced your quarantine experience?
Finally everyone learned how to wash their hands! I can’t be happier about it. Now we are learning how to behave in public and be honest in person. Feels like it can lead to something good. Being severely germophobic most of my life made me learn about these biological processes, and it’s still so amusing to remember that I always used to have a napkin in case I had to touch a doorknob or shake an unwanted hand. I also like winters because you get to cover your whole face. Germophobia actually caused my OCD — there were times that I could only think how the “bad” molecules could intermingle with my “good” ones, and it made me go off the deep end.
Nadia Bedzhanova, 2020. Beware of Dog.
Have you had a chance to do any writing or filmmaking since the COVID-19 shutdown?
Oh yeah, there is a lot of food for brains in the air. We reevaluate everything: our past, our plans, our life goals. We organically choose who and what is important to us. I’m working on a new screenplay, plus finishing up a photography project I started last year, called “Offline Life”. It feels timely, especially during this isolation period. Another milestone this year is my 10th anniversary of living in New York. So that triggers major existential thoughts that make me analyze our behavior, our perception and our reciprocity: who we are as individuals and how we try to build a society. Especially considering current events. So much food for the brain.
Text messages and social media play a big role in your feature. How did you land upon your unique style of depicting the online world in a cinematic way?
I was exploring this subject for quite a while in my previous works. In 2015, I made a video short for Dazed magazine, called Wasteland, about teenagers messaging in a group chat—how they are all bored together, but in Paris, New York and Moscow. Since then, I just loved juxtaposing digital and physical spaces—there are no borders online, so we’re all connected. And the theme of universality always inspired me, especially living in New York, the Mecca of cultural diversity.
Actually, now I’m more interested in interpretation of this non-verbal communication. What we text is what we think, isn’t it? But does the recipient get it? What if your phone died? What if you died and didn’t even finish watching those stories?
What was different about filming in Moscow, Berlin, and New York?
In Moscow, production expenses are lower due to the currency difference. Also, a rental house collaborated with us, giving us some equipment for free and some at a big discount. It was nice. Besides time, weather, currency and languages, the rest felt the same.
What have you learned about filmmaking now that you’ve wrapped your first feature? What would you do differently next time?
It’s hard. It sucks you up, it burns you out, and yet you love it and are proud of the accomplishment. The “idea” moves forward, always. Especially if you get recognition from one of the major film festivals (thanks Slamdance!) That festival had such good timing, by the way. It happened by the skin of its teeth. Next time will be different because the times will be different, and we’ll have to see what condition the film industry is in after a pandemic invasion.
Nadia Bedzhanova, 2020. Beware of Dog.
As with many features coming out this year, the release plan for Beware of Dog is probably in flux because of the pandemic. Did you have to cancel screenings? What else has changed?
We were supposed to screen in Arclight Hollywood at the end of March for the California premiere, and at a couple of other festivals in the US, France and China. Those all got cancelled, but to be honest, in this case, it’s for the better. The film is for its audience, first and foremost, and it’s so relevant right now, with all the germs, compulsive hand washing and paranoia about the world being on the verge of a war and nervous breakdown. The festivals would have postponed the access, and as we’ve all been learning nowadays, our time is precious. Let’s spend it consciously yet hedonistically with the ones we love.
Beware of Dog is now available to rent on Vimeo.
