So, just who is Sara Driver? She's a filmmaker who worked the New York scene, collaborating with Jim Jarmusch (producing "Stranger Than Paradise," working on "Permanent Vacation" and inspiring the story behind "Broken Flowers") and also made her own movies through the '80s and '90s. But as these stories sometimes go, while the indie movie world moved forward, she was left behind. However, a resurgence of appreciation for her contributions and her work have put her name back in the spotlight thanks to a recent retrospective at the Anthology Film Archives in New York City and new boxset of her films, and she's going to strike while the iron is hot.
Doing the interview rounds, she tells the Huffington Post that her next endeavor will find her working alongside some pretty big names. "[It's] a European production for children, a series of folk tales to be called 'Tales from the Hanging Head,' and directed by international directors. I'll be doing one; Marjane Satrapi, Emir Kusturica, Michel Gondry, and Alfonso Cuaron will direct others linked by the common thread of metamorphosis," she explained.
“They’re from different countries, and the stories are from different countries, and Marjane is going to tie it all together with her incredible animation,” Driver further elaborated to the Columbia Spectator. “The directors have to do every effect in camera or by light and shadow or in very tangible ways so that it brings magic to children. I also made all the fairy tales—I adapted them and brought them up to the present, so it’s also about bringing magic into the present day, for children and adults.”
The idea came to the director from Serbian folk tales that she then adapted herself, and it sounds like she's encouraging the filmmakers to really stretch their wings. No word yet on casting or when production might begin, but that's a pretty solid lineup of filmmakers and it sounds like some pretty inspired material. We'll be eager to see more, but until then, if you're in New York City the retrospective of Driver's work continues until April 1st.