interview

Rick Schmidt began working in film in 1970 when he was roommates with Wayne Wang (Smoke, Blue in the Face, Joy Luck Club). The pair co-directed their first feature, A Man, A Woman and A Killer in 1973. Later editing Wang's Chan is Missing, Schmidt continued to direct low and no-budget features. Low on cash, he decided to write 'Feature Filmmaking at Used Car Prices' which, suprisingly for him, became a best-selling film book. With 13 features under his belt as director/writer, and a relatively successful publishing career, Schmidt chose to delve into Dogme, initially to add a new chapter for the third edition of his book. And after months of emails and phone calls, Schmidt finally managed to etch his name in history with Dogme 10 - Chetzemoka's Curse (on which Rick was one of seven collaborators) - and only the second ever US Dogme film . For those of you to whom Dogme is either a bad Ben Afflick film or a way of making life really hard for yourself on set, we've reprinted the Vow Of Chastity. So why not go for it - dare ya! At the least it seems like a neat way of getting Lars Von Trier's autograph.

THE VOW OF CHASTITY
"I swear to submit to the following set of rules drawn up and confirmed by DOGME 95:
1. Shooting must be done on location. Props and sets must not be brought in (if a particular prop is necessary for the story, a location must be chosen where this prop is to be found).
2. The sound must never be produced apart from the images or vice versa. (Music must not be used unless it occurs where the scene is being shot).
3. The camera must be handheld. Any movement or immobility attainable in the hand is permitted. (The film must not take place where the camera is standing; shooting must take place where the film takes place).
4. The film must be in colour. Special lighting is not acceptable. (If there is too little light for exposure the scene must be cut or a single lamp be attached to the camera).
5. Optical work and filters are forbidden.
6. The film must not contain superficial action. (Murders, weapons, etc. must not occur.)
7. Temporal and geographical alienation are forbidden. (That is to say that the film takes place here and now.)
8. Genre movies are not acceptable.
9. The film format must be Academy 35 mm.
10. The director must not be credited. Furthermore I swear as a director to refrain from personal taste! I am no longer an artist. I swear to refrain from creating a "work", as I regard the instant as more important than the whole. My supreme goal is to force the truth out of my characters and settings. I swear to do so by all the means available and at the cost of any good taste and any aesthetic considerations.
Thus I make my VOW OF CHASTITY."
Copenhagen, Monday 13 March 1995
On behalf of DOGME 95