Moziko Wind, The Rule of Law
Independent Film Quarterly caught up with Writer/Director/Editor Moziko Wind as he discussed his latest film, The Rule of Law, an action feature that focuses on a new age of terrorism in the United States. The film follows FBI Director, Frank Fitzgerald, who is helping an Iranian terrorist group frame innocent American citizens rendering them guilty for terrorist acts they did not commit. The seventh victim, Tom Cali, is on the run trying to prove his innocence. The Rule of Law makes its presence at the 2012 Marche du Film/Cannes, courtesy of ITN Distribution, Inc.
Independent Film Quarterly (IFQ): What do you feel is the biggest obstacle for an independent filmmaker?
Moziko Wind (MW): Beyond the obvious answer, which is money, I really think you have to be in love with what you do. Otherwise, you will not have any fun. Above all, you have to believe in what you do. None of the road bumps should discourage you from believing in your project.
IFQ: The film has a lot of stunts and explosions. What are some of the
disadvantages/advantages of shooting a film with a lot of stunts?
MW: The great benefit of having a lot of stunts is that you get to control reality. People on the street and customers in the restaurant make any scene seem more believable. You should never take stunts for granted; you have to give them motivation and direction to make the scene more believable.
IFQ: The film is reminiscent of kind of an old school action movie. What was
the inspiration for the film?
MW: The movie describes terror from the Middle East. This kind of terror is definitely old fashioned bombing and set ups. The sophistication is in the plan, but the action was supposed to be the old fashion way. The inspiration was from news reports and documentaries about real life terror attack events.
IFQ: What is the most dangerous thing that was shot for the film?
MW: I think overall, the entire movie was very dangerous since we worked with no permits. So that means driving the car and motorcycle on the freeway and such. One scenario that I felt was very scary was when we had five African Americans with machine guns that looked very real and it felt like we were going to get shot by the police. We explained that it was a movie, and the police officer explained to us that if we were shot, it would have been our fault.
IFQ: Where does the film fit in the action genre?
MW: Political action.
IFQ: What’s your next project after this?
MW: I have a few options, but one of them is about a woman that finds out about her husband having an affair with their nanny in the past. After a certain time, we discover that not only the husband but the wife had an affair with the same nanny.