ORCHESTRATOR OF STORMS: THE FANTASTIQUE WORLD OF JEAN ROLLIN follows the life and career of director Jean Rollin, who is considered one of the many genre directors out there painted with a misunderstood brush. Whether due to the time periods in which his films were released, the lower budget, or what have you, many have long dismissed his work as exploitative without actual analysis. Now, this documentary brings the director back to the forefront and highlights to viewers why we should take a look back and re-examine his work and the director as a person.

After the world premiere of ORCHESTRATOR OF STORMS: THE FANTASTIQUE WORLD OF JEAN ROLLIN, which we had the opportunity to review here, Nightmarish Conjurings’ Dolores Quintana chatted with directors Dima Ballin and Kat Ellinger about the film. Throughout the course of the discussion, they discussed how the decision came to focus on Rollin as the subject, what they learned about the director through their research, and what Rollin’s work means to both of them.

What made you decide to make a documentary on Jean Rollin? What was the genesis of the project?

Kat Ellinger: For most of my career as a film writer, I’ve championed Rollin’s work and I felt like it was about time that a film was made about him, his work, his childhood, the struggles he faced, much of which isn’t that well known. Even now, when his films are being seen more than ever before, there seems to be a misunderstanding about them, with many still writing him off as purely a low-grade exploitation director. I’ve worked with Arrow Video for several years now, doing various extras for their home video releases, the opportunity came up to pitch something for their streaming channel to accompany a season of his films, so it began there but quickly expanded beyond the original scope.

Were you fans of Rollin before making the film?

Dima Ballin: I was a Rollin fan before I saw any of his films. When I was a teenager, in the 80s, there was a film book called The Seal of Dracula, which introduced me and my friends to European fantastique and erotica. So my first experience with Rollin was seeing these salacious images in that book of nude women being whipped, with blood dripping down their breasts, etc. You might say it was a rite of passage. When I eventually saw his films on VHS, I couldn’t figure them out, at first. Then, when I saw The Iron Rose, I finally got it. Rollin’s films are meant to be experienced on a subconscious level, like the uncanny, or the fantastique. I feel I understand the film, but I couldn’t possibly explain it to you. For me, that’s the best kind of cinema.

Kat Ellinger: Absolutely, I adore Rollin. He’s one of my favourite filmmakers of all time.

When did you see what Jean Rollin was really like as a person? I get the idea from the film that he was both a childlike and gentle man who also had revolutionary ideas. What do you think? Would you say that was accurate?

Dima Ballin: I feel he was a real artist. He was childlike. He lived for and through his films and his obsessions. Interestingly, he wrote a large autobiography where all he talks about are his films. It’s as if he had no other life. He hardly if ever mentions his wife and kids. He does mention his mother because she had such a strong influence on his creativity. I think that speaks volumes.

Kat Ellinger: Yes, that’s totally accurate. I didn’t know an awful lot about him as a person outside of his films before we started, only through reports from friends who had corresponded with him or met him at festivals, and across the board, they all had amazing personal stories to tell about contact with him. When we started the preliminary research for the film I got in touch with Nigel Wingrove from Redemption Films, who was very helpful with our production and also generously gave me hours of personal stories. From this, it was clear that Jean really was a sweet and gentle person but like I said before, deeply misunderstood by wider audiences and the industry in general. He was a revolutionary in his own way. He was a pure artist, and had a very innocent way of looking at art, but he was also driven and determined as well.

I noticed that there really wasn’t any person in the documentary that had an unkind thing to say about Rollin. Was that true with everyone?

Dima Ballin: Everyone seemed to love Rollin. We didn’t hear a single unkind word spoken about him by anyone, especially the women he worked with. That’s very interesting if you consider that there is a myth that he exploited women. He didn’t. He loved women and felt comfortable in their company.

Kat Ellinger: Absolutely. Every single person we spoke to and there were many more than didn’t appear in the documentary loved him to bits. Not one single person had a bad word to say about him.

I noticed that his friends seemed to have a strong loyalty to him, especially the one friend who was with him when he passed. Was that true of most of the people he interacted with and worked with?

Dima Ballin: Rollin was said to be an “uniter.” He seemed to have created his own universe, full of all kinds of different people. I got the feeling that, when he died, those people felt like they lost a whole world, not just a friend.

Kat Ellinger: What Dima said, and also he kept those relationships going over decades as well. Almost everyone we spoke to say he would stay in touch, just call up, or write, see how people were doing. I think he really loved people and his friends, and the feeling was mutual.

What would you like viewers to take from the film?

Dima Ballin: I would have to defer to the viewers on this one.

Kat: I just hope it gives people an insight into his world, which is a world that’s not been that well documented in the past (not in the mainstream, most writing has been in really niche, cult circles for existing fans or at least those already into their journey with Eurocult). If it helps people understand him and his films a little bit better then it’s a job well done.

What does Rollin’s work mean to you?

Dima Ballin: Simply that he gives me a glimpse into a twilight world of the uncanny, that is impossible to describe in words, and is rarely experienced in life except through art.

Kat Ellinger: It’s a magical place where I love to spend time because it feels like home.

Do you have other projects that you are working on?

Dima Ballin: Not at the moment, but we are looking for our next inspiration. Thank you!

Kat Ellinger: I’m currently working on a couple of film-related books including one on The Hunger. Recently I started working with Radiance Films, a new label in the UK, producing and curating extras for their forthcoming releases.