Christina Rosendahl – The Rosendahl method

The Rosendahl method – a study of how artistic collaborations affect the development of films. The study will look at the relationship between 'open and closed spaces' in the brainstorming phase, the relationship between individual and collective idea generation, and how co-creation can work in a hierarchical system such as filmmaking.

Period: 1 March 2022 – 1 September 2023

On my latest feature films 'The Idealist' (2015) and 'The Good Traitor' (2020), I have developed a collaborative method for cinematic idea generation. The method is developed according to the Greenlandic coffee table ritual “kaffemik” and takes place in such a way that I ask my main artistic functions (photographer, production designer, sound designer, editor, and composer) a few concrete tasks/questions for the film I am working on. Their answers must have the character of specific examples (photograph, poem, song, painting, film scene, article, object), which are curated in the answer. After a preparation time of 2-3 days, everyone meets for coffee. Here, each person presents their answer for a total of 15 minutes. They must not talk about the ideas either before, during or after the presentation, which has the character of a tightly controlled ritual. After the last presentation, the meeting is adjourned.

The aim is to create as free a social situation as possible, where shyness is reduced, analysis and opinions banned, to give room for cheerfulness, enthusiasm, and a number of often surprising and radical cinematic ideas.

My method is inspired by John Cleese's speech 'On Creativity' (1991), which he describes as the alternation between 'open' and 'closed mode'. In the open space you generate ideas, in the closed one you edit them. The Rosendahl method is a staging of an open space.

I am concerned with creating a momentary democratic situation in a film development process that is hierarchical in nature. The Rosendahl method creates a feeling that: “We are making a film”, not “we are making the director's film.” This is remarkable because filmmaking has the director as the artistic focal point with the final cut. I am a big supporter of the director's “final cut” and of the hierarchical form of film production, but I also believe that I can further develop the method so that it can produce even stronger cinematic expressions/originality and create greater shared work satisfaction for those involved.