Interview with Seth Ferranti

Larry Clark Is Still Making Movies About Young People Fucking

When Larry Clark’s first film Kids was released in 1995 it caused quite a ruckus. A brutal film about sex, drugs, and teen-dom, it pushed the boundaries of polite society. It simply couldn't be made today, something the director himself acknowledged at a 20th anniversary screening a few years back. Clark's films and photography have always made people feel uncomfortable. It's why now, two plus decades and several films into his career and counting, many remain so devoted to the auteur.

No matter how twisted, his bleak narratives and landscapes provide glimpses that are always very profound and impacting, portraying peak nihilistic angst. In his work, he illuminates a cold-but-human netherworld where kids run their own lives and revel in an orgy of one-upmanship, conquests, despair, and the grandeur of drug use. Often, he juxtaposes moral issues like rape and murder with how people react and adapt when they find themselves in these life changing situations. Continuing the trend is his newest film, Marfa Girl 2, his first sequel, which debuts on November 2. VICE talked to Clark by phone to find out why he thought it was important to make a second part to one of his least-known films, 2012's Marfa Girl, how he became a filmmaker, and if he had any idea Kids would blow up like it did. Here’s what he had to say.

Why was it important to you to do a sequel to Marfa Girl?
Well, the film ends and you have no idea what's going to happen to these people. If the girls are going to be pregnant, what's going to happen to the guy who shot the cop, all these questions. The film ends where you don't know what's going to happen to the people, so I wanted to make a film to show what may happen to them. That was the idea.

When you went into Marfa Girl, did you already have this plan for two films, or is it just something that happened with the way the original turned out?
It just happened because of the way the film turned out. I was writing Marfa Girl as I shot it. I would wake up at four in the morning and write, and we would shoot that day what I had written that morning. I was flying by the seat of my pants most of the time. Marfa Girl 2 is made up on the fly. I just started shooting and writing. For me it was really fun to fly by the seat of your pants and just make it up day by day, hour by hour.

View full article at vice.com