Antonia Schäfer discusses the visual approach and inspirations behind They Made You Into a Weapon and Told You to Find Peace, her NFTS graduate film. 

The 20-minute drama set in a dystopian orphanage, exploring the impact of the Lebensborn Program during WWII. 

British Cinematographer (BC): Please can you share an overview of your film?      

Antonia Schäfer (AS): They Made You Into a Weapon and Told You to Find Peace is a 20-minute drama inspired by historical events, particularly the Lebensborn Program, which took place during WWII. Set in a dystopian orphanage under a repressive regime, it follows 11-year-old Joshua, whose world—lit by UV lamps and governed by strict rules—is shaken when a new arrival, Ciela, challenges the fragile order.        

The children, stripped of their past identities, are trained to speak only in Esperanto, preparing them for adoption. Joshua stands out as a nonconformist, befriending Ciela and provoking jealousy from Pipró, the group’s leader. When Joshua refuses adoption to stay with Ciela, Pipró turns the others against them. As the pressure to conform intensifies, Joshua and Ciela must choose between submission or risking everything for their freedom.    

BC: What were your initial discussions about the visual approach for the film? What look and mood were you trying to achieve?      

AS: Director Roxana Stroe had already started writing the story before we collaborated on our first short film, “Cicada”. By the time she mentioned the idea to me in February 2024, she already had a clear vision, which included shooting the film in black-and-white. I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank Roxana from the bottom of my heart for her trust and our collaboration — I feel very lucky to have had the chance to work on such an artistic and meaningful film with her.        

Just weeks before she’d pitched her script, I had shot a black-and-white sequence for Huiju Park’s documentary “Rewinding Dominoes” on 16mm, which Roxana liked. With our reference films and archival photography in mind, we knew 16mm was the way to go. Our aim was to create a film that felt both historical and timeless. Though inspired by WWII-era children’s experiences, it was equally important to highlight that similar practices still exist today.        

Roxana and I worked closely together on developing the visual language. While reading the script and diving into it, we also looked at a lot of references and philosophized about metaphors and imagery. It was important to us that the film felt heavy overall, like there’s a weight on the children’s shoulders. That’s why we went for subtle, slow camera movements and avoided direct sunlight, using more muted light instead.      

BC: What were your creative references and inspirations? Which films, still photography or paintings were you influenced by?      

Roxana shared a series of still images, historic photographs, that influenced us throughout the filmmaking process—one, in particular, became our key reference: a historical photo from the Lebensborn program during WWII, showing children gathered around a “Vitamin D lamp” while a nurse placed goggles over their eyes.        

Beyond these stills, we drew inspiration from films like Schindler’s List and La Jetée, but our primary influences were The White Ribbon, Au Revoir les Enfants and the archival documentary Journey to the Sun.       

“The White Ribbon” shaped our approach to camera movement and creating tension, while “Journey to the Sun” and “Au Revoir les Enfants” guided our portrayal of children—especially in their interactions with adults and their forced maturity. Roxana was particularly keen on the contrast between the children’s youthful appearance and the weight of their dialogue.        

We were also deeply inspired by Journey to the Sun’s texture. Its use of Super 8 and 16mm created a grainy, timeless aesthetic, which we sought to weave into our own visual language.     

BC: What filming locations were used? Were any sets constructed? Did any of the locations present any challenges?      

AS: Due to the unique nature of the “Sun Lamp Room” and our need for creative freedom, we knew from the start it had to be built. Production designer Ewan Hendry did an amazing job bringing it to life and we worked closely together in choosing the wall colours and looking at their black-and-white translation. He also found the British Schools Museum in Hitchin, a fantastic location for us.     

Originally, the story was set entirely indoors, away from natural light. When we found the classroom, its authenticity was undeniable but blacking it out with our resources was a challenge. This sparked a key discussion on lighting, the “Sun Lamp’s” meaning, and whether the children should ever see daylight—conversations that deeply shaped both the visuals and the narrative.        

In the end, we embraced natural light but decided not to have any direct sunlight. Huge thanks to my lighting crew—Gaffer Ardi Sudyono and Sparks Zhanbo Yu, Max Goodkind, Jonze Wu, and Zoe Mara Dretar—who covered windows with diffusion gel while battling years of spiderwebs!      

BC: Can you explain your choice of camera and lenses and what made them suitable for this production and the look you were trying to achieve?   

AS: Reading the script, I knew we had to shoot this on 16mm, I couldn’t see the images without the feel of 16mm and its grain. Huge thanks to Sam Clark and the entire Kodak team for their support! Also, thank you to Dan Redrup and the Digital Orchard team for their backing and for doing a great job with the scanning. Film truly captures those historically inspired scenes beautifully, providing the visual depth and poetic touch that was already embedded in the script.      

Working with Oliver Stapleton’s Arriflex 416 was a real pleasure—thank you, Oliver! The 416 is such a versatile and solid camera, making it easy to work with. My fantastic ACs, Nat Rowbotham, Jemma Cox, James Kennedy, and Jim Wong, were all thrilled we got our hands on one. And a special thanks to Nat for keeping everything sharp!     

One Stop Films generously supplied us with the Cooke S4 lenses, which are, in my opinion, a perfect match for shooting on film. They create a sharp yet organic image! For the wider angles, we used the Arri Ultra 16s, also provided by One Stop.      

BC: What role did camera movement, composition and framing and colour play in the visual storytelling?      

AS: Creating the atmosphere and building the children’s world was a key focus for us. We never stopped discussing camera movement—it was crucial that every inch the camera moved had purpose. We used it to build tension as Joshua waits in the hallway and to add dynamism when introducing Ciela from a child’s perspective. Keeping the camera mostly still allowed us to be more experimental, making the chase scenes toward the end feel even more impactful. Shoutout to our Dolly Grip Daley Paterson!   

Framing is always very important to me, and I tend to be quite particular about it. It’s hard to describe because it’s more of a feeling than something you can calculate, but with this film, I feel my instinct for framing supported the story well. It was important to me to align with the children’s perspective, capturing both their strength and fragility.      

BC: What was your approach to lighting the film? Which was the most difficult scene to light?      

AS: When it came to lighting, avoiding direct sunlight was key, while still keeping the characters standing out within the frame. My friend and gaffer Ardi and I mainly focused on shaping the light, which is something I really enjoy doing. In addition, I used an orange-tinted Tiffen filter in the classroom — big thanks to Eren Ibrahim! — to mute the natural light coming from above without losing overall brightness.        

For the night interiors – thank you to MBS for supporting us with all the additional blacking-out equipment – we worked a lot with practicals, adjusting and extending them where needed. It was always important to me that every light had a clear motivation. Shooting on Double X stock made me extra careful with night scenes, realising how easily sheers and any other white textiles could become the brightest spot in the frame, especially without colour separation to help balance things.        

For the Sun Lamp Room we had a different approach. Inspired by our main reference of the “Lebensborn Program” and its use of ultraviolet radiation on children, I looked for a lamp that would cast distinct 360-degree shadows on the walls while still giving us enough exposure.     

I did tests where I played around with different blue filters and cool bulbs to give faces a slightly burned look. It didn’t fully come through in the final image, but it was a fun and worthwhile experiment.        

BC: What were you trying to achieve in the grade?      

AS: It was important to find the right balance between the black levels and highlights throughout the film. Fox Bamber Barron, our amazing colourist, and I tested different versions together with Roxana until we landed on the final look we were happy to release.         

Initially, we had the idea of overexposing the scenes at the end, when the kids are outside under the open sky for the first time. To make sure we had enough stops in reserve, I chose to shoot the final scene on 500T. However, during the grade, we decided to undo that choice — for the better.        

Fox would like to add: I often looked to La Jetée as a reference to remind myself how each frame needed to be singular—capturing the essence of a photograph while still serving the narrative flow of the film and contributing to a sense of time that feels both immediate and distant.      

BC: Which elements of the film were most challenging to shoot and how did you overcome those obstacles?       

AS: Choreographing our incredibly talented child actors with the camera in the dynamic scenes was definitely not an easy task. But Rox and I had amazing support from stunt coordinators Maisie Carter and Christos Dante. Rachel Wood and Murray Boden did a fantastic job on Steadicam, capturing all the key moments beautifully and ensuring the energy of the scenes came through.        

Another thing I love looking back on is the collaboration and communication within our production team. Working closely with producer Louis Jousselme, PM Nathan Hendren, and PC Ben Bogdan Hodgson, alongside Roxana, AD Dominic Crane and myself, meant we could tackle the usual madness of the last two weeks before the shoot quite well.      

BC: What was your proudest moment throughout the production process or which scene/shot are you most proud of?      

AS: There are so many moments in the film where we tried something new, not knowing for sure how it would go on the day or if it would end up being a massive time stealer. But we went for it, and we managed to bring almost all of our ideas to life—I’m really proud of that. I’m also quite proud of our time management on set, making our days despite all the craziness we had planned. Big shoutout to our AD, Dominic Crane, who was a master at creating a very tricky shooting schedule.        

Visually, I think there are a lot of poetic moments in the film, and it’s not often that you, as a DP, get to play around like that in a narrative project. I’m very grateful to have worked on this film with Roxana.      

BC: What lessons did you learn from this production you will take with you onto future productions?       

AS: The communication with the whole team was fantastic. We went for the craziest ideas and managed to achieve most of them. With Roxana it’s great fun discussing everything down to the tiniest detail until we find the right idea or the perfect solution—I absolutely love that. Working closely together, you can achieve so much, and it feels amazing! This is when filmmaking is the most fun, and I look forward to more moments and collaborations like these in the future.