When did your interest in filmmaking start and what were you doing before you became a filmmaker?
As an actor I have always been interested in what happened after you finishing shooting. When I was at drama school I set up a short film company with a few of my pals in order to try different roles in the industry. We would work on a script and film it over a weekend. The films were terrible as none of us had a clue how to step into roles on the other side of the camera but the experience was life changing and made me want to create more of my own work. The cross over of skill sets can only be a good thing as all experiences influence each other and therefor helps develop your craft from all sides.
What made you want to apply for Sharp Shorts?
I am super passionate about writing for screen and performing in my own work. However I had only written for theatre and really needed the guidance and lessons in order for me to develop skills for screenwriting. Short sharps offers that support in bucket loads. The amount I have learned from the team and workshops they provide though the program have been crucial in my development as an artist.
Tell us a bit about your Sharp Shorts-supported film.
Soul is a coming of age story rooted in the electric sub culture of Northern Soul. We had the most amazing time shooting the film. Community and opportunity was the beating heart of the story but also the way we wanted to shoot therefor we had members of our crew step into their first ever roles on set. I know how important it is to give people their first experience working on a job and wanted to create a supportive environment for others to learn and flourish. We shot in the town I grew up in which created an amazing buzz for the local community and had Northern Soul dancers from all around the country join us. Between takes we were spinning records and dancing. One of the dancers expressed, “this has been the best day of my life” which was so moving for me to hear. It was important to involve the community and people who gave me my identity through the soul scene and let them be apart of the film. I am so excited to share it with them.
What did you learn through taking part in Sharp Shorts? How was your experience working with the Short Circuit team?
The team are truly incredible. They made me feel so supported at every step of the development journey. The workshops have really been incredible and I have learnt a lot not only about being a filmmaker but also it has influenced the way I work as an actor.
What was your creative process? How did you get ready to make your film?
I had 3 different creative processes for Soul as I had 3 different roles on the film. Writing, acting and then directing. It was a huge amount of responsibility but I was ready for it due to the preparation and hard work I had dedicated to making sure the shoot would run smooth. Flipping between being in a scene on camera and then jumping off camera to re direct it was an amazing experience but it would not have been successful without a patient and supportive cast and crew. Picking the right team is essential to the shoot being a success, especially if you are juggling multiple roles.
Why do you feel stories like this are important?
Community, identity, sub culture and representing working class stories are all things I feel hugely passionate about putting on screen. The experience I had with my debut play Moorcroft was a majority working class audience who had never been to the theatre before, seeing themselves represented onstage and therefore feeling a sense of pride and importance. Everyone should be able to see their stories in the spotlight or on the big screen and feel that same sense of importance. Where I grew up feels like it is far from a film set but I wanted to turn it into one. The character and stories these places hold are unmatched. As I grow and work through my career, I really plan on continuing to champion the stories, people and places I grew up and make them feel they are worth being the main part. Northern soul has been there for me my whole life. Through the highs and lows. That dance floor has seen tears of happiness, sadness, grief, heartbreak, falling in love. You name it, those floorboards have felt it. The community in the soul scene is just incredible. People from all different life experiences coming together and letting loose on the floor. The fashion, music, scooters, tattoos and more are a total way of life for so many people. I have met some of the most interesting, kind, funny people at soul dances. Capturing the feeling this community creates and showcasing that on screen has been a dream come true. This is my love letter to the people and scene that has given me so much.
What are you hoping for audiences to get out of your film?
To want to get up and dance. To hug your family and friends that wee bit tighter and to remember how important your sense of self is. No matter what life throws at you or where you go in this world, you never forget where you come from and the people who helped you along the way.
What was the greatest hurdle you encountered whilst shooting, can you tell us how you overcame that?
Music! We have been on a wild journey to find the final dance track for our film. Northern Soul records are rare and in order to use them in a film we were looking at a huge amount of money which on a small budget was totally unachievable. We found really creative ways around this by looking at up and coming artists and bands within the scene and through this created amazing relationships with musicians who were excited about the idea of having their track feature in the film.
What piece of advice would you give to someone looking to apply for Sharp Shorts?
Give your heart and soul to your application. Your passion for the story you want to tell is essential in making your application stand out. The first draft of my script was miles and miles of a shooting draft but the whole point of the program is to learn and develop so don’t think you have to have everything totally worked out and perfect. Your ideas will change and grow as you learn and that is a magical thing. Embrace others ideas and also hold your vision as an artists. Those tow things work hand in hand. Good luck and as we say in the soul scene, keep the faith. Now go make some cool art!
Photo credit: Conor De Ath
When did your interest in filmmaking start and what were you doing before you became a filmmaker?
I remember when I was 7 or 8 years old, me, my sister and my cousin would run around with the family camera and make films and sketches, so I guess filmmaking has been a passion of mine as far back as I remember. But as an adult, filmmaking has always been important to me in expressing myself and my views on the world around me. It is a tool for my curiosity but also for connection to and with other people. I am constantly developing my relationship with film itself not just as a creative tool, but always trying to push the boundaries of how much more ethical, intersectional and political it can become behind and in front of the camera.
What made you want to apply for Sharp Shorts?
Since moving to Scotland, applying to Sharp Shorts has been something I kept looking forward to doing every year. Dreaming of the specific film you want to apply with is always an open road with endless possibilities that always filled me with excitement and imagination. When I thought of the idea of The Key which was in my mind for the last couple of years, a film that felt very personal and urgent in its subject matter, it made me very excited and passionate at the prospect of making it come to life and specifically through the Sharp Shorts scheme, the most exciting opportunity of making short films in Scotland. Their track record of supporting exciting and diverse stories from Scotland, made me feel confident that a story about a Palestinian-Scottish family would be embraced.
Tell us a bit about your Sharp Shorts-supported film.
My Sharp Shorts film is called The Key and it’s my first commissioned short film. It has been a passion project of mine the last 3 years and has been inspired by my Palestinian grandparents from my mother’s side. The Key is a magical realism film that explores personal and collective grief through the main character of Linda, a Scottish-Palestinian woman who, when returning to her late and estranged father’s house, discovers that her younger self has appeared in order to guide her back to her childhood memories.
What did you learn through taking part in Sharp Shorts? How was your experience working with the Short Circuit team?
Even though I am still in the process of concluding the film, I keep feeling that I am constantly learning tremendously every single day by working with everyone around me from every single person in the crew to the team in Short Circuit. Both Iria and Miriam, as the Short Circuit Talent Executives have been extremely supportive of my vision, have shared a lot of their time discussing the film from draft one of the script to this post-production stage and also have given me extremely valuable insight on storytelling in general. Also, both Rachel and Balenji have been extremely friendly faces to have around Short Circuit and always have been very supportive around anything logistical and have provided support by organising great masterclasses and exciting in person events.
What was your creative process? How did you get ready to make your film?
As the film came from a very personal place, the initial core of the process has been an emotional one but throughout each stage of writing the script and working with all the crew during pre-production, shooting and post production, I always try to get input from everyone involved in order to make the film a product of each single person of the team. In this specific case, as a process, I am trying to always re-work the film based on the material, the environment and the moment in we live in. I think only then, a film can feel fresh in its execution.
Why do you feel stories like this are important?
I feel stories like The Key expand the conversation on how diverse Scottish and British identity can be on screen. Having written a Scottish Palestinian story inspired by my own Palestinian grandparents, I want to question the specific idea of home, either as an immigrant myself here in Scotland or for people fleeing war and conflict as my grandparents did. I also felt I wanted to explore an issue as widely known and politicised as the apartheid of the Palestinian territories and the mass displacement of Palestinian people as well as their communities in the diaspora, through the most intimate lens of connecting with your own childhood self through grief and understanding. If one person in the audience feels seen while watching the film that otherwise wouldn’t, I will be extremely happy.
What are you hoping for audiences to get out of your film?
This is always a tough question to answer as I am always open to each person’s interpretation of the film and I feel it is the only part of the film process you as a director actually can’t have control on, which I try to embrace as much as possible.
What was the greatest hurdle you encountered whilst shooting, can you tell us how you overcame that?
The biggest hurdle I encountered was the pressure of time during shooting which never feels like it’s enough. I do believe that this specific restriction has been extremely beneficial to the creative process but that specific moment when you are choosing which shots you need to keep and which you need to discard and edit the whole film in your mind in the span of 5 minutes with just an hour till the last shooting day ends, can be quite a stressful but still an exhilarating experience.
What piece of advice would you give to someone looking to apply for Sharp Shorts?
What I would recommend to anyone applying is to think of a story that nobody else could direct other than you. Something that feels extremely personal but not necessarily autobiographical. A story that feels urgent to share with everyone, a story that creates the feeling in your gut that keeps you awake at night and won’t let you go till the story gets seen on the big screen. I would also recommend everyone to think of something ambitious in its ideation but grounded in its creative approach, something the reflects the world we live in or a specific pocket of that world, something political but still emotional, personal but universal.
The Key was funded and supported by our Sharp Shorts scheme, which is open for applications until Monday 29th May 2023. Find out more and apply now.
Photo credit: Robert Pereira Hind and Simone Pereira Hind
When did your interest in filmmaking start and what were you doing before you became a filmmaker?
ALI TAYLOR: I’ve always wanted to write for film and TV but I’d no idea how to get into it. I got a job as a copywriter in advertising and worked in that industry for years and years becoming creative director but still I wanted to make the move to drama. I found out about BBC Writersroom and got a few radio drama commissions, then did the MA in TV Fiction Writing at GCU when our youngest started school. I also got on BBC Scottish Voices, the Young Film Foundation and the inaugural Writers’ Lab UK & Ireland. All of this was life-changing.
MICHAEL LEE RICHARDSON: A lot of people talk about wanting to be a writer since they could hold a pen, but that’s not my story. I actually didn’t write my first script til I was 25 – I sort of knew, theoretically, that people wrote for film and TV, but it had never really occurred to me that it was something I could do, something for someone like me. I was the same with directing, I think I thought you had to go to Director School or get knighted by another, more experienced director or something, and that’s just not been my experience at all. Before filmmaking I did all sorts of things, and I was a youth worker for ten years, which definitely came in handy working on Just Jackie!
What made you want to apply for Sharp Shorts?
ALI TAYLOR: Since my MATV and getting an agent, I’m building TV credits and seeing stuff get to screen which is fantastic. Developing your own work in TV can take a long time. What I thought was wonderful about Sharp Shorts is that it was the chance to write something original, showcasing your own voice, and have it produced within a year with their help and support. I’d seen other Sharp Shorts and been really impressed so decided to go for it.
MICHAEL LEE RICHARDSON: I don’t think I would have applied if it wasn’t for Ali! When she sent me the idea, I fell in love with it – it’s such a sweet story, and I could see so much of myself in it, I just really, really wanted to direct it! I had worked with Short Circuit before on my first feature script, A Good Spell, which shares a lot of themes with Just Jackie, and they’ve been so supportive, I felt like I’d be in safe hands with my first film of this scale and scope (and budget!).
Tell us a bit about your Sharp Shorts-supported film.
ALI TAYLOR: Just Jackie is about a plus sized, nine year old boy who likes sweeties and dressing up in his mum’s clothes and will do anything to get closer to the girl-next-door. Even, to his health-conscious mum’s surprise, ask for a trampoline. A lot of it was inspired from seeing how my kids and their neighbourhood friends were able to find ways to interact over lockdown, when they couldn’t even play in each other’s gardens. I really wanted to write about a friendship forming over a fence.
JAMES HEATH & REECE CARGAN (Producers): We were struck by Just Jackie from the first read. Ali has written a beautifully warm uplifting script, that still manages to challenge and address a serious subject. Many shorts tackling potentially difficult subjects choose to go down the serious dramatic route – however, most of us can agree events of the last few years have left us tired of heavy stories with limited optimism! Ali’s script takes a story that could be about body dysmorphia and gender identity in young children and makes it this feel-good uplifting story about body positivity – yet still addresses the challenges facing young people, particularly in an image driven social media society.
What did you learn through taking part in Sharp Shorts? How was your experience working with the Short Circuit team?
ALI TAYLOR: Michael Lee Richardson was always my dream director for this. I knew Michael would bring so much heart and vision to this. We entered without producers because, basically, we pulled it all together a night or two before the deadline for the application (not recommended). Michael has worked with the producer Reece Cargan before and I had worked with James Heath, so we all teamed up and it was an incredible, collaborative process. The Short Circuit team were really great. I found the notes on my script made it stronger at each stage. We were also assigned a Script Consultant, Theresa Boden, who gave great advice.
What was your creative process? How did you get ready to make your film?
ALI TAYLOR: I wrote the first draft really quickly and shared it with the team. Then they, Short Circuit and the script consultant gave notes at each stage. I am so appreciative of all their feedback. It was a wonderful progression.
MICHAEL LEE RICHARDSON: Ali’s writing is so rich and evocative, she’s really great at giving you a lot of a character in a really short space of time, and as soon as I read the script I knew where I wanted to take it, into this very 90s bubblegum world with this candy colour palette. I pulled together a couple of reference documents, just photos of stuff that felt like it was in the world of the film, which more or less amounted to a list of films I like and things I thought were cool when I was a kid (The Florida Project, Welcome to the Dollhouse, Eighth Grade; scrunchies, the Pink Power Ranger, inflatable furniture). I loved working with our costume designer Cara and our set designer Gail to bring the world to life. I also made storyboards, and worked on a shot list with Steve Cardno, our DoP. We did quite a few recces just to see the space and figure out how we’d work in it – we actually filmed it in Ali’s house, and she was such a great host! We even did a shot by shot storyboard with Ali’s daughter, Florence, which was really useful to see how the film would look – and really helped me to see things we could cut when, for example, it started absolutely chucking it down during our last two hours on set!
Why do you feel stories like this are important?
ALI TAYLOR: I was really struck by how big a deal the Heartstopper series was to kids – the chance to see a rarely shown, younger skewed queer romance. How powerful it is for young people to see someone like they are on screen. I’d been writing a bit for Children’s TV and am struck that there is still a lack of diversity. I wanted to write a queer film that was joyous and not rooted in trauma and I also really wanted it to be about body positivity and just basically being your beautiful self and accepting of others.
MICHAEL LEE RICHARDSON: I’ve worked with LGBTQ+ children and young people for over a decade now. There’s a huge, often toxic, ongoing debate about trans and gender non-conforming children at the moment, especially in the UK. I was over the moon when Ali sent me the outline for Just Jackie, this sweet and simple story about acceptance and belonging, which centres Jackie’s Jackieness, and highlights the importance of friendship, and the fact that kids so often get this better than adults. It feels like it brings so much light to a subject that’s often all heat. I saw a lot of myself in the story, too – I was definitely that kid singing into my toothbrush in front of the mirror and dressing up to do my own wee shows! – I think a lot of people will see themselves in Jackie.
What are you hoping for audiences to get out of your film?
ALI TAYLOR: I hope it encourages people of all ages to be their beautiful selves and accepting of others.
What was the greatest hurdle you encountered whilst shooting, can you tell us how you overcame that?
MICHAEL LEE RICHARDSON: I was really worried about the casting beforehand – the story is so much about Jackie, and Jackie and Tegan’s friendship, and I knew it would be a lot for a young actor to carry. For Tegan, too, I knew we needed someone who could act who was also comfortable on the trampoline – no mean feat! We worked with casting director Anna Dawson who was so, so great, she got the call out far and wide, and we saw so many fantastic kids. We were really lucky to find Joshua (who plays Jackie), who’s just a wee star – he has such an expressive face, and he really brought Jackie to life! He has to carry so much of the film, and he has so many scenes on his own, and he just took to it so quickly – I’m really impressed by him, I’d love to work with him again. Erin (who plays Tegan) is fantastic – she’s just such a natural, with such a great presence on camera, and when I saw her on the trampoline it just clicked – you don’t even see a tenth of the stuff she can do in the film, she’s so good! Izzy (who plays Mollie) was fantastic, too, a really fab, natural actor, who came in on our last day – absolute madness, with trampolines and pouring rain and 25 neighbourhood kids hopped up on sugary sweeties! – and just got on with it. I’m so impressed by them all.
ALI TAYLOR: The fact that it was shot in our home! The crew were utterly, utterly amazing and my family were really supportive – thanks Mark, Charlotte, Alexander and Florence – and enjoyed being involved.
What piece of advice would you give to someone looking to apply for Sharp Shorts?
ALI TAYLOR: I think it’s really important to think of the story behind the story. Basically, why this story now, why you. In the past it has frustrated me to frame pitches this way. But I really get it now and found it so helpful because it helped me understand exactly what the story was and why it was so important it was told. Even more so, why I could tell it and how I should handle it. Also, get a great team to work with. I couldn’t have been luckier to have Michael, James and Reece and all the crew and cast they found put their all into it. We couldn’t have wished for better cast. Thank you to each and everyone of you as well as Sharp Shorts, Screen Scotland and BFI.
MICHAEL LEE RICHARDSON: I think sometimes filmmakers can shape a project to what they think the commissioner will want – in fact, I know they do, because I’ve done it myself! And while I think you can have a look at previous Sharp Shorts and see what works, I’d tell people to try and put that to one side when they’re coming up with ideas – if your project gets selected you might be spending a year making it, and (you hope!) even longer than that when it’s doing the festival circuit, so you want to make sure it’s something you really love and really want to work on. Will you be happy to watch this film over and over again when you’re editing it? I’d second Ali’s advice to get a good team together – again, you’re going to be working with these people for a while, so you need someone who you trust. Making a film can be a big, mad, stressful, exciting experience, so you need to surround yourself with people you don’t mind seeing your big, mad, stressed and excited self!
Photo credit: Celine Antal
When did your interest in filmmaking start and what were you doing before you became a filmmaker?
I’ve loved cinema since I was wee. I remember being in hospital for a period as I was young and for some reason I became obsessed with the Titanic. So when I heard the film was coming out, I waited and waited. When I got out of hospital, my parents tried to bring me to see Titanic in the cinema, but I was turned away, because I was too young. So I waited and waited and eventually watched it when it came out on DVD. And that’s how I learned about car sex. Thanks James Cameron.
I’ve always wanted to be a filmmaker, and trained in TV production, working in documentaries for years. I was Assistant Producer on Oscar-longlisted and Emmy-nominated documentary Elián, and Irish box-office smash hit 66 Days, and I directed my first feature documentary Bojayá: Caught In The Crossfire, which premiered at HotDocs in Toronto. I began writing and directing for theatre, and with Michael Patrick, I co-wrote the My Left Nut play and BBC Three mini-series, which won several Royal Television Society awards.
What made you want to apply for Sharp Shorts?
Although I’d worked in producing and directing documentaries and theatre, and writing for TV, I had never professionally directed a script drama. I was keen to take my first step into this world and Sharp Shorts seemed like the perfect opportunity to learn and make mistakes, with support from funders. I really wanted to work with writer Ciara Elizabeth Smyth, so when she told me about the idea for SLAY & PREPARE, I couldn’t wait to direct it!
Tell us a bit about your Sharp Shorts-supported film.
SLAY & PREPARE is a psychological thriller/ horror that tells the story of how when a suburban housewife’s world falls apart, she meticulously plans revenge against her husband. Starring Michelle Duncan and Dougray Scott, it’s an exploration of grief, postpartum psychosis, and how we are capable of horrific acts. The film is produced by Lewis Wardrop for White Stag Films, with Executive Producers Anna Burns, Tony Woods, and Dougray Scott.
What did you learn through taking part in Sharp Shorts? How was your experience working with the Short Circuit team?
Sharp Shorts does not just offer funding to make your film, but also regular detailed feedback on drafts of scripts and an intensive course of masterclasses with guest speakers, ranging from roles and responsibilities to casting, locations and storyboarding. Miriam and Iria were incredibly supportive, encouraged us to experiment and challenged us on our ideas, which really helped us to figure out what kind of film we wanted to make. My biggest takeaway was how Sharp Shorts demystifies the filmmaking process. It’s not inaccessible or unachievable – you don’t have to know everything right away. Filmmakers are just a bunch of talented people figuring out how to tell a story in the best way.
What was your creative process? How did you get ready to make your film?
Preparation. Lots and lots of it. I worked closely with writer Ciara Elizabeth Smyth to think about the world of the film and to refine the script. I managed to get a day shadowing Annie Griffin directing the second series of Annika and we worked with Sharp Shorts to find the right producer in White Stag. I researched locations in the Edinburgh area and went out for location scouting days to find the right setting for key scenes. I worked closely with DoP Steve Cardno to create a shooting script and agree on looks, and along with producer Lewis Wardrop, we made several location recces to troubleshoot and figure out how we wanted to shoot it.
Why do you feel stories like this are important?
The film deals with heavy tragic issues such as miscarriage, postpartum psychosis and emotional abuse, and whereas these are usually dealt with through drama or sensational slasher-horror, we wanted to explore them through the lens of psychological horror. The writer, Ciara Elizabeth Smyth, feels passionately about creating complex female characters who are not anchored by societal norms. Systems that support gender inequality focus on cultural stereotypes that rely upon traditional conceptions of the female role, which portray women as nurturing caregivers and passive gentle souls. But what happens when a caregiver no longer cares? What if they never did? Ciara wanted this film to subvert expectations of what it is to be a woman, a mother, a wife.
When we first meet the protagonist Celeste, she is ostensibly a quiet suburban housewife and mother-to-be buying the dinner. But as horrific things happen to her, she perceives her world falling apart and we begin to see that she is not the traditional submissive female, but neither is she a boisterous blood-thirsty maniac or a terrifying paranormal presence. She is a quiet monster that silently feels internalised rage and meticulously prepares her revenge. The film exposes the mundane monstrosity we humans are capable of, and asks what we think monsters look like.
What are you hoping for audiences to get out of your film?
I hope audiences are engaged and that some people are entertained while others are disturbed. Ultimately, I hope the audience feels something.
What was the greatest hurdle you encountered whilst shooting, can you tell us how you overcame that?
It was a really relaxed and positive shoot and we got everything we were looking for and finished on time every day. However, we had to release some actors at given times, meaning we had to work fast and sometimes make creative calls to ensure we got everything we needed. It would have been great to have more time to experiment with the actors and to generate more interesting options for the edit, but you can only achieve so much on a low budget.
What piece of advice would you give to someone looking to apply for Sharp Shorts?
Do it. Don’t doubt yourself. Don’t question if you are good enough. Don’t mistrust your own taste. Just pitch what excites you. Make the film you want to see. If you’re passionate about it, it will come across.
Photo credit: Stuart McClay
When did your interest in filmmaking start and what were you doing before you became a filmmaker?
My interest started as a 13-year-old away back in 1990! I owe this largely to my irresponsible Dad who used to let me stay up late at night watching all the cool, cult and classic films on BBC 2 and Channel 4 while my Mum worked constant nightshift. My first films were stop motion animations. I was also a bit of a shy teenager who found it difficult to express what I wanted to say into words and so to tell stories and to tell them in pictures was just something that I have also loved. Filmmaking has always been quite a spiritual part of my life, I guess.
I’ve led a bit of a reincarnation film journey in that in the mid to late 1990s through the Glasgow Film and Video Workshop movement, I got a loan, and with other filmmaker friends we made zero budget feature films which did quite well around the film festival circuits. This was practically unheard of. I would actually go as far to say that half the industry championed this, and half were appalled by it. Around 2009, I went solo and to be honest found it very difficult trying to make a mark as a commissioned female writer/director. I stuck at it and got my first documentary commission in 2016. This is my first film commission through Sharp Shorts. I’m a working/creative Mum of two, and my career spans from being a care assistant nursing the elderly to teaching and community arts projects.
What made you want to apply for Sharp Shorts?
If you’re not in it, you can’t win it. I think it’s important to apply for every opportunity. I had applied for years to similar schemes as Sharp Shorts and had been rejected, reached the long list but not the short list, and even the first time I submitted to Sharp Shorts, I received a rejection. I guess my passion to keep telling stories made me want to apply.
Tell us a bit about your Sharp Shorts-supported film.
The Jubilee is a stop motion animation and live action short film about Mimi – an old lady who remembers fragments of her life through a cloud of dementia, through the help of Elder her husband, against a confusing backdrop of their 60th Wedding Anniversary party. I wrote, directed, and animated it and it has been produced by Carol Brown. The live action part was shot last summer, and I loved every minute of it. We had a wonderful cast and crew, we finished to schedule, and we have had wonderful support from Ken Anderson at Wild Child and the Team at Aardman in Bristol. The animation is made from paper napkins and the model came from original drawings that my own Mum with dementia drew (she wasn’t known to be artistic) on paper napkins of herself and my elderly Dad. So, in many ways this film is a homage to my parents.
What did you learn through taking part in Sharp Shorts? How was your experience working with the Short Circuit team?
I loved all the workshops which because we were still very much in the pandemic of Covid-19, were done online. I think I attended everyone. I learned so much, even when I thought I already knew it all. I really enjoyed the script development part of it and the peer feedback sessions. I got a lot of support and encouragement from the Short Circuit Team. They helped give me a lot of confidence. I hit a bit of a personal issue with me being delayed due to caring after my elderly parents and then the bereavement as both parents passed away only 30 days apart. The team were first class in giving me the access time that was required and reassured me of additional support like childcare of my two young children to allow me to finish the project.
What was your creative process? How did you get ready to make your film?
Lots of prep, storyboarding, planning out my shots which means when it comes to working with cast and crew, you are prepared for focussing on getting the right performances and shots, and it also means that if you do encounter issues on the day, you can make the right decisions because you have prepared for what you need. I also like to spend a bit of time before hand with cast and crew before any shoot. My creative process also involves listening to music especially when I’m animating and bringing the characters to life. For The Jubilee, I listened a lot to Percy Faith and his Orchestra to get that 1950s/60s mood.
Why do you feel stories like this are important?
My story is about the elderly and dementia and these lost voices, especially written during the pandemic when the elderly did seem so forgotten about are important. It’s a very different take on what it’s like to have dementia and what it is like to be a loved ones also living with it through the person suffering from it. It’s about the power of memories and helping someone feel like themselves again through these memories. It was important to me that telling this story, that the elderly wasn’t seen as dull and dressed in grey cardigans. When I first left school, I worked as a care assistant, caring for people with dementia. The people I worked with had personalities and strong characters even though diminished by this awful illness. When I first met Tina Gray who plays ‘Mimi’ I told her this and I asked her how she would feel dying her hair pink for the part. She totally got where I was coming from and jumped at this. I think she’s several times gone pink since the film.
What are you hoping for audiences to get out of your film?
I’m hoping that the audience will be immersed by the playfulness and watch the film just as the same way Mimi is experiencing the moment. I hope that they will be moved by the story.
What was the greatest hurdle you encountered whilst shooting, can you tell us how you overcame that?
The first hurdle was just 5 days before the live action shoot of the film. Andrew the DoP tested positive for Covid and it became apparent that he couldn’t do the shoot. The cast were already in place and only had a certain timeframe of days available but because I had spent quite a bit of time with Andrew, months prior to the shoot, he was able to get a DoP on board who he felt could achieve what I was looking for in a quick turnaround. So, the shoot was postponed just by a few days and Leon was amazing. Luckily because I was also shooting the animation, Andrew was able to come back on board again.
Andrew set everything up for the animation, and the puppets where all done and in place and just days later my elderly Mum and Dad needed a lot of care. My Dad became ill and died, and then my Mum died 30 days later. It was quite a blow. The shed where I was animating had its doors shut over for over 3 months and when I went back to it (in the winter) I walked into a big ball of mildew. The puppets had to go in the bin, and everything cleaned down. It was like starting from scratch. However, I decided to start again, and this time I started off with a simpler idea for the puppet and it actually worked out so much better. The process had more creative freedom. At least I think it did.
Animating in the shed during the winter was tough but I wrapped up warm and the lights warmed the place up quite a bit. Animating also takes a lot of patience but even more physical resilience with the repetitive moves that times you feel like you’ve been hit by a bus. A good pair of trainers and stretching exercises afterwards and listening to music to unwind after a day’s animating helps.
What piece of advice would you give to someone looking to apply for Sharp Shorts?
Absolutely go for it. Go for every opportunity that you can. For years, I was rejected on similar funded schemes and even the first time that I applied to Sharp Shorts, I wasn’t successful. But it’s the classic saying, you have to be in it to win it. My key advice would be to really enjoy and embrace the development side of you and your project, that’s where all the fun is. And I’ll say it again, go for it!
When did your interest in filmmaking start and what were you doing before you became a filmmaker?
I had always imagined music videos for songs I enjoyed growing up, but the possibility of making them seemed very remote. I was always acutely aware of how many people and how much money went into film. I had no connection to the industry. I was writing, mostly quite visual poetry.
What made you want to apply for Sharp Shorts?
It seemed like a no-brainer- while I never expected to be accepted as I thought I didn’t have enough credentials or experience, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to learn from industry professionals and maybe even make my vision into a reality.
Tell us a bit about your Sharp Shorts-supported film.
Milkgum is about an escort called Sel who, while becoming jaded with her work, becomes aware of an unearthly, Oedipal presence interfering with her reality. It’s in parts inspired by my own former life as an escort, as I feel a lot of films depicting the sex industry very obviously have never had anyone with experience involved in their production.
What did you learn through taking part in Sharp Shorts? How was your experience working with the Short Circuit team?
I learnt… 90% of everything I know now! I learnt how to break down a story properly, as I’ve always struggled with plot. I learnt so much about each HOD and the work they put into realising a directors vision. Iria and Miriam as exec producers of Milkgum have been amazing cheerleaders for my project and have always been available and encouraging. They hooked me up with one of my favourite directors, Ruth Paxton, whose wise counsel and feedback I feel so lucky to have received.
What was your creative process? How did you get ready to make your film?
My idea for the film started with a vision of the titular creature and its context within the protagonists life. I started by writing a much too long, unplotted script and then deconstructed that endlessly with my producers Ciarán and Dermot, a brilliant script editor, Rachel Pronger, and the execs over the next year. I immersed myself in giallo, Catherine Breillat films, and transcendental horror especially with a girl-on-the-edge at its centre, such as Saint Maud. I made a moodboard and playlist (mostly consisting of SOPHIE).
Why do you feel stories like this are important?
It’s a realistic and nuanced depiction of a sex worker based on lived experience (apart from the creature), that hopefully also subverts what people expect from such tales.
What are you hoping for audiences to get out of your film?
A feeling of unease and nausea… something to think about and turn over in your head later that also has immediate impact.
What was the greatest hurdle you encountered whilst shooting, can you tell us how you overcame that?
Aside from climbing to the top floor of a tenement several times a day eight months pregnant… managing time and getting in the space where I felt comfortable to be assertive. We overran the first two days of shooting and part of this I think was down to my insecurity with leadership. While it’s true that directors shouldn’t be dictatorial, it probably would have saved time if I had spent less of it umming and aahing and been more decisive. I got into my stride calling the shots halfway through the second day which was less than ideal. I think a lot of this was down to impostor syndrome and not wanting to disappoint everyone contributing their hard work and ingenuity. I had to maintain confidence in what I was doing.
What piece of advice would you give to someone looking to apply for Sharp Shorts?
If you’re thinking you need to pick a ‘safe’, two people in a room short idea as they might tell you in film school for your debut, don’t, unless of course that’s the story you *need* to tell. Every aspect of Milkgum was a tall order for a first time director – a creature build, elaborate production design, and lots of intimacy and nudity to navigate and choreograph with an IC. On top of not quite fitting into one genre. But we made it work and that started because Short Circuit took a chance on it, and me. Don’t talk yourself out of it or think you need to be categorisable. If it’s true to you, it will happen.
Photo credit: Dermot O’Dempsey
