Please tell us about the projects you worked on before making ‘Girl Carrying Books’. How did you start, and how did you learn to make films?
I formally studied filmmaking at the London Film Academy, Fulham. My graduate project, which was screened on Sky, is a great little romantic comedy. I have worked for the BBC. And I have produced a range of documentaries. A natural next step, and ambition, is to produce a feature film, or high-end series.
Tell us about ‘Girl Carrying Books’. How do you describe it?
The idea for the film comes from two angles. The director’s own exploration of Counterfeit Fiction (the diametric inverse of Fake News), and a notion to transform John Smith’s ex post facto narrator into a (nominally) classical linear narrative.
Please tell us about your favorite filmmakers.
Terence Malik’s Badlands was a defining influence. As a Brit though, and for their fuller combined works, I would probably say that Powell and Pressburger edge it. Their use of colour was so far ahead of its time. Of course, it’s hard to top Ozu’s Tokyo Story, and I love in particular Setsuko Hara’s portrayal of Norika, the long-suffering, eternally loyal daughter-in-law.
If you were given a good budget, what would be your ideal project?
I am working on a project with the working title “The Riemann Hypothesis”. It’s an updated version of the Ipcress File, a modern coming-of-age espionage thriller. Set on a campus where a new technology is creating unwanted attention. Stooges from other countries, and vested interests from within the UK are about to fight over a golden new technology. Alex T. Thornton is the protagonist. His godmother-aunt is a passed-over, icy doyen with the Secret Intelligence Service (aka MI6) and has willfully placed him in the firing line. Will he rise to the challenge?
Describe how you would ensure that production is on schedule. What steps would you take?
Well, I have a background in finance. So planning and controls are my strong suit. Inspiring your team to work to a structure (story boards are an underrated art-form) and to think outside the box.
What was the hardest part of making ‘Girl Carrying Books’.
Shooting out in the open, integrated with the public. We really didn’t know what to expect from one take to another. We had good working relationships with local residents, and store-owners though.
If possible, tell us about your next work. What plans do you have for your future work?
As mentioned I’m working on a coming-of-age espionage thriller. I had the idea whilst reading math at Birkbeck College, in London. GCHQ and MI5, MI6, interview in these research departments in particular. Something kinetic, propulsive (the lower your rank the faster you run), believable, not ostentatious like Bond. With some Counterfeit Fiction woven in of course!
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