How unconditional can the unconditional love actually be between a parent and their child? Filmmakers Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer explore this idea in their psychological drama God’s Creatures, the former joining the latter on directorial duties after serving as editor on her debut feature The Fits back in 2015.
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Shooglenifty originated in the 1990s and slowly built a loyal fan base within the Celtic fusion scene. They’ve now released nine albums and have played all over the world. In 2016, their frontman Angus tragically passed away at the age of 49.
Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Don Coutts, the documentary titled Heading West: A Story About a Band Called Shooglenifty charts their highs and lows with heart and humour and has a genuine intimacy that could only be captured by a long-time peer of the group.
As part of last year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival, fans, friends, and family filed into Edinburgh’s iconic Filmhouse for the film’s world premiere. The atmosphere was electric as everyone waited with bated breath to see the band’s journey on the big screen. The next day, I was fortunate enough to sit down with founding member and guitarist Malcolm Crosbie to chat about the film and his experience in the band…
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Since making his feature debut Benny & Jolene in 2014, Welsh writer and director Jamie Adams has racked up a whopping nine films! His process is very fluid and improvisational, crafting films on a low budget over a very short period of time and with no script in the traditional sense. His latest effort is romantic drama She is Love, which features a trio of terrific performances from Haley Bennett, Sam Riley, and Marisa Abela. I was fortunate enough to sit down with the prolific filmmaker to chat about the film…
It feels like a very long time since our last conversation, back when you had just made your festive film A Wonderful Christmas Time in 2014. How have you, your process, and your films changed in that time?
I’ve got older, more cynical, and more tired, so the process has changed. The truth of it is that every project is different. There’s different people involved; there’s different cast, crew, and their personalities, and you’re balancing all of that. You’re balancing the budget, the schedule, the scope of the vision. You’re balancing the story you want to tell versus what you’re able to tell.
You get more comfortable with the process like a sports person when they get into a routine of some kind; this is what I do when I’m preparing, this is what I do when I’m in the game, this is what I do afterwards. I can look back at something like A Wonderful Christmas Time for example, which is the second feature that we did in this way, and I could see myself mumbling on set as you’re not as confident about what you’re doing because you’re still finding it. You’re always still finding it, but at least you have more of a clue of how you’ll get to what it is you’re looking for.
Continue reading “She is Love Interview: Jamie Adams – ‘The process creates an original atmosphere and an energy that doesn’t exist anywhere else’.”
Religion often rears its heavy head in the works of controversial writer and director Darren Aronofsky; from Mickey Rourke’s martyrdom in The Wrestler, an Eden allegory in mother!, and of course his epic adaptation of Noah. The biblical overtones return in his latest effort The Whale, which is based upon Samuel D. Hunter’s 2012 play of the same name. Brendan Fraser stars as Charlie, a morbidly obese English literature teacher who has become housebound due to his condition. He receives regular visits from his nurse Liz (Hong Chau), estranged teenage daughter Ellie (Sadie Sink), and Thomas (Ty Simpkins), a young missionary of the local New Life Church.
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Known for documentary filmmaking on contemporary French society, writer and director Alice Diop has transitioned from fact to fiction for her latest effort. Based upon the 2016 court case of Fabienne Kabou, legal drama Saint Omer follows teacher and novelist Rama (Kayije Kagame), as she researches the Greek tragedy of Medea for her next book. For inspiration, she attends the trial of Senegalese woman Laurence Coly (Guslagie Malanda), accused of murdering her 15-month-old daughter.
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Todd Field began his career in film as an actor before making his directorial debut in 2001 with In the Bedroom. It’s been seventeen years since his last effort, which is a testament to the detail he applies to the craft. His latest feature is Tár, a psychological thriller of sorts starring Cate Blanchett in the eponymous role.
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There’s no question that Sam Mendes is a talented filmmaker, with films such as American Beauty, Road to Perdition, and Skyfall to his name. Known predominantly for his directing, his first writing credit came when he co-wrote the 1917 screenplay a few years ago, but his latest sees him on script duty once again. Set in the 1980s on the south coast of England, romantic drama Empire of Light takes place in around an independent picture house. Struggling with mental health problems, duty manager Hilary (Olivia Colman) forms an intimate friendship with new employee Stephen (Michael Ward), who is facing his own difficulties.
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Best known for playing beloved vet Paddy in the long-running soap Emmerdale, actor Dominic Brunt pursues his other passion off-screen. Away from the Dales, he directs horror films, and his latest feature is werewolf comedy slasher Wolf Manor. Set in the English countryside and written by Pete Wild and Joel Ferrari, it presents a fun take on the sub-genre as the film shoot for a vampire flick is disrupted in the night by a deadly lycanthrope. I was fortunate enough to sit down with the director to discuss the film.
Wolf Manor is now your fifth feature within the last decade or so. Does the process get any easier or are there different challenges to each one?
It’s still very difficult, actually, I think because no film is exactly the same and no scene is the same. I think I’m getting better in the way of not panicking, and Marc Price (director of zombie film Colin on a budget of £45) is a fellow director and is brilliant at sorting out problems. He always says, ‘just press record’, you know, get it done. If the problems are there, they can be sorted out later so in the face of adversity, he’s the best one to be around. I think I’ve learned that preparing and preparing and preparing, getting a shot list, and making sure you know the locations back to front, and talking to the actors beforehand, saying, ‘Look, trust me, when you stand there, and you move where I tell you to when I say to move, I’ll make it look good. I promise you won’t look stupid’. The last thing actors want to hear is anybody flapping but it’s always scary. It’s a million-piece jigsaw putting together a film. So yeah, the short answer I think is in some ways, I don’t think anybody gets any better at filmmaking.
Continue reading “Wolf Manor Interview: Dominic Brunt – ‘It’s a very gory horror film, but there’s a lot of goodwill’.”
Cinema Perspective 