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Your upcoming movie Closure - in a few words, what is it
about?
Closure follows Laura as she spends the one-year anniversary of
her boyfriend's death at the place where they first met. Laura's peaceful
afternoon of solitude and reminiscence is ended when Asha, a rather quirky
and talkative barista, decides to stop and rest next to her.
Between Laura's romanticism and Asha's cynicism, both discuss love and
loss, and Laura is made to realise some harsh truths and how ignorance can
have dire consequences...
Is any of Closure's story based on
personal experience? And how do you usually deal with love and loss? It
wasn’t based on any personal experience, however I thought it’d be
interesting to delve into the subject of losing a loved one and how these
two in particular, would process their grief. (Other)
sources of inspiration when writing Closure? Closure
was inspired by a chance encounter and conversation I’d had with a
caretaker at a cemetery. He was on his lunch break and I was sitting down
after a walk. The conversation led to him to talk about his wife,
and how happy they were and how her loss had affected him. Later that day,
I thought about the conversation some more, and then wondered how it would
have gone with someone who shared a completely contradictory and
confrontational viewpoint. Thus, Closure was born. Judging
from the posters and storyboards I've seen so far, most of Closure
takes place on and around a park bench mainly - so what are the advantages
and challenges there, also in keeping things visually interesting? This
is true – the timeline does keep 99% of the present day on the bench
with our two leads, however, there are a lot of flashbacks (allowing for a
constant change of scenery), as well as the context necessary for the
audience to better understand both Laura and Asha, and how guilt can
affect the way in which we deal with grief, and when that process is
challenged; how we struggle to come back from it – if at all. Do
talk about the film's intended look and feel for a bit!
We’re going for a cinematic look – I’ve chosen the 2.39:1 format
for the movie, and am aiming for a slightly dull colour palette. Given the time of year, there won’t be a lot of foliage either, so
will also help with the aesthetic.
What
can you tell us about your projected key cast, and why exactly those
people?
We have two wonderful actresses – Sophie-Rose Middleton and Yasmin
Khudhairi – playing Laura and Asha, respectively. We put out a
casting call for both roles, and had literally hundreds of applicants,
with wonderful showreels!
At the time, we had only released the synopsis, but it was enough to
garner interest. When we eventually short-listed the potential actresses to provide self-tapes, I provided each short-listed
actress with
a scene and – as difficult as it was – I had eventually found our
Laura and Asha. Their instincts (regarding the characters) were spot on
– body language, quirks, right down to delivery of dialogue! They
understood the essence of the characters the most, and the rest, as they
say, is history.
As far as I know, you're currently running a
fundraiser for Closure - so do talk about your campaign! We’re
currently running a crowdfunding campaign, to raise the necessary funds
for the production of Closure. We’re looking to raise £6,000
to cover all our production and post-production costs, along with festival
costs. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/closure-short-film--3
Once
the budget's in place, what's the schedule - and any idea when and where
the film might be released yet, however tentatively? Once
the budget is in place, we can continue with finalising prep for our
shoot, and are aiming for principal photography to commence in January. The shoot will take no more than 4-7 days, and – with the team we’ll
have in place – we can have Closure ready for a lengthy festival
run; aiming for an online release in November/December 2019, as well as
Blu-ray copies exclusively for contributors of the crowdfunding campaign,
which will be packed with extras. Any
future projects beyond Closure? I have prep underway
for another short film, but for now, my producers and I are keeping that
one under wraps, until we can get things sorted for Closure. What got you into
filmmaking in the first place, and did you receive any formal training on
the subject? I’ve always been a fan of film and TV, from
a very young age. I never studied film academically, as I was never able
to afford tuition, but it’s always been a passion and when you’re
passionate about something you find a way. The ‘intervention’
happened about 5 years ago; my friends and family had persuaded me to
pursue it properly, as they said I had something to offer. I was really
hesitant because family and friends have a vested interest in your
endeavours, but something in my writing and the hobbyist projects on which
I’d contributed had caused those around me to push me onto this path,
and I’ve not looked back. What can you tell us about your filmwork
prior to Closure? I’ve worked on some short films
for other producers and writers trying to get projects made, but was only
allowed to interject a certain level of creativity and vision. I
wanted to work on projects that told stories, in which I was interested,
and since I wasn’t getting those kinds of scripts, I decided to write my
own. How would you describe yourself
as a director? Hands-on and conscious of the acting
process. I definitely think you have to be, as it makes the communication
process a lot easier. I’ve worked on sets where there seems to be a
little disconnect between the director and the actors, and I didn’t want
that on my films. I studied acting for this very purpose, and found
it was a handy skillset to have, as I enjoy the odd moment in front of the
camera, if the opportunity ever arises. Filmmakers who inspire you? Off
the top of my head – Christopher Nolan, Quentin Tarantino, David Lynch,
the Coen Brothers, Wes Anderson, Ryan Coogler, Jon Favreau, Steven
Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Edgar Wright, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley
Kubrick, Sofia Coppola, Terry Gilliam, Robert Rodriguez, Jackie Chan, Wong
Kar Wai, John Woo, Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton [Buster
Keaton bio - click here]. I’ve missed so many others, but
I’ve watched so many TV shows and movies over the years I’d have to
go through my film collection in order to provide you with a concise list. Your
favourite movies? My first love is Hong Kong cinema, but my
tastes are far too eclectic when it comes to specific genres and being
able to pick out a select few films. ... and of course, films you really
deplore?
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The current culture of reboots and remakes has
already become irksome, but what really annoys me are the unnecessary
remakes, and the funding that could be better spent on other film ideas,
and stories which are original AND would appeal to a much wider audience. Your/your movie's website, Facebook, IndieGoGo,
whatever else?
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/closure-short-film--3
https://www.facebook.com/Closure2019
Anything else you're dying to mention and
I have merely forgotten to ask? I’d like to take this
opportunity to thank all those who have currently contributed and really
do hope that we are successful with our campaign, so that we may deliver a
film with some re-watch value. Thanks for the
interview!
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