Hendra

I grew up within the world of my parents running several newsagents within central London as a child. Without them, this project and myself, wouldn't exist. 

On the 25th January 2014, I was one of four ushers at my brother's (not blood) wedding. At that wonderful event, I met Sammy Patterson and Alex Oliver briefly, friends of the groom. Two weeks later, a music video/short film was completed between us.

A couple of weeks before the wedding, I wrote two treatment documents, one a coming of age drama that covered several years in a young boy's life into a man, the other, a simple portrait of the life of a shopkeeper in a day. These treatments were submitted as possible scenarios to make a short film of, which in the end would become a music video for the song ‘Hendra’, Ben Watt’s new solo album.

After that perfect weekend in Cambridge flew by, I went home and put my feet up, mind full of scripts waiting to be fed when all of a sudden - a tweet came in. 

'Check your email' by Ben Watt, the musician that was leading the competition, co – judged by Mark Cousins, which I had submitted a couple of ideas to a few weeks earlier. The idea entitled 'a short film about a shopkeeper' had been chosen as the winner to represent Ben Watt's song 'Hendra', also the title of his new album, his first solo album in thirty one years.

Lost on my feet due to the unexpected turn of events, a deadline of two weeks loomed in which the music video had to be completed. I stood alone at this point, no producer, no cinematographer, no editor, no location, no idea.

So I phoned Peter Harmer, the man whose wedding I was an usher at. Completely lost and unsure how and if this was going to happen, I needed someone to tell me that it will be fine and that I will help you and Peter was that man. Peter read the treatment with delight and agreed to shoot and edit the film.

Peter put me in touch with Producer Sammy Patterson, a person whom I would recommend to anyone to work with and whom I would work with again without a second’s thought. Sammy thinks from all angles, is organised, is always coming up with new ideas and kept me calm whilst I stressed. All the elements of the production that I thought couldn’t be sorted or achieved, were done so and more, thanks to Sammy.

Myself and Sammy scouted locations together and separately of newsagents mainly, walking from shop to shop and attempting to gain their interest. At a point when it narrowed down to two, it was a childhood surprise that ended up being our perfect location. A residential street shop that Sammy went to as a kid in East London, which became more of a home than a location as we were welcomed by Mr Patel and his family. Furthermore we were able to capture authenticity to the highest standard as the real shopkeeper Mr Patel agreed to star in it.

As with all productions, problems occurred and things changed hour to hour. At a point when Peter came down sick, we were left without a cinematographer and an editor for the project all of a sudden. This is where Alex Oliver, whom I had met at the wedding, came onto the scene. Alex Oliver had shot Peter’s wedding and after viewing her previous work on her website, including a music video for Basement Jaxx, I felt that the subtle scope and visual sensitivity of her work would capture this project beautifully. With my storyboards, visual examples, shot list shared to Alex and with only a few days left until the deadline, we finally had our shoot date secured.

Thursday 6th February - 3.20am: I awoke and drove across London to Leyton to meet up with Alex and Sammy. Shooting began at 6.30am. We wrapped at about 19.30 and Alex immediately began work on the edit.

Within a day, Alex had completed a first cut of the music video, of which I was 70 percent happy with. A few suggestions here and a few changes there and then came the moment when we sent the film to Ben Watt. Myself, Alex and Sammy were at this point very happy with the cut of the film.

The response was warm, welcomed and enthusiastic by Mr Watt. He immediately wanted to share it with Mark, his US and UK distributors who shared positive views. The music video was now nearly complete. Sammy, the Producer took care of the colour grading over the last few days, a process she thoroughly enjoyed and in her own words ‘this is better than going on holiday.’

The music video was submitted finally on the 12th February and it premiered online on the 24th February 2014.

Thank you to -

Peter Harmer for his support and most importantly putting me in touch with Sammy.

Alex Barrett for taking the time to listen to my worries and concerns during the entire production every other day on the phone http://www.alexbarrett.net/

Alex Oliver for taking on the project during her busy schedule and for understanding what I wanted to achieve with the film http://www.alex-oliver.co.uk/

Sammy Patterson for loving the project as much as me.

Sheena Patel for trusting our vision and for nudging her dad to star in the film.

Mark Cousins and Ben Watt for liking my original treatment, for putting trust in me to direct it and tell my story.

My parents - my biggest inspiration in everything I do, have done and will do in the future. 

You can view the music video via http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/mark-cousins-ben-watt-everything-but-the-girl-music-video

Plus via Ben Watt’s YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e_KxrI3erc

To end, two lines from the song ‘Hendra’

"But I must allow these feelings

And just let them fall."

Iranian cinema lives in my heart

'From Iran, a separation', does what a great documentary is meant to do, it creates debate and more questions, rather than tell you what to think.

'The separation' stands as a pivotal film in Iran's cinema history, one of the reasons being it's the first Iranian film to win an oscar. For some people in the world, this is the only Iranian film they've ever seen or it was the first of many more.

In 2007, I witnessed an audience stand and cheer for Roman Polanski in response for a lifetime achievement award in a venue within his own home country Poland. I had never seen such applause, cheers and admiration for one person before, it must have lasted for at least ten minutes before he was finally able to give his thank you speech. 

I asked some native friends afterwards about this reception, myself being a Kieslowski fanatic, one of the most important Filmmakers of my personal and working life. I was told it was because Polanski is a polish filmmaker who has become a global success outside of Poland. Kieslowski achieved this shortly before unfortunate death with his final three films.

For Polanski, this wasn't the case as shown with his first brilliant film, 'Knife in the water,' 1962, which shunned him from Polish audiences because it was a film not about Polish politics which is why the rest of the world embraced it. It's a highly intelligent and terrific film with several layers and deep thematic tissue.

'The Pianist', again a great film but why didn't one of the biggest Filmmakers in the world record the film in its native language spoken within the times? Ang Lee is an example who became a global success after a series of English language films but despite this, he still recorded 'Crouching tiger, hidden dragon' in Mandarin. A true example of integrity and respect towards the truth of a story and it's characters. Why didn't Polanski cast a Polish actor in the film? Adian Brody was great but he's not Polish nor has he any Polish roots! Instead, the fabulous Polish actor Zbigniew Zamachowski has a comedic cameo that lasts for about a minute.

I wonder though, perhaps 'A separation' did for Iran what Polanski did for Poland? An artist represents their country with their work to the world.

For me, there's a world of Iranian cinema that exists before 'A separation' going back several decades, most of which is some of the most important cinema of my life. A recent script I wrote, wouldn't exist in the form it stands now if it wasn't for 'the white balloon', 'children of heaven', 'taste of cherry', moment of innocence', 'colours of paradise', to name a handful of masterpieces. So many films which mean so much to me that I can't actually put it into words.

Does 'A separation bring a sense peace for Iran, has it changed people's perceptions of Iran more, informing them that they have a rich culture and history or was all that destroyed with the 2012 film 'Argo?' A film which I have way too much to say about so I'll leave it up to this great man to tell you everything I want to say and more about the truth  of Iran 

http://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2012/11/15/mark-cousins-on-argo-iran-and-formulaic-thinking/

Asghar Farhadi, I believe wanted to tell an authentic modern urban story that's still close to Iran and indeed to human civilisation. To appeal to worldwide audiences, you must appeal to your own first and I think he achieved this. 

Amongst Iran and the people there is debate. Farhadi's acceptance speech at the Oscars is one that is either seen as beautiful and poignant or political and clever in appealing to Western audiences.

'From Iran, a separation' shows the nights of the Oscars being watched in living rooms around Iran as if it's a grand sporting event. It meant a lot to the people of Iran that their country is represented and shown more for its actually reality rather than what's plastered around the news. That they are peaceful, that they have a rich culture, that they have dreams, are inviting, hospitable, kind and welcoming.

It all makes sense that they would want this, regardless of whether they think 'A separation' is authentic or indeed the right representation. They want the truth about their country and their people to be screened. They too have domestic problems amongst family relations, marriage, trust and love. 

They are human after all.

To end this, a celebration of news. 

Fribourg International Film Festival (FIFF) and Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) are pleased to announce their collaboration on an ambitious retrospective called The History of Iranian Cinema by Its Creators.

It's an important event to celebrate a country's cinema history which is simply unique and one which I love, adore and admire.

http://cinehouseuk.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/edinburgh-and-fribourg-film-festivals.html?m=1

A letter to cinema

Dear Film

I am writing you this letter to express my sincere gratitude for what you've done for my life. 

Since I first met you, your presence has always been strong and loyal, challenging and reflective. At times you've held the answers, at other times you've asked the questions.

You've introduced me to a diverse world of cultural people, some of the greatest souls I've ever met and to worlds within worlds within film microcosms. 

You've supported me through the tough times and been a source of celebration during the good times.

You gave me something to strive for, something to create, something to share, something to love.

I look forward to our relationship developing, within the cinema, within home viewing, within imagination and dreams.

Thank you for everything. I'll never forget it and I appreciate every moment of it. 

'We're not bad people, we just come from a bad place'

November. 2011. Poland. Bydgoszcz. Opening night of the festival. Mr Sean Bobbitt walked on stage to introduce 'Shame.' To quote, 'Steve McQueen belongs to me, I found him, he's mine', to a roomful of some of the world's greatest filmmakers and cinematographers he made his strong point to.

The lights dimmed. Bedsheets in disarray - a naked Mr Fassbender in bed. A ticking clock. The music starts. The film begins. After the closing credits, the film lingered in my mind. A month later after going home, I felt it creep up on me, I began watching the trailer again repeatedly like an obsession. The theme music staying with me, keeping me company, especially when I was on the underground, I found myself humming it constantly.

March. 2012. Poland. Lodz. My second screening of 'Shame' had arrived, I was so excited. I especially couldn't wait to see Mr Fassbender jog down the streets of New York and arrive at Madison Square Garden. My friend asked me how I felt after seeing the film again, (both of us fans) it was hard to put into words or even speak about it but the obsession that had been seeded months earlier was only beginning to grow further. Sometimes, a film, a piece of music, a painting, has such a profound effect on you that you think about it constantly and keep it as a reminder in your life repeatedly, well...I do anyway. It's like the old saying goes, 'to stop singing a song, you've got to listen to it.' The months went on and the arrival of 'Shame' on DVD brought yet even more viewings, which cemented the film for me as something really special. I'm not sure I can completely nail it into words why but a truly remarkable film it is.

'Hunger' a film I viewed twice, on TV and DVD, never engaged me like it did as when I watched in November. 2012. Poland. Bydgoszcz on the cinema screen at a midnight screening. A powerful film, unforgettable, strong, brutal, a cinematic piece of brilliance. I look forward to seeing it again.

The conclusion of this post...a friend told me once about his views on 'Hunger' and 'Shame' side by side. How one film is about poverty set in Northern Ireland, the other a wealthy man living in New York, both starring the same actor, the same cinematographer, it's almost as if it's the same character we're watching but at a different stage in their life.

Steve McQueen has proved himself to be a filmmaker with a particular vision, brave and brutal in his storytelling. Allowing the actors time to breathe within the frames and tackling strong themes in a unique way.

What will he do next?

Life Just is

In 2005, my friend Alex Barrett graduated from university with the aim of making a feature film. That finished film today is titled 'Life just is.' http://www.lifejustisfilm.com/

Made up of a stellar cast that includes Will De Meo, Jack Gordan, Nathaniel Martello White, Jayne Wisener, Fiona Ryan and Paul Nicholls, the film examines university graduates having trouble making the move into adult life.

From its first initial script, which I was privileged to read and feedback on, Alex began on building up a cast and crew from people he had worked on over his short films, some of which myself and Alex made together, whilst he attended film festivals, plucking talents wherever possible, knowing their contribution would be invaluable to the making of the film. One of the great things about Alex, is his ability to meet talent and show his dedication in continued communication, never letting them get away. During the two week shoot in October 2010, I had the chance to attend the shoot for a few hours, the cast and crew was a delight to meet, professional, creative and dedicated.

‘Life just is’ is an independent film. In light of the recent report that the British film industry should back more mainstream movies, needless to say it is of course impossible to judge what will be a commercially successful film. Instead, we should be looking to films like ‘Life just is,’ a film made on a shoestring budget, with filmmaking passion and a heart to express people’s emotions within a realistic world. Filmmaking was born on images, sound and story, not money.

After attending a test screening of the film in 2010, it was at my second viewing of the film, as the finished product, where a particular scene resonated in my mind. In a scene where Pete, Tom, Claire and David finish watching a Hollywood film, they examine the ending of a film they’ve just watched which reads as follows…

DAVID: It’s entertainment guys. You’d feel pretty gutted if you went to see a rom-com and it ended up with everyone being murdered in a car accident wouldn’t you...

PETE: Okay, yeah fair enough. But, I mean, at least that would have a vague resemblance to reality. I mean all these happy endings...I reckon they fuck you up far more than downbeat endings would…because it’s not how life works. So all they’re actually doing is giving you false hope that your you’ll get the job, get the girl, get laid, be happy, whatever. But that’s not how it works…I just think psychologically it makes less sense. Does more damage.

It speaks for itself...it’s one of my favourite quotes from the film. It speaks volumes between the worlds of filmmaking, how parts of the globe approach their projects differently; Sátántangó could never have been made in Hollywood nor would they choose or dare to remake it for that matter.

I would like to congratulate the entire Life just is team. A feature film, in the can and ready to see the world, is an honourable achievement. Myself and Alex being huge Stanley Kubrick fans, it’s only fair that the grand master has his say…

"Anyone who has ever been privileged to direct a film also knows that, although it can be like trying to write 'War and Peace' in a bumper car in an amusement park, when you finally get it right, there are not many joys in life that can equal the feeling." -SK

To end, a review of the ‘Life Just is’ by film critic Brad Stevens

To describe Alex Barrett's LIFE JUST IS as being, along with Woody Allen's YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER, the most impressive British film of recent years, would be both to damn it with faint praise, and to risk being actively misleading. Because aesthetically, Barrett's film, like Allen's, has no connection with anything in contemporary British cinema, a cinema in which the camera is so often either used as nothing more than a tool to record whatever happens to be taking place in front of it, or (the other side of the same coin) allowed to swamp onscreen events with flashy but ultimately empty pyrotechnics. In his first feature, Barrett has already acquired the skill to know exactly where to position his camera in order to suggest a view on the material without ever imposing such a view artificially. His influences clearly are not British, but rather European and Asian: the directors whose names occurred to me while watching it included Hou Hsiao-hsien (a shot in which an actor moves out of frame and the camera remains focused on the empty chair he has just vacated, patiently waiting for him to return, evokes memories of CAFE LUMIERE's opening sequence), Robert Bresson (the elimination of all superfluous elements, such as establishing shots and non-diagetic music, as well as the rationing of camera movement), Jacques Rivette (Pete's emotional collapse), and even Carl Dreyer, one of Barrett's favourite filmmakers: the shots of Pete's head framed against a white kitchen wall as he talks about his dream of Saint Francis were surely inspired by similar imagery in Dreyer's THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC. The only American filmmakers with whom Barrett would seem to have an affinity are such European-style directors as Abel Ferrara, and perhaps Michael Cimino: the communal song with which the film concludes recalls the similar ending of THE DEER HUNTER. But the name that came most frequently to mind was Ozu Yasujiro, whose habit of shooting dialogue scenes in group shots viewed from various angles (but only rarely with close-ups) by an unmoving camera is frequently echoed here. Far more important, however, is the ability Barrett shares with Ozu to view his characters with unashamed love and affection without ever being tempted to indulge them. It may be a cliche, but Barrett's key influences clearly come not from art but rather from life, from the generosity and curiosity with which he has observed both his contemporaries and himself...for it seems to me that each of the central characters represents a different aspect of their creator's personality. It is tempting to describe LIFE JUST IS as one of the most promising debuts in contemporary cinema, but this temptation should be resisted. We are not dealing with promise here: we are dealing with achievement.

- Film critic Brad Stevens

Sátántangó

Film. Bela Tarr. 1994.

In a small dilapidated village in 1980's Hungary, life has come to a virtual standstill.

7 hours. 12 minutes.

Not a minute too long.

A masterpiece.

This is not a film

I remember the first Jafar Panahi film I saw, 'the white balloon', a story about a seven year old girl who wants to buy a goldfish, set against the corruption within the city of Tehran on new year’s eve. I was thrown by back by it’s simplicity whilst capturing the essense of a city. The film has since been a massive influence in the stories I strive to tell today.

Panahi would go onto tackle issues concerning the struggle of women in modern day Iran in films such as 'Offside' and 'the Circle' and how social unbalance can lead a person to crime in 'Crimson gold', making Panahi one of the most contemporary and important filmmakers of the last decade.

On the 20 December 2010, after being prosecuted for “assembly and colluding with the intention to commit crimes against the country’s national security and propaganda against the Islamic Republic,” Jafar Panahi was handed a six-year jail sentence and a 20-year ban on making or directing any movies, writing screenplays, giving any form of interview with Iranian or foreign media as well as leaving the country. And so with this, his latest work is ‘an effort’ as the credits read to express himself the only way he currently can.

And what an incredible effort it is. Shot with a PD-150 digital video camera and a smart phone, the result is a very textured and layered documentary about so many things, numerous viewings are required to enhance the audience’s mind further. Jafar Panahi and Mojbata Mirtahmasb explore the mind of not only a filmmaker, but of human beings.The two friends banter back and forth, even hilariously arguing at times about who's really directing the film. Panahi performs and reads a script he wanted to make before he was sentenced within his living room concerning a woman’s wanting to take up an art course at university, much to the dislike of her family. The passion to pursue the performance until the end falters unfortunately as Panahi wishes he could just make a film.

Whilst the subject matter of 'This Is Not a Film' may seem depressing, in fact, it captures more warmth and beauty within life's details more than any other film I can think of in terms of it's circumstances. The film itself is not an attack on what has happened to Panahi, it's more an observational piece of a man's final hours before the new year arrives. Whilst we watch Panahi eat breakfast, he questions whether if this is pretentious film making before they find subjects to bring into the documentary.

A neighbour calls around to ask Panahi to look after their dog. After he is pushed into taking on the responsibility and the dog won't stop barking, he quickly tells the neighbour he has changed his mind. We don't see the neighbour but yearn to behind an open door as the camera hides from the neighbour and watches on as Panahi converses. One of the greatest stars of the film is Panahi's lizard which roams about the room, at points over Panahi's chest and shoulder.

In one of the funniest and warmest scenes I have ever seen in cinema, is when Panahi follows a fill in custodian for the building out of his flat. Panahi rides down the elevator with the young man as he reveals he was in the building the night the police raided Panahi’s apartment and arrested him. We yearn to hear more of the custodian's story as he is constantly interrupted by stops to collect the trash. The pauses seem to last forever. The conversation flows effortlessly and with so much joy, humour and surprise in this small journey which ends with this final long take in the elevator and into a fiery darkness. At last venturing outdoors, Panahi comes across the streets of fire, celebrations and yelling, a haunting final image and hopefully not the last image he will ever film.

Considering the deeply saddening circumstances of 'This Is Not a Film', the film is in fact an act of celebration and defiance, something akin to a miracle.

'Our problems are also all of our assets. Understanding this promising paradox helped us not to lose hope, and to be able to go on since we believe wherever in the world that we live, we are going to face problems, big or small. But it is our duty not to be defeated and to find solutions …The reality of being alive and the dream of keeping cinema alive motivated us to go through the existing limitations in Iranian cinema.' - Jafar Panahi