Award Winners From the Archives
These films represent meaningful turning points in my trajectory as a writer and director in very different ways and although I wish the copies of Born With Glasses and The Mary Quant Masque of Death were of better quality, I don't apologize for the raw, sometimes clumsy visions they are.
As for Invisible (which I didn't write) and I'll Meet You There (which was created organically, filmed over three days and exhibited at the Tate Modern only 6 days after I found out my concept had been accepted)
- these are works of a different breed.
And I love all of them unconditionally like the Film Dad that I am.
I'LL MEET YOU THERE (9 min 30 secs)
TATE MODERN
"INSIDER'S COLLECTIVE"
EXHIBITION PIECE
Made on the fly after discovering 3 months almost too late my concept was accepted, just lost in the email response, I absolutely love
this journey on all levels, and
the immersive experience
suited the theme of someone who had slipped sideways
in the same dimension, trying to find out who he is, and on the way, to stop something terrible that's about to happen to the strangers he has come to love.
Meant as an art piece for the exhibition, "I'll Meet You There" is currely being developed as a feature film.
INVISIBLE (11 min)
WINNER - BEST FEMALE
PROTAGONIST FILM - CITY OF ANGELS WOMEN'S FILM
FESTIVAL
GOLD AWARD WINNER -
SPOTLIGHT SHORT FILM
AWARDS
I have fond feelings for this film, despite the nail-biting
moment-to-moment hurdles
of making it. But I was stunned by the absolute beauty and generosity of strangers who had no reason to help, but did anyway - particularly City of Westminster College who gave us free reign over the entirety of their massive multi-floored campus for an entire Saturday for no cost whatsoever. And AgeUK who let us storm their Clapham North store for hours of filming, just because I asked nicely.
That's what I love about film making!
BORN WITH GLASSES (50 min)
WINNER of the CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL - GOLD HUGO - BEST COMEDY/SATIRE.
After a few years of music videos and ads where I had to fit within the length of a track or 30 or 60 seconds of advertising space I just wanted to go back to my film making roots and on top of that just do something that was as long or as short as it felt it should be.
Which I guess in one way was a mistake, because its length excluding me from entering most festivals, but hey ho, I
love it to this very day.
The original film itself fell victim to a basement flood where it was being held on its way to transfer it to HD and I'm still hunting down the video Master - it guts me this is the currently the only version of it I've got!
But it's beautiful, and sadly funny, and I adore it.
THE MARY QUANT MASQUE OF DEATH (9min 30 secs)
OUTSTANDING FILM OF THE LONDON INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
My final year BA project took every ounce of time that year but luckily I managed to convince every tutor I had how relevent it was to every class I'd ignored in order to make it. It was something no one had ever done before and I think they all passed me just for sheer bravado.
Immediately after graduating and about a month after finishing this I moved to England, entered it into the London International Film Festival and got an "Outstanding Film" Award.
Subsequently I was summoned to a swank hotel by Mary Quant's husband Alexander Plunket Greene to show the film to him. I realized only afterwards that it was to make sure I wasn't disparaging the Quant brand.
Even though the film was actually a surreal exploration of the psychologically disastrous attempt on a woman trying to hold onto her youth, I argued that I wanted to use Mary Quant specifically because she personified Beauty, which she did of course but the argument was off the cuff, trying to make sure I wasn't in trouble and in fact I had no idea about who she was at the time, I just liked the sound of the brand as a name in a title.
Deep.
Anyway I will always remember he closed our viewing with "Mary would absolutely love this!".
I will also always be annoyed he didn't write a cheque to encourage the young film maker he summoned to appear in front of him, living on potatoes and wilted post-Saturday-market lettuce.
He could have at least bought me lunch. Hey Ho.
