FRED Film Radio - English Channel

This interview explores the creative journey behind some of Charlie Shackleton‘s most acclaimed works and offers invaluable insights into the art of storytelling, with a twist. What happens when you create new works from existing footage or when things don’t go according to plan?

We talk to the winner of the NEXT Innovation Award at last year’s Sundance, while in Spain for a retrospective of his work as part of this year’s Documenta Madrid.

Charlie Shackleton’s work is characterised by a deliberate exploration of form and content. Whether creating a film that exists as a single 35-millimetre print by constructing an intricate collage of archival footage or a documentary based on a failed film project, his work challenges traditional cinematic boundaries. In this interview, he emphasises the importance of fragility and impermanence, characteristics that add a poetic layer to his creations. This innovative mindset turns each film into a reflection on mortality, time, and memory, inviting viewers to reconsider the meanings of cinema.

Charlie Shackleton‘s approach often involves working within constraints, which paradoxically fuels creative innovation. For example, “The Afterlight” (2021), one of the films shown at Documenta Madrid, exists as a single 35mm print that deteriorates with each screening, inevitably leading to its eventual disappearance. This emphasises the fleeting nature of existence and of the art object, making every viewing a unique experience. This dedication to experimentation cements his reputation as a visionary in contemporary filmmaking.

This feature-length experimental film is a collage composed of hundreds of fragments from early 20th-century fiction films from around the world. The piece delves into the archival and fragile nature of film history, highlighting the importance of preservation and the passage of time.

Another notable film selected for Documenta Madrid this year is “Zodiac Killer Project” (2025).  When Charlie Shackleton found out that the true-crime documentary film he had been working on for years would never be made because clearing the rights to the book it was based on was impossible, he was frustrated but decided to make a documentary about his experience instead.  Consisting of a series of long takes on would-be film locations, fragments from various true-crime TV series, Charlie Shackleton‘s voiceover (and some behind-the-scenes footage), the film is a humorous account of the process of making a true-crime documentary that ultimately never materialised. By blending elements of documentary and video essay, the film critiques genre conventions while maintaining a personal and reflective tone. Another example of how his work consistently pushes the boundaries between traditional filmmaking and experimental media, showcasing their versatility and depth as a filmmaker.

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Seasoned French director Laetitia Masson is back in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival 2026– she was already selected in that strand back in 1998 with her second feature film, “For Sale” – with an extremely personal film, “Ulysse”, which follows the trajectory of Alice (Élodie Bouchez), a mum whose son Ulysse has a genetic condition which will inevitably alter his capacities and possibilities in life, but doesn’t entirely preclude a certain degree of autonomy, with the dedicated help of his parents. It is this hope which carries Alice through the endless round of  visits with many different therapists, special schools, or institutions we see her power through over nearly twenty years, driven by her motherly love, when even her pianist husband (Stanislas Merhar) has taken some distance (the length of a whole ocean, to be more specific). We met with the director and her main actress to discuss the very special endeavour that was making this film, also starring her own son Alphonse Roberts as the eldest Ulysse.

“Because this is my story, I didn’t have to do research, as it usually goes. So I had all this life experience, but the question was how to make a real film from it, not just to tell your story or complain or whatever. I hate films which just tell the real story and that’s all : that doesn’t make a good film. I had to see where the cinema was in the story, and I thought the cinema was there because it is all a question of the look you have upon things, upon human beings, and when you change the look, you change life.”

“For this movie, I thought it was important to present it as a crusade because I didn’t want to just tell my small story. I wanted to tell a tale that could reflect all destinies, so I wanted to show a learning journey, something you have to go through until you see the light.’ Although Masson sees her character as fighting for more than her own child, and thought of Erin Brockovich as a reference, she also says, ‘she’s not a fighter in the end, she’s just the translator of her child. As a movie, it’s the story of the child, but you can only read it through the mother, because of the singularity of that child. She’s the one you can understand everything through.”

“As soon as I knew she was going to be the mother, it meant I wouldn’t have to do that part of the work. I knew I could completely trust her, and for me it was essential, because I was able to focus on the children.”

“It’s not easy to work with children, but it was also touching, and not only that, it was also inspiring, even though sometimes it was difficult because we were trying so hard, with some of them, to have them do the things that had to be done for the needs of the scene, so for me, it was like a dance, because I had to be inside, outside, inside, outside, so sometimes I was getting frustrated, because I wasn’t sure I gave my best, because I wasn’t focused on myself, but at the same time it was a good lesson because I was really in the present moment. […] I really let myself float with each of them, even the tiny one, so it was a one-of-a-kind experience, that’s for sure.”

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Cannes loves Adèle Exarchopoulos; that’s no secret. Ever since the seminal moment that was the Palme d’Or she received in 2013, alongside Abdellatif Kechiche and her colleague and friend Léa Seydoux, for “Blue Is the Warmest Colour”, the French actress has climbed the famous steps of the Palais des Festivals almost every year. At this 79th Cannes Film Festival 2026, she’s there with two films: the Competition entry “Another Day” by Jeanne Herry, in which she plays the title role, and Christophe Honoré’s new ensemble gem, “Orange-Flavoured Wedding”, screened in the Cannes Première section. In this film, set in Nantes in 1978, the filmmaker directly evokes his maternal family (reprising the characters — now played by other actors, such as Paul Kircher, Vincent Lacoste, Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Alban Lenoir and Malou Khebizi —  from an autobiographical play staged in 2021, Le Ciel de Nantes) as he orchestrates the tumultuous, boozy wedding of one of the children of a large clan that includes the hypersensitive, semi-depressive Claudie, one of the groom’s sisters — the part which was entrusted to Exarchopoulos. The actress says she naturally found a fine chemistry with the other performers during prep and on those Paris–Nantes train rides.

“I obviously knew Christophe Honoré’s cinema very well, but the screenplay felt a lot like a stage play. There was something almost hard to stomach about it, it was full of very lengthy stage directions, no dialogues. The themes addressed it in were clear, but you could tell there would be lots of room left for improvisation, so I called Vincent Lacoste, who’s a friend […], and he said, “Do it, follow me! He’s a great director!” And that was confirmed straight away — I wasn’t disappointed in the slightest!”

“I don’t think her depression comes from somewhere specific. She’s just one of those women whose freedom and desire were too much for the era, and who were immediately deemed dangerous to society […], so it was fairly easy for me to identify with her. […] Ultimately, the film’s subject is trauma: this whole family was abused, and this whole family is in the process of repeating the same pattern and abusing others — be it their wives, their children, their sisters… In the 70s, domestic violence was completely normalised, and so was violence against women, and today we’re barely at the dawn of a real reckoning with mental health, women’s mental load, their place in the home, violence within the family unit. It’s starting to evolve a little, but I think there are still big actions pending that ought to be more political and institutional.”

“I love supporting roles. Of course, I love leads too, but I find there’s a freedom and a need for boldness in supporting parts – I’m thinking of “Mandibles” in particular.. As a viewer, too: I have big, deep-seated memories of supporting characters that truly moved me. […] It’s a bit like in life, supporting roles: they’re people who pass through, but you never forget them.”

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Sydney Film Festival Director Nashen Moodley presents the line up of the 73rd edition of the festival, a long-standing platform for both emerging and established filmmakers, that will showcase over 250 films from more than 81 countries. As one of Australia’s most anticipated cultural events, it offers cinephiles a unique glimpse into the year’s most compelling films in an inclusive and dynamic environment, highlighting innovative narratives, bold cinematic voices and the vibrancy and diversity of contemporary filmmaking.

The Sydney Film Festival has become a cornerstone of Australia’s cultural calendar, drawing audiences eager to explore innovative stories from around the world. This year’s edition features 20+ world premieres, numerous Australian premieres, and films that push the boundaries of traditional storytelling. Its flexible programming goes beyond conventional festival formats by adding films right up to the opening day, creating an element of surprise and excitement for the audience.

The Sydney Film Festival embraces the vital role of cinema in reflecting societal issues and fostering dialogue. The festival’s opening film, “Silenced,” directed by Selena Miles, exemplifies this approach by addressing themes of human rights and activism that resonate deeply in today’s political climate. Additionally, its “Europe Voices of Women in Film” section continues to promote gender parity by spotlighting talented female and gender queer directors from across Europe. This focus underscores the festival’s dedication to supporting diverse voices and encouraging films that challenge norms and inspire change.

Throug the work of its director Nashen Moodley and his team, Sydney Film Festival remains a vital showcase for pioneering cinema that combines artistic daring with social relevance. Its commitment to present bold, innovative, and inclusive films cements its role as a leading festival within the global film community. Audience can expect a rich program that not only entertains but also educates and provokes thought, reaffirming the festival’s status as a key event for lovers of passionate and courageous cinema worldwide.

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We discover a unique insight into everyday life through “Diary of a Chambermaid”, by Radu Jude, presented at Cannes 2026 Film Festival. The film  blends theatre and fiction to explore the unseen struggles of ordinary people. This captivating film offers a fresh perspective on stories that are often overlooked in our modern societies, as the director told us in our chat.

The film draws inspiration from the “Diary of a Chambermaid” to portray the lives of women in domestic service within a contemporary context. By incorporating elements from Octave Mirbeau’s novel, which the film is inspired by, the director aims to offer social commentary whilst redefining the portrayal of the characters. The narrative is fragmented into short scenes, juxtaposing everyday life with theatrical moments, thus creating a heterogeneous blend of images and emotions. This narrative choice serves to highlight the complexity and diversity of personal experiences.

The film adopts a bold formal approach, incorporating theatrical moments to accentuate the authenticity of the dialogue and situations. The director relies on an editing technique inspired by Eisenstein, aiming to juxtapose different elements to create new sensations and reflections. The theatrical moments, chosen with precision and avoiding improvisation, are woven into the narrative to highlight the disconnect between appearance and reality, evoking the notion that theatre represents the true essence of life, according to Jacques Rivette.

The narrative structure adopts a chronological division by days, marked on screen, with sequences of varying lengths. This instinctive approach aims to give the impression of a sketched fresco, where each scene becomes a possibility or a potential for other stories. The abrupt cuts and the rapid pace of the scenes reflect a fragmented and unpredictable life, inviting the viewer to perceive the complexity of human relationships and the subtlety of power dynamics, particularly within the film’s social and family context. The film explores the banality and depth of invisible lives. Its plot, formal choices and temporal divisions reinforce the idea that reality is made up of multiple possibilities, where every interaction harbours a silent tension. The richness of this cinematic work invites reflection on the representation of individuals and their daily lives, confirming that a cleaning lady’s diary is, above all, a mirror of our own lives, full of unrealised potential.

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Actors Benoît Magimel and Bastien Bouillon tell us more about Léa Mysius’ “The Birthday Party”, presented in competition at the 79th Cannes 2026 Film Festival 2026. After “Ava” (premiered in the Critics’ Week section in 2017) and “The Five Devils” (Directors’ Fortnight, 2022), for this atypical claustrophobic chamber piece set on a farm that also houses a painter’s studio, the talented French screenwriter-director has assembled a terrific ensemble cast also including Hafsia Herzi in a pivotal role, Monica Bellucci, and Paul Hamy. Our talk with Bouillon, who plays Herzi’s character’s husband, and Magimel, who embodies an ambiguous, scary party-crasher, was as friendly and relaxed as Mysius’ thriller is intense and disturbing.

After evoking the motif of the past coming back to haunt you, a central theme of the film, Benoît Magimel tells us more about how he approached his mysterious character from a screenplay perspective, since he considers the script as ‘living matter’ and wanted, for this character in particular, to understand clearly where he comes from by imagining his back story and what brings him to that birthday party, on that fateful night. “Léa Mysius and I reworked the screenplay, because it seemed important to me to say more about his past with this woman, to bring in more context, and above all I wanted to talk about the prison environment and about what confinement can do to a man, how much it can damage him. And I also wanted to tell that story to this child, because he can’t just turn up thinking he will be able to build a relationship with her like this, so he had to speak his truth, and lay himself bare. That seemed important to me, but initially, it wasn’t really present in the script”.

On the question of what each of them tends to look at first in a screenplay, Bastien Bouillon (whose breakout film was the mindblowing “The Night of the 12th” by Dominik Moll) says, “First off, it’s not my own part, it’s something more general. It’s the project I feel I can see in there, maybe understand a little – because of course, you never know what it’s going to become, what the final film will be like exactly. Then there’s also the human factor, but in any case [I always consider the project in its] entirety”.  The actor relies heavily on his instincts. “I couldn’t put it in words, but there are places where I won’t go”. He clarifies by mentioning projects ‘claiming to be political’, when it’s really just posturing.

For Benoît Magimel, “what really counts is first and foremost the director, to the point that sometimes, the screenplay becomes very secondary. I also like discovering things, I like characters that have contradictions – that’s what I really enjoy, above all. And the issues at stake. And yes, the human aspect, possibly a sense of urgency, etc”.  The seasoned thespian – crowned Best Actor in Cannes back in 2001, for his performance in Michael Haneke’s “The Piano Teacher”, very impressive in the more recent “Pacifiction“, by Albert Serra, and “The Taste of Things” by Trần Anh Hùng, which both competed in Cannes, where Magimel is showing, this year, not only Léa Mysius’s film but also Antonin Baudry’s “La Bataille De Gaulle : L’Âge de fer” in the Out of Competition strand – adds that he likes to feel ‘like I’m taking a risk, like I have something to defend’.

“Léa, Bouillon explains, has the great quality – in all her films, and in this one in particular – of never creating a single role that doesn’t have a soul. On set, I found her very present at all times, to remind me of that soul and of what’s moving in the scene at hand. She gives you space while also being very precise, and indeed, as Benoît put it very well when he was talking about the characters’ backgrounds, in this film, everything needed to feel loaded. I think that this is also why Léa managed so well to make the viewer feel like time is expanding, in certain scenes, whereas with this type of claustrophobic chamber piece, one may be tempted to favour efficiency”.

Our conversation also addresses the inevitable surprises in store for the actors on the set of such a ensemble ‘drama behind closed doors’ bringing together such a fine group, each gifted with a role with real depth, especially one that revolves around a surprise party and throughout which the audience never knows who is who, what is going to happen, how much is planned and how much is slipping out of control.

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During the 79th Cannes Film Festival, we sat down with the French filmmaker Bruno Dumont to talk about his latest film, “Red Rocks”, which was presented at the Directors’ Fortnight as a special event, followed by a masterclass. This time, the director, always highly recognisable despite the fact that his films may seem wildly different from one another – we owe him, amongst other works, “The Life of Jesus”, “Camille Claudel, 1915”, “Slack Bay”, “Jeannette: The Childhood of Joan of Arc” as well as “France” and “The Empire”, not to mention the series “Li’l Quinquin” – embarks on a new experiment and heads to the French Riviera to film very young children, aiming to show ‘not children per se, but childhood itself’, and through that, to evoke once again ‘human nature’, as he always does.

On the love rivalry which ends up tainting the pure and innocent world of these children: ‘It’s the same trio as in “The Life of Jesus”, that is to say two people who love the same person, and that is the primordial conflict of desire. […] Whenever two people desire someone at the same time, it generates violence. It’s the ‘mimetic rivalry’ René Girard was writing about.’

What Bruno Dumont tries to do with every film, he says, is to ‘put the viewer into situations of life which culture need to address. We have to respond to that. Here, I am just showing the human nature, both in its grace and in its violence, without moralising – without saying this is good, this is bad –, in order to give the viewer the possibility of having a cinematic and artistic experience [akin to] catharsis. That’s what catharsis is: confronting our own demons. I can do it through humour, I can do it through drama… but the subjects I tackle are serious.’

On the contrast between the candour of very early childhood and this pure, almost primitive, slightly unreal universe, and the adult behaviours the kids gradually take on: ‘There is something very unsettling for the viewer in seeing such tiny beings on the verge of doing typically grown-up things, and I think that this unsettling feeling is very interesting, because I think it’s actually the adult viewer who is projecting […]. I think they remember their own childhood, but also see the whole germination of what they have become, namely the desire to love and, at the same time, the desire to kill.’

On the very peripheral presence of adults in the world we see on screen: ‘Adults make very brief appearances here, and most of them are quite odd. The idea here was to show both the strangeness of the real adult world and the power of childhood, of carefreeness, of that kind of total freedom in a world I find a bit ferocious, which is in fact our present.’

His approach, Bruno Dumont explains, is ‘not at all nostalgic. It’s about filming that light up above. I rather feel like I’m filming the world of tomorrow, where children will be free, without helmets, without rules, without bans, all that… [What I’m imagining here is] a kind of freedom which seems like a completely wild idea, but that is what we want. We don’t want rules, we don’t want impositions, we don’t want to be overprotected from everything: we want freedom.’

The filmmaker also explains how he went about working with five- and six-year-olds, and stresses that it took ‘a lot of constraints, to create an impression of total freedom: you have to keep them in the frame, their acting has to be precise, their expressions have to be just right… There are cinematographic requirements. This isn’t a wildlife documentary shot with a surveillance camera: it’s real work, and they are real actors.’

Asked about the fact that “Red Rocks” found ‘extraordinary coproducers’ in Spain, Bruno Dumont does not hesitate to say he is weary of the French film ‘industry’, which he finds arrogant, sanctimonious, moronic even, compared to the broad-minded people he worked with on this film.

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Presented in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes 2026 film festival, “Ulya” marks the latest feature by Latvian filmmaker Viesturs Kairiss. The film is a co-production involving Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Poland, and focuses on the early years of legendary basketball player Ulyana Semyonova, one of the most dominant athletes in women’s basketball history.

Set in Soviet Latvia in 1964, the film follows teenage Ulya, an Old Believer girl growing up in a remote rural community. Nearly two meters tall, she struggles to find her place in a world that sees her only through her physical difference. When a school photograph reaches basketball scouts in Riga, she is brought into the Soviet sports system and pushed toward a destiny she never fully chose for herself.

For Kairiss, however, the film was never intended as a conventional sports biopic. “I’m not interested in legends in that sense,” the director explained. “I wanted to make a film about a human being and about how difficult it is to accept yourself when the world constantly asks you to conform.”

One of the most striking aspects of “Ulya” is the decision to cast Latvian actor Kārlis Arnolds Avots in the role of Ulya. According to Kairiss, the idea did not emerge from a conceptual provocation but directly from the actor himself.

The director recalled that Avots had long been obsessed with the idea of portraying Semyonova, initially imagining the project for the stage. Only later did Kairiss realise the cinematic potential of such an approach. “In theatre, a male actor playing a female role is something familiar,” he said. “In cinema it felt almost impossible. That impossibility immediately attracted me.”

The choice became central to the film’s emotional and thematic identity. Rather than focusing on realism or imitation, Ulya explores the universal feeling of being perceived as different, alien or excessive within society.

For Kairiss, the character’s struggle transcends gender or sport. “Every person has an inner giant or an inner freak,” he noted. “At some point in life, you have to decide whether to hide it, destroy it or accept it.”

While deeply intimate, “Ulya” also carries a strong political dimension. Set during Latvia’s occupation by the Soviet Union, the film portrays a society shaped by ideological control and cultural suppression.

Kairiss stressed the importance of revisiting this historical context today, particularly against the backdrop of the ongoing war in Ukraine and renewed fears across the Baltic region. The director described Semyonova as a symbolic figure for Latvians of that era because, despite being Russian, she publicly embraced the Latvian language and identity at a time when Soviet authorities encouraged cultural assimilation.

“For Latvians, she represented a possibility of remaining ourselves,” the filmmaker explained. “Even small gestures carried political meaning during those years.”

Rather than reconstructing history as distant memory, the director approached the period through contemporary resonance. Themes of visibility, exclusion and social pressure remain central to the film’s emotional landscape.

Unlike traditional sports dramas built around victories and championships, “Ulya” deliberately avoids triumphalist storytelling. The narrative remains anchored in the protagonist’s adolescence and emotional development rather than her future fame.

According to Kairiss, this decision allowed the film to escape familiar genre clichés and move closer to an arthouse sensibility focused on vulnerability and identity. Ulya’s central conflict is not whether she can become a champion, but whether she can exist beyond the expectations imposed on her body.

The film gradually frames basketball not simply as competition, but as the only space where Ulya’s physicality acquires meaning rather than shame. Yet even success cannot entirely resolve her desire for ordinary human connection.

Reflecting on the film’s deeper message, Kairiss said that Ulya ultimately taught him the importance of recognising one’s own path in life. “You must understand your destiny and follow it,” he observed. “Sometimes instinct is the only thing guiding you.”

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Winner of the People’s Choice Award at the Directors’ Fortnight of the 79th Cannes Film Festival, “I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning“ is the fifth feature by BAFTA-nominated British director Clio Barnard, adapted by Enda Walsh from Keiran Goddard‘s novel of the same name. Set in Birmingham, the film follows five friends who have known each other since childhood, now turning thirty and navigating the distance between the lives they imagined and the ones they have. Among them are Rian, played by Joe Cole, a property developer who left for London and built a successful career but lost himself in the process, and Oli, played by Jay Lycurgo, the life and soul of the group who is battling addiction as he crosses the threshold into adulthood.

Joe Cole describes Rian as a man who has everything on paper: money, a career, a London life and nothing where it counts. He is lonely, stuck at a crossroads, and the only way forward is to go back to Birmingham and reconnect with the people who know him best. “He’s dealing with a loneliness and a crossroads in his life where he doesn’t quite know who he is or what he wants from it. He has to go back to his friends to understand who he truly is”. Jay Lycurgo‘s Oli is Rian’s opposite in almost every way, rooted in Birmingham, proud of where he comes from, the glue that holds the group together. But beneath the warmth there is fragility. “He’s the life and soul of the party, the puppy of the group. But he has got an addiction. He’s very lost as he turns 30, trying to find responsibility in his life and purpose”.

Both actors arrived at the project through Enda Walsh‘s script rather than Keiran Goddard‘s novel, though the book quickly became an essential resource. Joe Cole, already a devoted admirer of Enda Walsh‘s theatre work, was struck by the ingenuity of the adaptation: the novel is written entirely as individual monologues, and Enda Walsh found a way to intertwine those first-person voices into a single, flowing narrative.

Building the familiarity of a group that has known each other since childhood required a lot of work. Clio Barnard brought in an acting coach who led the cast through games, emotional recall exercises and improvised conversations about their own pasts. Then came a ritual that sealed the bond: a group dance to The Streets’ “Don’t Mug Yourself,” rehearsed and performed together every morning before shooting. Joe Cole credits that routine with breaking down barriers. “You kind of have to leave your inhibitions at the door. Once we’d done that, we felt very safe with one another and we all enjoy the process of improvisation and play and being free within the characters”. Clio Barnard rarely called action or cut, locals from Birmingham joined the cast through open calls, and the line between film set and real life dissolved. Jay Lycurgo recalls moments where the cast simply forgot the camera was there. It was, both actors agree, exactly the kind of filmmaking they wanted to be part of.

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Winner of the People’s Choice Award at the Directors’ Fortnight of the 79th Cannes Film Festival, “I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning”is the fifth feature by BAFTA-nominated British director Clio Barnard, adapted by Enda Walsh from Keiran Goddard’s novel of the same name. Set in Birmingham, the film follows a close-knit group of five friends who have known each other since childhood, now turning thirty and trying to find their footing in a country where the old promise work hard, rise above your class no longer holds. Among them are Patrick, played by Anthony Boyle, and Shiv, played by Lola Petticrew, a couple raising two children while navigating the gap between what life was supposed to look like and what it actually is.

The familiarity between Anthony Boyle and Lola Petticrew on screen is not manufactured. The two Northern Irish actors have been close friends since they were eleven years old, performing together in plays, TV shows and films long before Clio Barnard‘s project came along. Anthony Boyle recalls their earliest collaboration with characteristic self-deprecation: a Romeo and Juliet seen by five people, four of whom left, leaving Lola Petticrew‘s father clapping alone. But beneath the jokes lies something essential to how the film works. “We don’t have to try. We see each other, trust each other so much that I know I’m in a safe pair of hands and Lola knows that they’re in a safe pair of hands. Every time I get to work with them it’s just a dream come true”.

Both actors speak with deep admiration for Enda Walsh‘s screenplay. Anthony Boyle calls him one of the best writers in Ireland and recalls that they had nearly collaborated before, on a stage production of Enda Walsh‘s Disco Pigs that fell through. When Enda Walsh offered them this project, they were overjoyed. The novel, written entirely as internal monologue, presented a particular challenge in adaptation, and Enda Walsh‘s ability to externalise that inner life was crucial. Lola Petticrew, who read Keiran Goddard‘s book after the script, describes it as a constant resource. “Keiran wrote such a beautiful novel that I’m such a massive fan of. It’s exactly the kind of project that I’ve always been interested in making”.

The film is set in Birmingham but speaks to something far broader: the sensation of reaching thirty and discovering that the rules have changed. Anthony Boyle recalls a conversation with Keiran Goddard himself: at any other point in British history, a character like Patrick would have gone to university, found a job, become a success story. “But now because of the current socioeconomic state of the world, he can’t do that. In England you used to be able to rise above your class but not with your class. He says now that’s not possible”. Lola Petticrew offers the counterpoint through Shiv, a character who, unlike the men around her, is already capable of seeing the beauty in the life she has: in the mornings, the breakfasts, the flat, the relationship. “Shiv is a seer”, Lola Petticrew says simply.

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