One Good Take

Friederich Oetker, producer of the highly compelling Netflix series. Join us for the rest of the conversation, episode 57, and find out more about how the series was made. 

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Lee Whittaker talks to me about his life in movies as actor, stuntman and film director. For a man who has spent so much of his life in the action genre it was a little surprising – if not gratifying – to hear that his next movie is a character piece influenced by stories like Pan’s Labyrinth. To hear the rest of our conversation, listen to episode 56 of One Good Take.

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Actor and stuntman, writer/director and producer, Lee Whittaker.   

Lee has appeared in dozens of action movies as actor and stuntman – but has a real passion for telling the kinds of stories that seldom interest Hollywood studios. 

Although he stuck to the action genre for his directorial debut, The Vigilante, out this year on Tubi, his next project, still in development, is a story that borrows from magical realism and seeks to invoke compassion is us for a homeless mother and child, without eve dialing up your adrenaline count for the day. 

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I first came across Sophie Robinson’s work on Netflix. She’s the writer/director of one of 4 films that make up a mini-series called The Surgeon’s Cut. Her film – Living Donor – focuses on the life and career of the hugely talented liver surgeon Nancy Ascher. 

Each of these four films are, in my view,  equally superb. Sophie just happened to be the only director in the group who is based in London – which made it fairly straightforward for us to get together at the end of August 2023.

If you want to watch the interview we did on camera, you'll find it by clicking here.

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With DVDs a thing of the past, and streaming the norm, it seems to me making an independent film that actually makes a profit gets harder and harder. Which does rather pose the question, How in hell’s name do you persuade anyone to invest in such a venture? 

I thought I’d bring onto the show a filmmaker who might have an answer to that question. 

James Smith is a British film director who has on more than one occasion half killed himself making feature films on micro budgets at breakneck speed and then managed to sell the finished product to a streamer.

So, if you’re in the indie space wondering, how can I make my first feature for peanuts and a can of Red Bull, dive right in because I think you’ll find this episode with James quite rewarding.

James's latest film is Casting Kill and tells the story of a fraudster posing as a casting director who preys on actors desperate to win their big break. 

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With DVDs a thing of the past, and streaming the norm, it seems to me making an independent film that actually makes a profit gets harder and harder. Which does rather pose the question, How in hell’s name do you persuade anyone to invest in such a venture? 

I thought I’d bring onto the show a filmmaker who might have an answer to that question. 

James Smith is a British film director who has on more than one occasion half killed himself making feature films on micro budgets at breakneck speed and then managed to sell the finished product to a streamer. 

So, if you’re in the indie space wondering, how can I make my first feature for peanuts and a can of Red Bull, dive right in because I think you’ll find this episode with James quite rewarding. 

Support the show

In episode 54 I talk with film editor Matteo Bini.

Matteo moved to London from Italy in 2011 for the MA in Editing at the prestigious National Film and Television School. 

He graduated in 2013 with a distinction and received the Christie Award for Most Promising Student.

Among Bini's recent works as an editor are Charlotte Regan’s debut feature film Scrapper, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance 2023.  Cathy Brady’s debut feature film Wildfire, winner of the BIFA best debut screenwriter 2021 and Prevenge by Alice Lowe, selected as the Opening Film of the 31. Venice International Film Critics’ Week.

Amongst his documentary work, The Confession by Sam Hobkinson, Pelé  by Dave Thryon and Ben Nicholas, 

Return to Podor by Oscar winner director Kevin Macdonald and Pistorius, a feature documentary series about the iconic athlete, and convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius. 

For TV  he worked on the critically acclaimed series  Top Boy,   directed by William Stephen Smith, Riches created by Abby Ajay and directed by Sebastian Thiel and Glue, the E4 TV drama by Bafta-winning writer Jack Thorne, nominated at the Broadcast Awards for Best Multichannel Programme.

His short film credits include Balcony, winner of the Crystal Bear at the 2016 Berlinale Film Festival, 

Change in the Weather, premiered at the Clermont-Ferrand film festival 2016 and Morning, winner of the Irish Film and Television Award 2013 and nominated for Best Short Film at the European Film Awards 2013.

In 2014 Bini co-directed and co-wrote the Italian feature film Io, Arlecchino produced by Officina della Comunicazione and Rai Cinema. The film premiered at the Rome Film Festival and was released nationwide in Italy in June 2015.

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In episode 54 I talk with film editor Matteo Bini.

Matteo moved to London from Italy in 2011 for the MA in Editing at the prestigious National Film and Television School. 

He graduated in 2013 with a distinction and received the Christie Award for Most Promising Student.

Among Bini's recent works as an editor are Charlotte Regan’s debut feature film Scrapper, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance 2023.  Cathy Brady’s debut feature film Wildfire, winner of the BIFA best debut screenwriter 2021 and Prevenge by Alice Lowe, selected as the Opening Film of the 31. Venice International Film Critics’ Week.

Amongst his documentary work, The Confession by Sam Hobkinson, Pelé  by Dave Thryon and Ben Nicholas, 

Return to Podor by Oscar winner director Kevin Macdonald and Pistorius, a feature documentary series about the iconic athlete, and convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius. 

For TV  he worked on the critically acclaimed series  Top Boy,   directed by William Stephen Smith, Riches created by Abby Ajay and directed by Sebastian Thiel and Glue, the E4 TV drama by Bafta-winning writer Jack Thorne, nominated at the Broadcast Awards for Best Multichannel Programme.

His short film credits include Balcony, winner of the Crystal Bear at the 2016 Berlinale Film Festival, 

Change in the Weather, premiered at the Clermont-Ferrand film festival 2016 and Morning, winner of the Irish Film and Television Award 2013 and nominated for Best Short Film at the European Film Awards 2013.

In 2014 Bini co-directed and co-wrote the Italian feature film Io, Arlecchino produced by Officina della Comunicazione and Rai Cinema. The film premiered at the Rome Film Festival and was released nationwide in Italy in June 2015.

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Shamim Sarif is an award-winning filmmaker who started her creative career writing novels.

Whereas most filmmakers go through a rash of shorts before they can take a crack at directing a feature, Shamim was able to bypass all of that and dive straight in to her first feature in 2007.

Her fifth feature film, an indie drama called Polarized, was shot in Manitoba, Canada, and released earlier this year. It’s this film that we’ll be discussing for most of the episode. Enjoy this take. 

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Introducing filmmaker and novelist Shamim Sarif talking to me on Episode 52 of One Good Take. 

Our main reason for getting together was to discuss her latest film, Polarized, an indie drama that explores the friendship and, later, romantic connection between two young women who come from the same town in North America, but very different worlds: one being white, the other Palestinian. 

Polarized is a well observed, deeply authentic story with a truly inclusive spirit to carry it along and a beautiful rural landscape to please the eye. Listen to the full conversation with Shamim on Episode 52.

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