Short Films, Big Questions

In this episode we chat to Elena Muntoni.

Elena is an incredibly talented and accomplished production designer.

Some of her credits include the BAFTA nominated short film, ‘Standby,’ music promos for artists like Mumford and Sons, Arlo Parks and Dave, as well as commercials for brands like Yamaha, Samsung and Asics. 

Recently, Elena was the production designer on the feature film, “Scrapper” the debut from director, Charlotte Regan starring Harris Dickinson and Lola Campbell. 

We talk about how she dissects a script when she first receives it, what she talks about in her meetings with her director, as well as how she works with her team. We delve into why you may need a production designer for your film and we also touch on her love of excel spreadsheets! 

Here is the link to the short film ‘Standby’: https://vimeo.com/207630463

Here is the trailer for ‘Scrapper’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcEY8_9n2U8

You can find out more about her work here:https://www.elenamuntoni.com/

In this episode we speak with Joe Beverley. Joe is one part of the commercial and narrative directorial duo, ‘That Jam’. 

Joe talks us through his process working on big budget commercials which have allowed him and his directing partner, Sam, to explore genre and cement their unique style. They’ve made heist films for Cadburys, filmed car chases and flying cars as well as blown up entire film sets. We speak about how he balances his work on commercials with his work on short films as well as dive into the world of VFX (which is new ground for us on the show.)

His short film, ‘This Is English’ was accepted all over the UK into festivals like Crystal Palace International Film Festival, London Short Film Festival and Aesthetica. 

You can check it out here:  https://vimeo.com/408869149

Joe also speaks about buying the rights to a book of short stories which he and his creative partner, Sam are turning into a short film anthology. 

You can find the teaser for the first film they've made based on this here:

Find out more about Joe, and 'That Jam' here:

https://www.thatjam.co.uk/

Here are links to the two commercials we reference most:

Cadburys: https://www.thatjam.co.uk/creme-egg-the-last-delivery

Superbet: https://www.thatjam.co.uk/superbet-gosuper

In this episode we speak with film director, Richard Raymond.

We focus on his journey from directing the feature film ‘Desert Dancer’ which starred Freida Pinto and was distributed by Relativity to directing the short film “Souls of Totality” - the only film ever to have been shot during a solar eclipse!

‘Souls’ won Best Short Film at Raindance in 2018, the Grand Jury prize at Hollyshorts, had a special mention at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and was selected for Tribeca Film Festival. Online it’s everywhere from platforms like ‘DUST’ to ‘Alter’ and ‘Omeleto,’ and has had millions of views.

Richard also takes us through why he went back into short films, the planning involved in shooting a film during an actual solar eclipse, how he gets his work funded and his methods for making sure his work is seen by the right people.

We really encourage you to watch ‘Souls Of Totality’ before listening. You can watch it here on Vimeo:

https://vimeo.com/295048498

We also delve into the brilliant “A Million Eyes,’ his latest short film. You can watch that here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unyb8wu4FDo

And here is the trailer for Desert Dancer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzCdDC3e0AE

We hope you enjoy this one as much as we did!

For this episode, we had the pleasure of speaking to Alexander Jeremy. AJ is a filmmaker, actor and member of the comedy improv group, "Shoot from the Hip."

He’s recently wrapped post production on a film called The Spaceman, starring none other than Woody Norman (C’mon C’mon, Poldark), Colin Farrell (Banshees of Inesherrin, The Lobster), and Amanda Abbington (Sherlock, Mr Selfridge).

Our conversation has two main themes to it: first, how he made The Spaceman and specifically, how he amassed such a star studded cast for the project. Secondly, his comedy improv group, Shoot from the Hip, and how they’ve built an audience for themselves. 

As of writing this, they have 186,000 followers on instagram and 1.2 million followers on TikTok. We have a great conversation about how we, as filmmakers, can apply the lessons AJ’s learnt, and as a consequence, gain more power as creatives. 

AJ is incredibly candid about the life of a filmmaker- we massively appreciated this and feel like there’s so much to learn from what he has to say.

You can find out more about him via the links below:

YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@atjeremy

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atjeremy/?hl=en

Shoot from the Hip’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shootimpro/?hl=en

AJ’s favourite short films: 

https://www.nowness.asia/picks/red-feng-yu-chao

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zs1xPBIfOS4

In this episode we speak with Academy Award winning film director, Chris Overton. Chris received the 'Best Live Action Short Film' Oscar for ‘The Silent Child,’ along with his wife, Rachel Shenton, who wrote the project. 

Chris shares how he started life in the industry as an actor, performing in films directed by Joel Schumacher and Roman Polanski, and the current projects he's working on. We discuss the road to the Oscars with 'The Silent Child,' as well as what happens after you win an Oscar! We also get into why he set up his production company Slick Films and how he distributes and makes money back on his shorts.  

This was truly inspiring and we are so grateful to Chris for taking the time to speak with us.

Here are some links to his work: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GbxFIVQv8c (The Silent Child - Oscar Winner)

https://slickfilms.co.uk/leader/ (Leader - his short film shot on a phone)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3C5zbjjWTE (Chris' favourite short film).

In this episode Will and Ieuan had the pleasure of speaking with Owain Astles; a neurodivergent director and 1st AD based in Bristol & London. Owain’s work focuses on social impact, participatory filmmaking and visual activism, and spans narrative, documentary and commercial.

We talk about Owain's perspective on docu-dramas, his work as a first AD, his experience teaching prison inmates filmmaking, and his experience so far on the BFI Network’s Shorts2Features programme.

Owain’s work has screened at multiple BAFTA and BIFA-qualifying festivals. Please find details to specific projects below:

https://www.owainastles.com/work/sleeping-rough

https://www.owainastles.com/work/thehardestfight

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p09j7fdm/new-creatives-to-my-younger-self

In this episode, we have a conversation with the visionary filmmaker that is Mark Jenkin.

Mark Kermode referred to his debut feature film, Bait (2019) as a "genuine modern masterpiece, which establishes Jenkin as one of the most arresting and intriguing British film-makers of his generation.”

The film premiered at Berlinale, and won him the BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer.

His unique style and methods make for strikingly powerful short films. Some of our favourites are David Bowie is Dead, Dear Marianne, and Hard Cracked the Wind (all available on BFI Player.) He’s also made music videos for the likes of Thom Yorke’s new project The Smile and Bicep. 

Mark’s most recent film is Enys Men, a mind-bending Cornish folk horror set on an island off the Cornish coast. It is released on Blu-ray & DVD (Dual Format Edition) and on BFI Player on 8 May.

We talk about a range of topics, including his process, his opinions on shorts, his history with them, and of course the brilliant Enys Men.

This was truly a very special episode for us. We walked away from it with our minds blown, inspired and excited about the possibilities of filmmaking. Mark is an innovator, and one to keep a close eye on. He’s also a lovely guy!

A massive thank you to the great London Short Film Festival, who were instrumental in setting this conversation up. Please find the link to their website here:

https://shortfilms.org.uk/

You can find out more about Mark here:

https://www.instagram.com/mark_jenkin/?hl=en

https://markjenkin.co.uk/

Mark's favourite short films:

Jaunt- Dir. Andrew Kotting

https://vimeo.com/55220005

World Of Glory- Dir. Roy Anderson

https://vimeo.com/2867971

In this episode we sit down with George Magner to speak about his journey as a filmmaker and his latest short film, 'Fall Better'. We go into all sorts of topics in this episode, from his decision to shoot on film to how George pitched his short film to charities in order to secure funding. He goes through the long pitching process and the hustle required of both him and his producers to bring his very personal project to life.

His previous short films 'Cost of Bronze' and 'Skipping Lunch' (links below) both qualified for Underwire Festival with Cost of Bronze also winning Best Short Film at the Venice Fine Arts Film Festival.

George is also the co-founder of 'Mountain Way' which specialises in producing films for charity and arts organisations. Previous clients include the Royal Opera House, the Barbican Centre, Humane Society International and the National Children’s Bureau.

Will and George met at a BAFTA Guru event back in 2018 and have kept the relationship alive since then, providing feedback on each others work and bumping into each other at festivals and networking events. It was great to catch up!

Here are some links to his work:

georgemagner.com/fallbettershort

georgemagner.com/the-cost-of-bronze

georgemagner.com/skipping-lunch

georgemagner.com/derek-jarman-my-gardens-boundaries-are-the-horizon

In this episode we speak to renowned casting director Andrea Clarke. 

Prior to setting up her own company Andrea co- cast many acclaimed feature films, including Dog Soldiers, Keeping Mum and The Thief Lord, which starred a young George MacKay and Aaron Taylor Johnson. 

As an associate casting director, she collaborated on the casting of blockbusters such as Hellboy, Blade II and Hidalgo.

Since founding her own company in 2006, Andrea has worked on award winning feature films, commercials and short films. She also casts a variety of other projects including video games, corporate films, and new media content. 

We talk about why you should consider using a casting director on your short film, thinking outside the box when casting, the benefits of in person vs. self tape auditions, and much more!

You can find Andrea's website here: 

https://www.aclarkcasting.com/

Andrea's favourite short film: 

https://www.paulcampion.com/portfolio/the-naughty-list

A big thank you to Thomas Benjamin Cooper for the music on this podcast!

Instagram: @shortfilmsbigquestions @ieuancoombs @w.liney

In this episode we had the pleasure of speaking with Riffy Ahmed, an award-winning Film Director, Writer, and Visual Artist based in London. 

Riffy trained as a visual artist at Central Saint Martins, and graduated with a masters in Directing fiction at NFTS with a full scholarship from Channel 4. Riffy loves to tell stories about ‘unlikely heroes’ we don’t always see on the big screen at turning points in their lives, particularly framed around women and diaspora identities. She is currently finishing her coming of age short THE CALL, supported by the BFI Network. 

We spoke to Riffy about her work on experimental short films and narrative fiction work. We also talk to her about her experience second unit directing on Top Boy, her attitude towards representation, and how to persist in this challenging industry.

Please find the link to her experimental short film, Afloat, here:

https://vimeo.com/riffy?embedded=false&source=owner_name&owner=5278135

You can also find details and trailers for her other work here:

http://www.riffy.com/work

Full length links available on request. Send via instagram to @shortfilmsbigquestions.