Occasionally people ask me about the ‘making of’ my films and want to know if I am related to Emma Thompson. You can read these briefs explainers if you are interested in finding out a bit more about how/why each project came to fruition…
Alex’s Dream 2018
At the time, I was producing films for another filmmaker and enjoying learning more about how the sausage gets made. I was a pretty good producer, but it wasn’t allowing me much creative input. We were in the grade for a film that we had recently completed and I sort of decided, rather randomly, that I wanted to write and direct my own film. I opened my laptop and wrote the first scene of Alex’s Dream. There was no particular form or structure that I followed, but I knew that I wanted it to include a talking dog and a fishermen. The themes of oneiric experience and male mental health revealed themselves later in the process, probably during the edit. I would never write anything like this today. The audacity and naivety of writing scenes on fishing boats out at sea is something I’m proud of. It’s a miracle we completed this film - so much could have, should have, gone wrong. We called in so many favors and I was pleased that people wanted to support my ‘vision’. Alex was my flatmate at the time and the other cast members were all friends and people I had prior relationships with. I knew how I wanted to conduct myself as a director and I enjoyed discovering his newfound passion. It made sense almost immediately. From memory, there was a good atmosphere on set and despite the incredibly low-budget, it felt pretty professional. Our family dog, Harry, features in the film. He died, unexpectedly, shortly after the shoot. I loved that dog very much, he was a best friend and a wonderful colleague.
Extinction 2019
This came about almost immediately after Alex’s Dream. The dust had barely settled, but I was pleased that there was another project to think about. I’d just done an acting job and had a bit of money to help support myself whilst I did lots of unpaid research and writing. At first, I was unsure about writing about climate-change, it felt pretty intimidating and I didn’t want to write drama. We quickly landed on the idea of satire and writing ‘The Thick of It’, but about climate activists. I spent about five months following Extinction Rebellion around London and trying to figure out how they operated as a non-hierarchical protest movement. It was exciting and fascinating. It also opened my eyes to the full-scale of the climate-crisis and was a really informative time for me. I also fell in love with the idea of writing about activists and loved the multitude of emotions that these kinds of characters contained. It was also funny - activism is inherently comedic and is a joy to write about. Because I believe that activists are a fundamental part of our democratic and societal processes, I’m happy to write jokes about how hard their work is.
When we managed to get Emma Thompson involved in the project, it felt like a huge step forward. I didn’t know how lucky I was to be working with Emma and it definitely changed my life. I want to be Emma Thompson when I grow up. I’m proud of the writing in this film and how we tried to capture a moment in time. It was a divisive film, but got me my first agent and was subsequently picked up by BBC Studios, to develop it into a TV series.
Goodbye, Hello 2023
During the lockdown of 2021 I got an email about a film in L.A that was looking for a director. The project was fully-financed and would shoot later that year. Of course, it felt like long shot at the time and the idea of actually going out to L.A to make a film didn’t really feel like a reality. So I pitched for the project and was able to feel pretty relaxed about the process. I liked the team and the script was in a really good place. It was funny and totally achievable to shoot. The producers had seen Alex’s Dream and liked the tone and energy of the characters and story. There is something about the social-anxiety of AD that has always resonated with people. The producers offered me the job and several months later I managed to get to L.A. The process of crewing-up and pre-production was difficult. I didn’t know anyone and had to work incredibly fast. Luckily, I was very supported and we managed to make all our days and come out with a film that felt ‘bigger’ than its very small budget. I’m extremely proud of what we accomplished. I did all of my post work in London and was able to reunite with lots of the people who had worked on Alex’s Dream and Extinction. Some of the music has changed in the film which is a shame. Films are never finished, but abandoned. I hope we abandoned this one in a good place.
Spirit of Place 2024
When I was fourteen years old I went to see Twelfth Night at a Westend theatre. The actor Mark Rylance was in the play and I was compelled to wait for him at stage-door after the show. My mum was kind enough to wait with me. Mark spoke to me and said “One day we’ll work together.”. I dare say he says this to a lot of the young creatives who meet him, but it meant a lot to me. I believed it. In 2021, Mark began the idea of a National Nature Service, which caught my attention and imagination. His thoughts on nature and the climate-crisis resonated with me and I wanted to write something for him that might help support these ideas and philosophies. I wrote a small script about a man up a tree and sent it to his representatives. Mark read the script and responded positively. A steady back-and-forth developed and two years later we’d totally evolved the project. Mark was about to become an ambassador for the WWT and was interested in exploring wetland environments in our film. I was excited by this idea and tailored the script to meet these needs. I worked with WWT and Mark to learn about these environments and to try and capture some of their spirit. They are incredibly spaces and operate in what could be perceived as a non-binary capacity. They defy categorization and often sit between thoughts and feelings. I loved researching the project and being in a dialogue with Mark. He was incredibly generous with his time and ideas. In August 2023 we shot the film at Woodberry Downs in North London and the London Wetland Centre in Barnes. It was a tough and complicated shoot, but was immensely fun. It feels like my most personal film to date. I loved exploring the themes of access to nature, identity and sexual-identity. I hope the film makes people want to visit their local wetland.
More Flames 2024
The previous Summer I was introduced to Yellow Dot Studios and Carice Van Houten. We discussed the idea of creating a Game of Thrones satire, using the characters and story of the show to convey a punchy bit of climate messaging. At one point in time we had at least twelve of the principle cast of Thrones attached, but the actor’s strikes complicated things and the project was shelved. A few months later I re-drafted the script into something completely different. I liked the analogy and visuals of a film-set and how that could be used as a thinly-veiled metaphor for the climate conversation, with a particular focus on the role of film and TV within the issue. We are an industry of creative thinkers and are incredibly capable of responding to difficult situations and subject matter, and yet, we are often resigned to telling the same old stories again and again and again. By the time we had cast attached and the project was ready to go, we had about four days to prep. Shooting on a VP stage with four days prep isn’t a very good idea, but we somehow managed to not fuck it up. Jack the DP was great. Phoebe and Amar were wonderful, generous actors. Bella Ramsey voiced a talking dog. Adam McKay executive produced the film. It was really bonkers and the end product is something I’m really proud of. I’d emailed Adam McKay years prior to this, in an attempt to discuss climate-storytelling, so there was a touch of manifestation to the whole thing. We shot the film at Twickenham Studios which smells of horse hair and is a wonderful place to work.