Liselotte Vanophem (Big Picture Film Club): Congratulations on the amazing documentary. How did you guys meet?

Frédéric Tcheng (Invisible Beauty): We met because we made a short movie together for the CFDA in New York. They needed a 3-minute film to introduce her on stage, and I was approached to make that 3-minute film, and that’s how we met. I didn’t know who Bethann was because I’m not much of a fashion guy, even though I’ve made a lot of fashion movies. We sat down to interview for that short film. For a 3-minute film, I interviewed Bethann for like 5 hours.

FT: There’s much to discuss, and I said, “Well, this is a very special person.” And we kept in touch. Bethann told me about the feature film that was more about the industry. And then, over the years, we started talking about making a new film that was more about her, the people in her life and her influence. Three and a half years ago, four years ago, we started working on that.

LV: You mentioned that you interviewed her for five hours for the three-minute video. How long did you film to make this movie?

FT: We wanted to make a documentary representing her life. A great woman like her deserves a great documentary. The first cut we had was a documentary of around 7 hours.

Bethann Hardison (Invisible Beauty): I like that first cut of 7 hours. That’s when he had to get into it and cut it to something he could present to me.

FT: After that, we got it down to four hours.

BH: Four hours was so good!

FT: Sadly, we had to cut even more. The result may be a bit longer than most, but that’s because people sit there watching this movie and want to see more. It was just a lot—a lot of stories to tell. We had to make choices about what thread we were following. The thread in the film would differ from the one in the book. It was the thread of advocacy. And you know, that’s how we saw it. It shaped the art of the story. All the collaborators and fashion people in this movie did something interesting and amazing.

LV: Because you had all the footage, were there any ideas of turning it into a limited series?

FT: Well, we did talk about making a series. But we got shut down by our producer, Lisa Cortez, who said that our investors had signed up for a feature film. So we had to deliver a movie. It’s good to have that constraint. We have to make choices about how we tell the story. It was a long path. But I was already very happy that Bethann was proud of what we had made. She always tells the truth, and if she was not going to like it, I would have felt like I had let her down. I didn’t want that. And so when she saw the four hours and said, “You made me a believer in my own story”, that was like a huge relief.

 LV: Did the writing of the book influence the film and vice versa?

BH: No, not really. They’re both about two different things. The book had nothing to do with the film. Because I have so many relationships, it helped me to tell my story in the movie.

FT: There were so many stories about, for example, the relationships with Jean-Michel Basque, but we couldn’t fit that in the film. That’s because we had to stick to Bethan’s story. It was important.

BH: But those stories could be included in the book. I need to finish my book because everyone is now seeing the film.

LV: Does that put more pressure on you?

BH: Yes, there was no pressure when they started to film, but because of the documentary, the audience wanted to see more, and I can feel the pressure. Not sure if the book will be as good as Invisible Beauty, though.

FT: It will be. I’ve read some pages. I can’t wait for everyone else to read the book. I told Bethann that I like her writing. She’s a writer. She didn’t need a ghostwriter. I told her not to get one. She has a voice of her own.

LV: This documentary highlights the beauty industry and the lack of diversity. Do you think the revolutionary things you did are also the perfect way to see even more inclusivity? Let’s say seeing models with a disability or models that look more like the women we see in the street.

BH: That’s where I have a problem. I give so much more credit to the outside world than to the little island of fashion. On one side, you have the world, and on the other, this stupid little island of fashion. That little island represented how a model looked in my day. People have so much style and personality, and it’s nonsense to want to become like the model you see. I believe the fashion model should be something we don’t want to be. That island is them. When I go around the world, I meet many young people who say they want to be a model. What a model is, is so broad these days. So many people can be a model.

LV: What can we do as consumers to show the fashion industry that we want more inclusivity and diversity?

BH: That change is already happening. The voices for change are here. You see mixed-race families. You see, same-sex marriages.

LV: Invisible Beauty was screened during the Sundance Film Festival London. Are there any other festivals the documentary is going to?

FT: We have had a nice festival run so far. We were in Toronto, Tribeca, Seattle, San Francisco; you name it. The film will be out in the US on the 15th of September. It’s very exciting for us to get a theatrical release.

Also Read: Review: Invisible Beauty

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Liselotte Vanophem (Big Picture Film Club): Congrats on the film!

Charlotte Regan (writer/director Scrapper): Thank you so much.

LV: It was just announced that the film is going to Edinburgh, to the Edinburgh Film Festival. How does it feel?

CR: It’s very cool! It’s very exciting. I love Edinburgh, so it would be nice to be a part of it, for sure.

LV: How did it feel when the Sundance Film Festival London said, “we want your film as the opening film”. Opening a festival must feel even more special than ‘only’ being selected.

CR: Being part of the Sundance Film Festival London and the Sundance community feels super cool. I try not to think about it too much, though. But it’s very cool. I feel very lucky, for sure.

LV: The casting of this movie is amazing, especially the children who are making their film debut. How did you find them?

CR: Oh, our casting director, Shaheen Baig, is incredible. She was a massive part of the search. And it was just a really long search. It took like two years because we were meant to shoot the year before, but because of COVID19, we had to push it back. We went to a lot of schools, and we’re being sent hundreds of tapes of young people. But from the moment we got Lola her tape, we knew that she was like magic. And then Alin came to an audition, and he’s the most charismatic 12-year-old you’ll ever meet in your life. So straight away, we knew we had two great kids on our hands.

LV: When and how did Harris Dickinson join the cast? The relationship between his character Jason and Lola’s Georgie is incredible.

CR: I’ve worked with Harris before when we worked on a short film a few years ago. I know him from that. I also love all the work that he’s done. All his films are incredible. He’s an amazing guy. He was cast the traditional way. We cast the young people first, or we intended to. Maybe we didn’t properly lock them in, but we looked for the kids first before looking for a Jason, just because I felt like the kids needed to come first and then Jason. Harris read for it and was just amazing, you know. He was also very selfless and knew how to support the kids whilst always giving a great performance.

LV: Where did the story for this film come from? Was it something that happened to you personally, something you have seen, etc.?

CR: I think a mix of everything for sure. There are people that I recognize within the film. People from the joyful working-class community that I grew up in. But beyond that, it’s not something that happened to me personally. The story evolved over time.

 LV: This is the first movie you wrote and directed by yourself instead of having co-directors/co-writers. How was that process?

CR: It was a lot of sitting on your own, writing, which I’m not a big fan of. I like to be with people to talk about things. I worked with my producer Theo on this, who is one of my best friends in the world, and we’ve worked together for a long time. There was that ‘family’ vibe. My production designer Elena was one of my best friends in school, and we’ve known each other since we were 12. My DP Molly is one of my best friends. It felt very much like a family-orientated shoot. They came on board very early and were always willing to talk creatively, which helped. Theo in particular, has sat with me for days and days, writing the script with me and saying the dialogue out loud. He was my partner through the whole process, for sure.

LV: There are a lot of emotional moments in this film. What was the most emotional one for you?

CR: I don’t know, really. I don’t feel that emotional on set, weirdly. I don’t know why. I probably try not to. However, when I watch it back, I love the bit where they are dancing together, and they finally connect just because she’s been so reluctant to let him in. So I love that moment. However, on the day of filming, I didn’t feel very emotional about it. I was probably blurring it out on purpose. I was probably tired and drinking too much coffee.

LV: And what do you hope that the audience will take away from this film?

CR: I hope it makes people laugh and smile. I suppose that is what I love about watching cinema. Movies are experiences that make you leave feeling lighter than when you went in. Something that makes you laugh or brings you a bit of joy. And then I hope that it captures how much joy and humour there is in working-class environments because I feel like it’s not something we get to see loads on screen.

LV: Is that experience also why you went into filmmaking?

CR: I don’t know. I think I got lucky with the film so I think it’s more luck. I don’t know if I would be good at anything else.

LV: Do you already have other projects you’re working on

CR: Yes, I’m writing films at the minute and just filmed an Apple show called The Buccaneers. It’s a period drama. One of the films I’m writing is a psychological horror about a gangster. It’s a totally different genre than this one.

LV: Scraper has a release at the end of August in the UK (25^th of August, to be exact). Are there any plans for releasing it in other countries?

CR: I think it releases on the same day in the U.S. I think I’ll be working on another shoot then, so might not be able to make it to promote it there.

LV: Well, good luck with Scrapper and your other projects!

CR: Thanks a lot!

Scrapper is screened on the 7th of July during the Sundance Film Festival London and has a nationwide release on the 25th of August.

Also Read: Review: Scrapper

Your contribution to Big Picture Film Club will allow us to continue to produce content. No matter the amount your contributions are greatly appreciated.

The post Inside the Heart of ‘Scrapper’: An Interview with Groundbreaking Director Charlotte Regan appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

Watch the full interview below

Also Read: Uzo Oleh Discusses His Sci-Fi Thriller “Edicius” & Support From Idris Elba

Your contribution to Big Picture Film Club will allow us to continue to produce content. No matter the amount your contributions are greatly appreciated.

The post Filmmaker Anthony Vander On The U.K Film Industry & “Breaking” America appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

You can watch the full interview below

Also Read: Five Thought-Provoking Documentaries To Watch On BirdBox

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The post Hong Kong Activist “Pepper” & Director Franz Böhm Discuss “Dear Future Children” appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

“Pregnant by her own father for the second time, 16-year-old Claireece “Precious” Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) can neither read nor write and suffers constant abuse at the hands of her vicious mother (Mo’Nique). Precious instinctively sees a chance to turn her life around when she is offered the opportunity to transfer to an alternative school. Under the patient, firm guidance of her new teacher, Ms. Rain (Paula Patton), Precious begins the journey from oppression to self-determination.”

Get your tickets: https://www.odeon.co.uk/films/diverse-cinema/

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Unplug with Ani is a podcast hosted by Anisa Butt were she chats with a new guest every week about motivation, mindset, behaviour and relationships.

Listen to the podcast below

Alternatively:

Listen to the podcast on Apple Podcast or Spotify.

Also Read: My Journey From The UK To Bombay

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“Yuli – The Carlos Acosta Story” will be in cinemas Friday 12th April.

The post Interview: Carlos Acosta Discusses Ballet & His Film “Yuli” appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

Big Picture Film Club: How did you get your start in acting?

Ashley Walters: It was unintentional, my mum was a chaperone for my cousin for when he would go out for castings. My mum took me along to one of his auditions when I was only six years old, and when we arrived, they asked if I could audition as well. Long story short, I got the part, and here we are today.

BPFC: So Solid Crew’s breakthrough into the charts was unlike anything we had ever seen before in music, although it wasn’t without its controversy. In regards to your acting career, did being part of that group help open doors to more acting opportunities or did some of the negative press surrounding the group hinder further opportunities at that time?

AW: No one wanted to touch me after I got out of prison. As far as the industry and the press were concerned, I was a gun-touting gangster. So the doors were very much shut. I was in a very dark place but I knew I had to make a transition, a choice I had made while I was inside.

BPFC: Did you feel an initial pressure to be typecast? How did you ensure you had a varied the roles you went for over the course of your career?

AW: I’ve been blessed to have Claire as my agent. We made a 15-year plan, and the early part of that was to play the type-casted roles. That is what the industry wanted from me. As time has passed, we have found opportunities to play more venerable characters and most of them have worked out.

BPFC: Which roles do you feel challenged you the most and took you out of your comfort zone?

AW: WAZ was the film that really took me out of my comfort when I chose to play for the first time a homosexual character. Being straight and coming from my community and my background created an extra pressure that I put on myself. In the end, after the film came out, I didn’t receive half the backlash that I was expecting and it gave the industry the opportunity to see that I can play more than just one role.

BPFC: Setting up Kingdom Drama School back in 2012 marked a change in your focus to help develop the next generation of actors. What inspired you to set up your own drama school and how has that experience been over the past 6 years?

AW: I wanted to create a drama school that felt like home for people who come from working-class backgrounds like myself. It’s been an amazing journey working with our students and unearthing their talents which would have been missed elsewhere. The passion at the school every Sunday is second to none.

BPFC: Particularly with actors from working-class backgrounds, have you found they are finding it harder to break into the industry in recent years? If so, what can be done to offer people from poorer backgrounds more opportunities to develop their craft?

AW: My advice to working-class actors struggling to break into the industry is to create your own work, partner with the right people who are also on your path, promote your work and build an audience. Focus on the solution, rather than the problem. There are people making award-winning films on their smartphones.

BPFC: Last year you set up your production company SLNda (pronounced Slander) with your business partner, Najan Ward. What can we expect from SLNda moving forward?

AW: We have four very different projects on our slate at the moment:

PIRATES is a fictional scripted drama based in the mid-nineties. The story is based on my experience as a 15-year-old kid coming up as MC on the illegal pirate radio scene.

COMMONWEALTH is an inspirational scripted period-drama starting in the 1950’s. We follow five very different families from Commonwealth member countries from all corners of globe arriving in the UK.

NAAN BREAD is a hilarious mockumentary based in Leicester and we follow an Indian family mixed with traditional and modern siblings. The business is going down the pan, and a nephew to the family is filming the whole ordeal for a school media project.

THE CHARLATANS is a scripted dramedy that follows 5 lawless students who get expelled from Manchester Unversity and double-cross one of the cities most notorious gangster. The escape to London and use their illicit skills to con, swindle and force their way into the capitals alluring entertainment industry.

Watch this space: www.slnda.com

BPFC: You’re more than 20 years into your acting career, and it seems like your going from strength to strength, with both your production company and film school established, what’s next for Ashley Walters?

AW: I have always had an itch for writing and directing. I’ve have been writing two scripts since the start of the year and after shooting TOP BOY, I have a small window to bring one of these scripts to the screen.

You can watch Ashley Walters on his new show Bulletproof co-starring alongside Noel Clarke, on Sky One, Tuesdays at 9pm. 

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