BIFA is dedicated to highlighting and rewarding the best of British independent film talent, from their first steps to the highlights of their careers. 6 months on from our 2015 awards, we caught up with four of our BIFA-winning directors from 2015 to talk about where the awards have led them and what’s next for their careers:
“I wanted to make sure that I was making films
with women front and centre”
Jeanie Finlay – Orion: The Man Who Would Be King, The Discovery Award
“There’s loads of stuff I’m not allowed to talk about! I’ve just made my first short in years, a film about Indietracks, the very charming and odd music festival that takes place on steam trains in Derbyshire. We’re going to premiere it at the festival and do some touring with it. I’ve also been putting out the Orion special DVD with a vinyl record, and I’ve got a slate of 4 features at various stages of development with Glimmer Films (my company), which is very exciting, but I’m not allowed to talk about any of them! What I can say is that most of my new films are about women: I wanted to make sure that I was making films with women front and centre, since I’ve spent the last 5 years making films about men.”
“I hope that we can bring a film to people that will be a little bit
surprising – that’s the dream!”
Louise Osmond – Dark Horse: The Incredible True Story of Dream Alliance, Best Documentary
“After Dark Horse, I was lucky enough to be asked to make a film about Ken Loach, who at that time was just embarking on his journey to make – allegedly – his final film. So we followed him during the making of that final film, and we’re making a film that follows that process but also looks back over the great, fantastic story of his career, which is packed with twists and turns and conflict. It’s a great story. One of the most fun things about it is I’ve been editing it with Joby Gee, who I cut Dark Horse with, and it’s been a really challenging film to make. But it’s also been surprisingly enjoyable, and I hope that we can bring a film to people that will be a little bit surprising – that’s the dream!”
Want to ask Louise Osmond your questions? Don’t miss our BIFA Insider event on Monday 6th June. Find out more here: https://www.bifa.film/insider/dark-horse
“Something like BIFA, that gave me a boost to work in England,
was fantastic.”
Nina Gantz – Edmond, Best Short
“After the BIFAs, it’s been a really good year for Edmond. I have a feeling that everything happens a bit faster! I’m working on my first commercial job at the moment with Simon Cartwright, who was also nominated for a BIFA. We’ve seen each other a lot this year and we always work together really well, so we thought of combining forces and it’s gone really well! I’m also developing my new short – I’m probably also going to make that with Simon. It’s going to be animation, stop motion, or maybe live-action combined with stop-motion. That’s almost all we know, because we have four ideas and we like all of them, so we’re developing all four ideas and then choose one at a later stage. That’s how I like to work, because then ‘the one’ pops out at the right time. I would really love to do an adult series, but I’m really looking forward to combining my own work with commercial work because it brings a freedom to both worlds. We do have some ideas for a feature, but that’s later in the future. Something like BIFA, that gave me a boost to work in England, was fantastic. I’ve now moved to the UK permanently, so I’m hoping that the industry here gets to know me and trust me with making something new.”
“I’m working on a film that’s much larger scale, scope, budget and audience than The Survivalist for a major new company in the USA”
Stephen Fingleton – The Survivalist, The Douglas Hickox Award (Debut Director)
“I’m not going to say the company name because we haven’t announced it yet, and I need to keep it as a bonbon to give to one of my journalists. I’m working on a film that’s much larger scale, scope, budget and audience than The Survivalist for a major new company in the USA. It’s going to be told in the vernacular of a Hollywood movie, and it has to find audiences to succeed as a story. It’s a hugely enjoyable challenge, I feel like I’m moving from writing something very personal to writing something that is going to capture the zeitgeist and I’m loving the challenge of it.”
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Discover more about our awards & winners from 2015: https://www.bifa.film/awards/2015
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