Film: Beholden
Director: Leon Lopez
Writers: Marcus Kai, Louise Ann Munro
Actors: Adam Deacon, Louise Ann Munro, Danny Midwinter, Ilyas Aouina, Betsy Morgan Toye
Synopsis: Lee’s only hope of escaping prison on a murder charge, is his childhood sweetheart, who is now a lawyer. Will Carlie be willing to revisit the traumatic past, she worked so hard to get away from, in order to save him?
In a new exclusive interview leading up to the Southend Film Festival, I got a chance to ask Director Leon Lopez a few questions about the short film Beholden.
Beholden will be playing at the Southend Film Festival on Saturday 8th June at at 11:00hrs as part of the Mostly Made in Southend part 1 collection of shorts.
Q. Your film ‘Beholden’ has been selected to play at the Southend Film Festival. Can you tell us what we can expect from the film?
A. You can expect great performances from a fantastic cast of established and very New and up and coming actors. The film deals with relationships, and how our Backgrounds and upbringings can have an affect on who we become as an adult. It’s a simple yet powerful film that asks more questions than it answers allowing the audience to really feel engaged and hopefully they can continue the conversation away from the screen.
Q. What attracted you to the script for Beholden?
A. I was firstly excited to work with Louise and Marcus as producers, their vision and passion about the film really intrigued me. And then when I read the script I was immediately drawn the the character. I saw myself and people who I know in the characters and felt that the story was one I wanted to help tell.
Q. Where there any elements of the original script which were adapted during filming?
A. That’s a good question. For me film making is kind of like child birth. All of the issues that you iron out during the shoot I tend to forget so all I remember is the joys. Ha ha. We did a lot of work on the script before we got to the shoot stage so mostly everything that you see is what was scripted.
Q. What were some of the influences for the look and style of the film?
A. We wanted to make sure retrospective parts of the film had their own look and feel. We did this through lighting and also the lenses we chose. We wanted them to have a dream like quality. So we used a 35mm lens for everything. Even the close ups. And a black mist pro lens filter. And the Present day scenes we shot using big wides and extreme close ups. To make the audience feel more involved and a part part of the action for those sections. We didn’t have a specific influence to draw from but we knew the techniques we wanted to employ in order to have the effects.
Q. What were some of your favourite moments whilst making the Film?
A. I love working with great actors. Louise was a joy to work with. And her and Adam really were explosive in scenes together. Also working with the young actors was great. Helping to mould fresh talent early in their careers and guide their choices and also use their youthful energy to bring an extra element to the story.
Q. Did you experience any issues whilst making the film?
A. No. We were pretty lucky.
Q. What do you hope people will take away from the film
A. For me, watching a film is a truly personal experience. I don’t like to tell people how they should feel because as with all forms of Art, our interpretation is guided by our own life experiences. I make films with my own intentions of what I want out of it and for people to enjoy in anyway they choose.
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are working on?
A. I work primarily in television these days. I have just finished shooting the Christmas special of ‘Death in Paradise’ for the BBC which will air this year, 2024. I am about to work on 2 other TV shows which I can’t mention yet. But I also have some film projects in development that I hope to get underway next year.
Q. If someone is looking to direct their first film, what advice would you give them?
A. Just do it! Stop waiting for things to be perfect, as they never will be. And they shouldn’t be. If you have a passion stop putting barriers in your way and just do it!
You can find out more about Louise Ann Munro on the Website: www.leonlopez.com and Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leonlopez/
You can find out more about the Southend Film Festival on the website
Published in various websites, Philip is a reviewer who is best known for his interviews and media coverage of independent projects including; films, books, theatre and live events. Always on the lookout for something different to cover!
Related Posts
