Film: Good for the Soul
Director: Dean Chalkley
Writers: Dean Chalkley
Featuring: Durassie Kiangangu
Synopsis: ‘Good for the Soul’ sets a blistering pace! A short film that celebrates the joy of dancing to Northern Soul. This modern, vibrant and fast-moving short film taps into the emotional and cathartic nature of the music. It’s a high-powered firecracker of a film that will turn your heartbeat up.
In a new exclusive interview on Blazing Minds I got a chance to ask Writer/Director Dean Chalkley a few questions about the film Good for the Soul.
Good for the Soul will be playing at the Southend Film Festival on Friday 7th June at 20:30hrs
Q. Your film ‘Good for the Soul’ has been selected to play at the Southend Film Festival. Can you tell us what we can expect from the film?
A. Intricate foot work set to an uptempo sound track, the ecstasy of dancing to Northern Soul.
Q. How did the idea for the film come about and What were your inspirations when writing the script?
A. The initial inspiration for the film came in the summer of 2023. I was invited to take part in one of three exhibitions marking the 50th Anniversary of the legendary Wigan Casino Northern Soul All nighters. Wigan Council’s Culture, Arts & Heritage department commissioned the exhibitions to highlight the importance of the famous Wigan Casino clubs impact. Taking place in three locations around Wigan; The towns museum focused on historical aspects from the club, Francesco Mellina’s photographs from the ‘Last Night of the Wigan Casino’ were displayed as a public space installation and ‘50 Years On The Soul Stays Strong’ was the exhibition I was involved in. This took place as a pop up exhibition space in what was the old Woolworths building fitted out for the exhibition. It highlighted the continuing attraction of Northern Soul. Artist William Titley and I presented a number of different works, I had five elements in the show all focusing on the younger generations who are finding their way into the Northern Soul scene.
1.Young Souls (circa 2011) a series of large photographic prints spot lit within the gallery space 2.Young Souls : The Film (circa 2011) A Black & White short film, a fictional exploration into the experience of going to a Northern Soul Allnighter. 3.Young Souls 2023 (circa 2023) : Photography of 23 young people who are into the scene right now, 4. Was the Soul-A-Trope (Circa 2012) a 3-d installation based on a Zoetrope with little people dancing on a record (you’d have to see it ..haha) and 5. Good For The Soul, I decided to make this new film, it’s contemporary and unexpected …The film screened on a large monitor and accompanying headphones.
Q. What were some of the influences for the look and style of the film?
A. Many influences sprang to mind when thinking about where to start with this film, Northern Soul has such a rich heritage and I tried to channel the emotional levels as well as the physical levels. I wanted to express my love for it, the wonder of the music, the visceral feeling of being on a dancefloor, even just being in a club with the music blasting out, all these things in some way influenced the film. I made a conscious decision that this film would not be a re-enactment of the past or a documentary, discussing my vision for the film with Florian Bell, Durassie, Fredrik and Emma Noble helped shape it further and I think the result is that Good for the Soul occupies it’s own creative space.. So the answer to the question is lots of things added into the mix and helped produce the result.
Q. Where there any elements of the original script which were adapted during filming?
I did create a storyboard but knew full well that once on the shoot it would be used as visual stepping stones to enabled us to create, interpret and mould what became the final film….So although there was a loose plan there was also a high level of improvisation and on the spot decision making.
Getting a film like this together requires working with good people, people who are willing to invest themselves into the project. I look for people to collaborate with who are ‘into it’ people, super talented and who can live in the creative moment. This project perfectly illustrates when beautiful things can happen with a fantastic team of people who are … into It.
I just want to name check everyone here and briefly explain how they contributed to the project, each person contributed so much to the project their talents enriching the whole process and result. Durassie Kinaugangu features in the film he’s a brilliant Northern Soul dancer, Florian Bel DOP, Camera, Editor plus sound design, Ed Jillings another expert on the camera, Emma Noble co-produced, and helped me develop this film and interlace it with the whole Wigan exhibition. Fredrik Ekander at Ace Records was instrumental to the project because the music was so important, it was his visionary approach to music licensing that unlocked to remarkable music by Tobi Lark for the film. Samuel Mackegård provided the soundtrack edit, Juliana Sergot hair and make up a person who saw the joy of the project immediately and wanted to get involved, even the people who run the Stanley Hall location understood the notion of the film and got behind it. Without the commitment and skills of these people the film would never have been made.
Q. What were some of your favourite moments whilst making the Film?
A. The whole process of making the film was dynamic and so positive, from the inception of the idea, finding the perfect music through to the shoot and the edit side. I do love the feeling when a thought turns into reality. On the morning of the shoot I arrived in the locations area early, I got a coffee and I sat sipping on it outside before going in, it felt like a good day…and it bloomin’ well was.
Q. Did you experience any issues whilst making the film?
A. I’ve made several short films over the years and the music side can be complicated and become a stumbling block. One of the first things I did with this project was to set out to find the music I needed. It was vital the track needed to have the right attitude and motivation, I contacted Fredrik Ekander at Ace Records he was incredibly helpful, after sifting through thousands of tracks I finally came across the perfect piece of music for the film. I played it to Emma Noble and she loved it too, that was that ‘bingo!’… So the long answer to your question is NO there were no issues when making the film but actions like the above avoided what could have been large obstacles.
Q. What do you hope people will take away from the film
A. I’d like people to feel like they have been moved in some way and I hope the film is compelling. Perhaps the audience might not familiar with Northern Soul at all and after watching the film they might look into it more and get into it… I hope it will appeal to the younger generations many are feeling the pull of the scene… If however the audience are already familiar then I hope that the energy and the atmosphere of the film still excites and they get an equal amount of joy out of it.
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are working on?
A. I work across several disciplines, you could say photography is my main focus but when I feel the project needs moving image I cross over into that world. I’ve got several different projects bubbling up and as usual over a broad spectrum including sessions with musical artists and bands new and more well established too. One thing that is occupying a lot of my time at the moment is a books project, its a very exciting and revolves around a body of work I shot back in the late 90’s – early 00’s… I’m also in negotiations with another film director who wants to make a film based around those images. As you can see projects unfold if strange and unpredictable ways, I think that is one of the great things of working in the creative world is how things pop up, grow and offer potentials that you could never have predicted.
Q. If someone is looking to direct their first film, what advice would you give them?
A. Keep the soul in the project, don’t get bogged down and keep the creativity alive.
You can find out more about Dean Chalkey on the following
Dean Chalkley (@deanchalkley_) • Instagram photos and videos
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!
