It Starts with a Girl (2019)
Director: Jamie Evans
Writer: Jamie Evans
Stars: Jamie Evans, Courtney Moore, Lauren Rae
An uninspired writer must deal with the fact that his own selfish devotion to his art prevents him from maintaining a happy relationship.
Q. What can we expect from your new short film It Starts With a Girl?
I hope that every member of the audience will get something different out of this film. Certainly, the handful of people who have seen it already have all come away with different interpretations and that is what I wanted. For that reason, it’s sort of hard to tell you what to expect!
Q. How did you come up with the original concept for the film?
It Starts With A Girl is an incredibly personal piece to me. In fact, I am incredibly nervous about showing it to anyone, let alone a whole festival. Last year I was suffering from a real bad period of depression after a break-up. It was totally my fault; I had been so involved in a film I was working on at that time that I neglected putting any effort into the relationship. I wanted to make a film that was about that. About the idea that art of any kind demands so much of the artist that you sacrifice other aspects of your life, like relationships.
Q. How long did the film take to complete?
In terms of production we had an incredibly quick turnaround. I wanted this film to feel raw and true to the emotions I was feeling at the time. I really wanted to capture that. I wrote the script in one sitting after a particularly bad day. There was only one other draft after that and then we shot the film over two days. However, we didn’t actually edit the movie until months later because I couldn’t stand to watch it back. Ultimately, I ended up passing it to Luke Foxwell to edit on my behalf.
Q. Did you change the film at all from the original script?
Obviously, there are always parts that don’t quite work out when you are trying to shoot on the day. The scene near the end when the wardrobe opens was originally much more visual in the script, but we simply didn’t have the budget to make it happen on the day. One big change we made was that in this version of the film the two characters only ever come close to kissing, they never actually do. In the original draft they did kiss although, to be honest, I cannot remember why I changed that now.
Q. Did you experience any difficulties during filming?
You always experience difficulties on a set, especially for a film with a budget this low. Weather doesn’t do what you want it to, you’re filming in a house where other residents live and are making noise, that sort of thing. I’m embarrassed to say that our biggest difficulty on set was me, though. Like I said, I was pretty deep in a depression at the time and the character required me to really bring all of that to the surface in order to play him. I remember the first day of the shoot I had this quasi-panic attack where I just said “why are we making this? Nobody is going to want to watch such self-indulgent bulls**t!” All of the credit for this film really does belong with my colleagues; Luke Foxwell, Kirk Redgate, Lauren Rae and Courtney Moore. I wouldn’t have gotten through it without their encouragement and support.
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
For me the best part of filming this was just being on a set surrounded by my friends. I had worked with everyone on this film before, some of them more recently but some, like Courtney, not for a couple of years. I really do find happiness in those little moments on set when you are between shots and everyone is just sitting around trying to work out the next scene, or somebody makes a joke just before you call “action”, and everyone has a laugh. I have never had more fun in any job as much as I do on a film set.
Q. Do you have any new projects which you are working on?
We have a few projects that we have been toying with that are in various stages of development. The one I am most excited about at the moment and that I am really determined to bring to fruition is a feature-length pilot for what I hope will be a series. It’s about a young woman working as an investigative journalist who does a lot of detective-type work on the side. It’s sort of my answer to stories such as Nancy Drew or Veronica Mars. I hope it will be a nice blend of comedy and drama. The current working title is Candy Hart, and it is probably still a long way off from going into production.
Q. If someone is looking to direct own film, what advice would you give them?
ADirecting is hard. It really is. I didn’t fully understand that the first time I did it and it didn’t end very well. I think a lot of first-time directors have similar experiences. Practically speaking you really should try and get time on other film sets just so you can observe how other directors work. You will notice things they do that you had never thought of and you can take those skills and add them to your own repertoire. When the time does come for you to direct, make sure you have a clear vision of what you want in your head. Don’t rush in half-cocked, which is what I did. You need to be confident in your vision and assertive in putting it across. There are a lot of big personalities on a film set and someone will always try and hijack your film. Input from others can be valuable and is always worth listening to, but you need to have the confidence to be able to say “no” when someone’s suggestion doesn’t fit the film. That was a lesson I wished I had learned a lot sooner.
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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!
