Bottle Boy (2018)
Director: Tony Burke
Writer: Tony Burke
Stars: Jason Flemyng, Ronnie Wren
The Southend-on-Sea Film Festival will be returning for its 11th year from 23rd May to 27th May. In preparation for the event I got an opportunity to ask writer-director Tony Burke a few questions about the film Bottle Boy which has been selected to play at the festival.
Q. Your film Bottle Boy has been selected to play at The Southend-on-Sea Film Festival. What can we expect from the film?
One of the great challenges as a filmmaker is creating characters that draw your audience in and demand the viewer invest in their story and the challenges they face. So hopefully in Edward I’ve created a small boy that people will care about and root for, deepening the impact of the twist at the end. It’s a very short film but hopefully it’s a thorough portrait brought to life by the excellent Ronnie Wren.
Q. How did the original concept for the film come about?
Single-Use Plastic is a hot topic, so it just got me thinking about the tension between the hope and innocent optimism of putting a message in a bottle and throwing that bottle in the sea and the narrative of protecting the environment and reducing plastic waste. So, from that I built the story of the lonely young kid with a boozy mother and an absent father to raise the emotional stakes, and to explore whether it’s ever right to throw plastic in the sea.
Q. Where there any elements in the final film which were different from your original script?
No, not really. I didn’t board the film. I had it all in my head for the shoot but knew exactly how I wanted it to play out. There was a debate about having the council worker swear at the boy at the end, so we covered it both ways, but I think the swearing adds to the rug-pull and the impact of the message.
Q. What were your influences for the look and style of the film?
I love social realism. Films like Fish Tank (2009), Last Resort (2000), Tyrannosaur (2011), Hunger (2008), Shame (2011)etc. And I always strive to shoot things in a simple and honest way to make the characters believable. Which suited this film as we really didn’t have any money for lights or locations, so we shot it in my house and Brighton Film Office gave us permits to shoot on the beach for free. I’ve never had any money and always try and write to that and make that perceived weakness a strength in my film making.
Q. What was the hardest part of making the film and did you experience any difficulties?
The hardest part of the film was getting Jason Flemyng to do it and fitting it in around his schedule. He told me afterwards he nearly cancelled the day before because of his schedule and he actually went straight from the beach to Gatwick to fly to Prague to start shooting a new series of Jamestown. Finding the right boy for Edward could have taken forever, but when I met Ronnie, I knew he was perfect. The film gods were definitely with us.
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
Working with Ronnie Wren was a real pleasure. He was so good and mature in his approach, for a lad who’d never acted before. And arriving on set to see Jason Flemyng in his pants behind a beach hut was a treat. And we had a visit from a real council litter picker which was amusing.
Q. Do you have any new projects which you are working on?
Loads. I’m always writing new things and developing stuff. I’ve just written a TV series called PIGS and continue to plug away with getting my feature made. And I’ve just written a novel.
Q. What advice would you give to someone who is looking to direct their own film.
Stop thinking about it and just do it. Every film you make is an education in itself. So, the more you do the better you get. Just make sure you have a good idea and a tight script otherwise it’ll fall flat.
You can find out more about Tony Burke and the film Bottle Boy on the website: https://www.tonyburke.org/plastic-free-pledge-bottle-boy-2018
The Southend-on-Sea Film Festival runs from Thursday 23rd May to Monday 27th May. You can find out more about the event and purchase tickets on the website https://www.southendfilmfestival.com
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!
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