All good film sites (as well as good films) have a confident visual style and we were fortunate to have James Friend, a talented and young Director of Photography in the team. Many of the great images on this site are down to him. I worked with James on my first short film, The Last Temptation of Chris, and we quickly developed a working relationship that balanced a strong visual style with the flexibility that gives actors a freedom to explore the set organically. The idea being that the camera works around the actors and not the other way around. Thanks to James, this was done without compromising the pictures we created.
On this site you will find links to our Twitter, Facebook and Youtube pages. The plan has always been to put down good social media roots before we launch the film. It’s an exciting time to be an independent film maker. I know that the audience for this film is out there on or interacting with these websites and they are only one click away. Over 800 million people visit Youtube every month. When you consider that, you have to question why studios are still spending crazy amounts of money to reach audiences via press or TV adverts. But I am sure this will change.
We’ve put out around 10 or so videos on Youtube in the last couple of months and we’ve generated over 10,000 views between them. My favourite behind the scenes footage so far is between the two Dillanes (father and son who play fictional father and son in the film) and how Frank (the son) got the part before Stephen (his Dad). We were captivated by Frank’s audition. At the time we weren’t sure Stephen was going to be able to do the film because of his commitment to Game of Thrones. I said to Anji, our casting director, that I was so delighted with the Dillane we found that any other Dillane would be a bonus.
As it happened, Game of Thrones were good to us and we managed to secure Stephen too. And what a bonus that was. The dynamic they create on screen is something you cannot plan for. To see a real father and son create something so truthful is rare.
When I wonder what will become of the film, in this extremely difficult climate for independent films, I watch a father and son working together in a film about fathers and their children and I know that something special has been created forever.
Marcus Markou
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