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Filmmaker Interview by Chris Olson
How have you been in the "new normal"? How's the pandemic been for you?
I guess, like most of us now, I'm sort of used to the new normal! It's great to be able to be back having meetings in the real world - as brilliant as zoom has been during the pandemic, it's definitely enjoyable to get back to meeting face to face. For me personally, as a writer, the pandemic really made me focus in on what's important. The people who are important, and the stories that I want to tell. It gave me some clarity at a time when the world was feeling very noisy.
You have a new film coming out, Lapwing, what can you tell us about this film?
Lapwing is a story about emotional abuse, coercive control in relationships and the hope that comes from choosing to look within ourselves to find our own unique strength. It centres on the character of Patience, a young woman living in an isolated community in 1555. I always knew that Lapwing was a historical story about this character battling the shadow of her abusive and controlling brother in law in a claustrophobic community. I believe that we can tell important stories about the present through the lens of the past; Lapwing deals with the very pressing and contemporary themes of toxic masculinity, sexism, racism, fear, paranoia and prejudice.
Why did you want to tell this story?
In my writing I am always passionate about telling stories that explore the female experience and the female voice, particularly unearthing stories and characters we might not have met before. The film is set on the Lincolnshire coast, which is the place I'm from, and Patience is a young woman who is selectively non-verbal because of the hate she has received due to her speech impediment. The feeling of suffocation and strangulation as a young woman in difficult, emotionally and morally complex situations was something I was determined to address with this story, and Patience was the character who came to embody these themes, as well as the inner strength and resilience that we all need to confront the hardships in our lives.
What have been the challenges of making Lapwing and getting it out there?
Making Lapwing has been a very long process. I wrote the film in 2016 and we filmed it on a micro-budget during the summer of 2017. Then began a long process of post-production. It was a real learning curve for me to realise how long this process can be when you're indie filmmakers, but it did enable all of the team to really interrogate the story and make sure we were giving the message we wanted to give with the piece. Of course, then Covid hit, but we were really fortunate to get distribution with the brilliant team at Bulldog Film Distribution, and now we're in the exciting place of being able to have an in-person release as well as online on-demand.
Why do you write films?
I write films because I believe that stories are the thing that connects us all. We have always told stories and I think we always will and for me, that's an exciting thing. It's a huge privilege to be able to reach out to other people through different narratives and telling stories with heart, that aren't always easy to watch, is important to me. Lapwing is, in many ways, a difficult watch, but for me this was absolutely vital to do justice to the themes of the piece and be respectful and bear witness to those who have experienced what Patience experiences.
Who would you love to work with and why?
There are some incredible actors who I would love to collaborate with in the future. I find it so exciting to discover what an actor can bring to a role that you might never have imagined when you're writing, alone with your laptop. It's been such a joy to work with Hannah Douglas, Emmett J Scanlan and Sebastian de Souza, who star in Lapwing, and I'd love to keep collaborating with incredible talents like them. I think Stacy Martin, Sabrina Bartlett and Daisy Edgar Jones are some of the most exciting young actresses around at the moment.
What's next for you?
At the moment I'm working on the follow-up feature with the team behind Lapwing, as well as working on several other feature film and television projects. It's also been really lovely to get back to writing for the stage as well since theatres reopened, so I'm enjoying combining playwriting and screenwriting. I'm excited to get the next script up and running and into pre-production!
Where and when can people watch Lapwing?
Lapwing releases in select cinemas and on VOD on 26th November. You can find more details by following the film on Instagram @LapwingMovie, and you can watch our trailer here:
What would you say if you were a dolphin?
"Watch Lapwing on 26th November!"
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