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  • Chronic: Writer Charlotte Paradise & Director Milly Garnier Interview

    Chronic: Writer Charlotte Paradise & Director Milly Garnier Interview

    Chronic: Writer Charlotte Paradise and Director Milly Garnier interview

    Chronic is a short film currently in development by a team of young female creatives. It follows the story of a couple, Sadie and Rob, who move in together but complications arise when Sadie’s chronic illness begins to govern their relationship.

    How did the idea of making this film come about?

    Charlotte: I have a chronic illness so I guess it all started 6 years ago when I got sick. But at the beginning of lockdown my good friend Antonia, who is our co-producer and lead actress, came to me and said “now that I don’t have a job do you want to make something together?”, and I said “yes please!”. From there I asked myself if I had 10 minutes of screen time left what story would I tell. 

    In your own words, how would you describe the film?

    Charlotte: It’s a film about love. That would be the shortest way I could put it. At the heart of the film are two people who are really in love and go through the struggles of chronic illness. 

    How did the creative team assemble?

    Milly: Charlotte and Antonia got in touch originally to ask some filmmaking advice. Later when they sent me the script I realised it really resonated with me as I was diagnosed with chronic illness myself as a child and this subsequently affected relationships. After we had a really good chat about this this they said they’d love to have me on board. This was really exciting for me, as I had been looking for a project that means a lot to me on a personal level. We are trying to surround ourselves with people who have a knowledge of chronic illness, because the industry isn’t that representative of this community of people. 

    Where are you in the development process so far in creating this independent film, and can you explain the process up to now?

    Milly: We have 24 hours left of our fundraiser.

    Charlotte: And we have five drafts of the script so far. 

    Milly: We still have some development left to go. A huge part of the script is the actors interacting physically so the current situation has caused a delay. What’s amazing is the community that this project has already built online, even at only it’s fundraising stage. It’s really shown us the importance of, and the necessity for this film. So the delay in the filming timeline has actually allowed us more time to reach out to the people to whom this film will mean a great deal. 

    How do you plan to use and distribute the funds you have raised?

    Milly: One thing that we were really keen to do from the beginning was to pay our crew properly. The amount we have set for that was based on the London working wage. So that’s the main cost. Also there are the hidden cost like travel and hiring equipment. We are hoping our location shouldn’t be too great a cost. But it was really important to us that we paid people fairly, particularly at this time.

    Charlotte: We are also giving 5% of the money we raise to the ME Association.

    How much experience has the creative team had with filmmaking before Chronic?

    Charlotte: I went to Central to do my Masters which was in  writing for stage and broadcast media, so I don’t actually have any experience making films, just in writing screenplays. The same for Antonia and Lizzie, they both have a lot of experience in theatre but haven’t yet moved over to film. So Milly is really our film expert.

    Milly: I mean expert is a generous term! But my first experience in filmmaking was actually around this same topic. I made a short animation film of what life is like with chronic fatigue and what the reality is because in that time in my life my health had deteriorated quite a lot. After I left university I won a grant from the Bumble female film course which gave five female teams 20 thousand pounds to make an up to 15-minute short film. That was definitely a baptism of fire. That film then premiered with the London short film festival and the Underwire festival with BFI. Since I have done one other short film and am working on lot of writing projects. 

    What do you hope to achieve by creating this film, and what message do you hope Chronic leaves audiences with?

    Milly: If this film makes just one person think a little bit differently about chronic illness, it will have achieved it’s goal. It’s a very universal story – everyone’s has been in love or will experience love at some point – so it should be a very accessible way of talking about a subject that is never spoken about. As a creative, all you want is to create a story that affects people and makes change. Also, being able to keep creating and with teams you get on well with is hugely important – so I suppose I hope that it leads on to new exciting projects. 

    And what is the change that you want to see?

    Charlotte: For me, it’s about ending the stigma around these illnesses. A relationship had just ended for me when I wrote this script and it ended mostly because of my chronic illness. I guess there was an element of putting two fingers up at the person and the people that had hurt me in the past, to say that it could work – it can work having a relationship with someone with chronic illness, it just takes slightly more of what every relationship needs to survive, things like patience, love, unconditional love, empathy. 

    The other thing with these conditions is that a lot of the hard work happens in the dark. Some days are okay and some days are worse. And it’s only on the good days that people see you in a restaurant or you meet up with someone. That leads people to say “but I saw you out last week and you looked amazing and you seemed great”. So sometimes people don’t believe you. So I hope seeing this film could make someone take even a quarter turn and think “oh yeh I heard she had ME and I thought she looked great but actually I don’t see what really goes on” or “I can’t see that pain but that doesn’t mean the pain’s not there”. 

    Also chronic illness can feel so isolating. But something the fundraising of this film has shown us is that there are so many of us. Something like 93% of disable people in the UK don’t use a wheelchair and many have a disability that is invisible. There are a lot of us feeling alone when we don’t have to. It would be a success if even one person feels less alone because they watch this film and realise that someone else wrote this film who has had this experience. 

    Milly: And that extends to those who have experienced chronic illness second hand, like the carers – they need support as well. What’s great about Charlotte’s script is that it shows both experiences, not in a didactic way, but just the reality of living with chronic illness.

    Charlotte: And it shows that it’s possible to live with a disability whilst having a full life and a full relationship.

  • Noelle: Disney+ Talk

    Noelle: Disney+ Talk

    It’s only a couple of days until Christmas! And, while there was no Disney+ Talk article last week (due to being ill from a newly discovered allergy), that doesn’t mean the festivities stop! The next Christmas film that I’ve picked is a Disney+ Original film. This was one that was on the initial Disney+ line-up when the streaming service arrived in 2019 but didn’t come to the UK one until November this year. 

    Written by Marc Lawrence (‘Music & Lyrics’, ‘Miss Congeniality’) ‘Noelle’ follows the Kringle family in the North Pole. After her brother, Nick Kringle flees the North Pole, it’s up to his sister Noelle to travel to America to try and find him, in the hopes that he’ll be able to successfully become the next Santa Clause.

    Overall, ‘Noelle’ was a delightful Christmas film that will probably become a yearly December watch for me. 

    The cast is fantastic, and all have great chemistry with each other. Anna Kendrick (‘A Simple Favour’, ‘Scott Pilgrim vs The World’) is wonderful as the daughter of the previous Santa Clause, who becomes a fish out of water once she travels to America. Her responses to the outside world are very reminiscent of Buddy the Elf, however I found her performance more charming because of her innocent personality.

    While Will Ferrell’s performance was played towards dark humour, Kendrick’s performance is more geared towards the charming innocence of a person. Bill Hader is also fantastic, as the next Santa Clause, who has no Christmas spirit and has no interest in being Santa Clause. It’s a breath of fresh air. While a previous Disney film (‘The Santa Clause’) touched on the idea that someone was to become Santa against their will, that film ended with the main character accepting it. So, it’s nice to see that this film keeps the character of Nick consistent in his way of thinking. 

    ‘Noelle’ is also a fantastic Christmas film, as it is overloaded with Christmas spirit from the very beginning. The setting of the North Pole gives the film the opportunity to include as many holiday symbols as possible: snow, candy canes, elves, reindeer, jingle bells, presents, sweets and, of course, Santa. But the overwhelming nature of the film never felt annoying; these aspects mostly served as a backdrop for the story and were placed in the foreground when the story required it, without feeling forced. ‘Noelle’ also reminded me of ‘Arthur Christmas’ as we see Nick Kringle train to become Santa Clause and new technology is brought in as the years pass.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBDnQkQUTGU

    However, unlike the prementioned film, the technology doesn’t always work. The film brings into question whether old traditions should be thrown away or not, and it’s an interesting idea to introduce. Just because new technology makes Santa’s job easier, doesn’t always mean it’s a better solution in the long run.

    While I really enjoyed ‘Noelle’, it does have a couple of flaws: the pacing is messy. The first act starts off strong, but then slows to a crawl once Noelle goes to search for her brother. It felt like the film was clawing for new scenes as it went along, just so it could be an hour and 45 minutes, when it could’ve easily have been an hour and 20-minute film. Nearly all the CGI looks fantastic and does a great job at bringing the North Pole to life. However, the CGI revolving around the reindeer was very odd, and close-up shots of the animals made them look like odd clay statues. It’s a shame that this is the only CGI failure throughout the entire film.

    Despite its flaws, ‘Noelle’ was delightful. While it was a little too long, the performances were fantastic and charming. The setting of the North Pole was joyful and put a smile on my face, and the story was unique. Switch the Christmas tree lights on, grab some hot chocolate, wrap up in a blanket and enjoy this charming festive film!

  • Destructors: Review

    Destructors: Review

    This short film follows a band of young teens in England, searching for ways to get by and ways to kill time, wandering the countryside. One day, group member Trevor (Billy Ward) is kicked out of a store, presumably after an attempted theft. As Trevor returns to the group empty-handed, an older and sickly man (portrayed by Hamilton Wilson, named Old Misery in credits) stops by and offers some food to the gang.

    After Old Misery leaves, it is discovered that the youngest member of the group, Spence (Archie Deeks) stole his wallet. Feeling guilt over victimizing an older person, Trevor returns the wallet to him at his home and sits with him for a cup of tea. Later that evening, Trevor and company return to the home, their intentions unclear. Once there, they discover things about Old Misery and themselves.

    Director/writer/editor Otis Tree does a solid job of giving us a glimpse into a “day in the life” of these people. There are a lot of scenes consisting of the group talking and kidding around with each other as they get through the day. There is also depth to these characters however. There are various moments in the film when one member is off by themselves, and it is plain to see on their faces that there is an undercurrent of sadness about where life and time has currently placed them.

    The conversation between Old Misery and Trevor over tea is filled with meditations on pain and loss. This layered character depth is accomplished in no small part through great subtle acting from the entire cast, where the emotional subtext is portrayed only through facial expressions and line deliveries. The handheld cinematography by James Gallagher allows these notions to be presented clearly visually. In addition, it gives the audience the sense that they themselves are a part of this group as the camera tracks the group from location to location or studies the characters in their quiet moments as a silent observer would do.

    There are areas in which the film runs into the  confines of the short film format. While Tree does a good job of utilizing voice-over and layered dialogue to introduce themes such as the inevitability of the passing of time, how suffering and pain can be cyclical and affect generations, and that actions have consequences, the 13 minute runtime restricts the extent to which any of these ideas can become fully realized. 

    If one is looking for a film that features naturalistic performances, and an ability to get the audience thinking without providing obvious or easy answers, check out this film if given the chance.    

  • Queer Japan: Review

    Queer Japan: Review

    Documentary “Queer Japan” from filmmaker Graham Kolbiens follows the life of LGBTQ artists, activists, and everyday people living in metro areas of Japan. As an outsider, when I pictured Japan, Tokyo in particular, I have always envisioned a westernized society. Neon lights, anime, and cutting edge fashion; maybe I was ignorant but in my mind I had imagined something far more accepting and open than the reality that Japanese LGBTQ people are actually living in.

    Although this piece was pretty graphic in many ways, and dealt with a bit of an underbelly of Japanese LGBTQ culture; it simultaneously explores important topics and serves as a bit of a history lesson for those of us who are uninformed of how Japanese politics play a part in the everyday lives of people in the LGBTQ community. 

    This edgy aspect of the film may be squeamish for some; but, for me, as a person who has many LGBTQ friends and has seen and experienced the culture, it wasn’t really too scandalous. Though this comment should serve as a forewarning for anyone who may be more sensitive to a piece that at times veers into borderline pornographic. 

    This was the major part that threw me off about this film. There was, simply put, a lot of discomfort to digest. There were intersecting storylines that veered off into many different places; and none of the people we follow overlap, making the entire film pretty non linear.

    On the one hand we have these artists, one scene in particular shows a drag queen with gay couples behind her fondling each other’s private parts in full view, and on the other we have a male to female transgender political and activist, Aya Kamikawa, who fought hard for equality. So much so that she literally stood out on the streets with a blow horn to make her cause known and become an elected official.

    She was able to aid in the passing of a law where transgender Japanese people are legally recognized for their gender, with the shocking aspect of the equality law being they are required to sterilize themselves. This was another thing that floored me about Japan and Japanese law, and I again have to stress that on the very positive side this film taught me a lot. On the negative side, this is also where I feel like the film failed for me, the political activism story line I really enjoyed but there wasn’t enough of it, and I really felt it would have been a wonderful centerpiece.

    It was informative, well thought out, and showed an important political figure in Japan. I feel like if the film were to be about an alternative LGBTQ subculture it should have been that, or if it were to be about political activists it should have been about that. I would have preferred it as a political film, but I could have respected it as either. There was simply a more commercialized and digestible way to present this to an audience, and I think it missed the mark there. Regardless, this film is informative and I have not seen a documentary similar to this.

    It’s a good piece to watch to gather information and learn more about a different culture you would likely never learn about on your own unless you were immersed in it personally. It could have done with being more focused and each storyline more realized, but it served an ultimate purpose and will undoubtedly raise some much needed awareness towards the daily struggles of LGBTQ people living in Japan.

  • Nine Days: Review

    Nine Days: Review

    Nine Days: Review. By Liam Trump.

    Looking into what we are before we’re born, Nine Days shows life before life. Souls have to make their way through tedious interviews in order to be given the gift of life. Most movies show consciousness after death, but Nine Days goes a different route. This keeps it from falling into many of the same clichés that movies covering similar subject matter often do. 

    This very original story follows Will (Winston Duke) as he must deal with the death of the only soul that still remembers him, Amanda. He’s the only character who’s actually been alive and this differentiates him from the rest of the characters; he’s seen struggles of life first hand. Together, both Will and Kyo (Benedict Wong) must conduct several interviews across nine days in order to find a suitable replacement for Amanda. 

    The opening immediately shows the intimate bond that exists between Will and Amanda. It’s framed in a similar fashion to a documentary; with it emulating found-footage. This scene is vital in setting up the unique bond that Will and Amanda have. 

    Interviewees are then brought in to replace Amanda. They’re given multiple what-if questions that reveal traits about their personalities, showing Will and Kyo what type of people they’ll be if they’re given the opportunity of life. All but one of the interviewees show up on time. The last one to show up is Emma. She’s quite different than the rest of them which brings out parts of Will’s past that he has pushed down in this emotionally stunted world in which he resides. 

    The world in which Nine Days is set in is brilliantly written. This is a world where its inhabitants live vicariously through other people. They seemingly do nothing but what and report on what the people in the real world are doing. Subtlety is given to many aspects of this world. Nothing is overly explained except for the interview process. This is a smart move since focusing on the interview process makes it so the character writing can shine through the already impressive worldbuilding. 

    Edson Oda’s screenplay tackles many complex themes in a way that’s accessible to any type of audience. It’s clear to see why it won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. This is by far one of the most beautiful films of 2020.