All in Spring Issue 2021

Crowning Chloé Zhao

Crowning Chloé Zhao

Lauren Devine
Spring Issue 2021

LAUREN DEVINE wonders whether we can take the Nomadland director’s awards season success as a harbinger for the diversification of the film industry we’ve been waiting for.

Chloé Zhao is a woman of firsts. The first Asian woman nominated for best director at the Golden Globes; the first woman of colour to win the Academy award for Best Director (the second woman in 93 years of the Oscars, following Katheryn Bigelow for 2010’s The Hurt Locker); and the first woman to be nominated for four Oscars in a single year - for Best Director, Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Film Editing.

Bounce Back Homework

Bounce Back Homework

Léa Aubigne
Spring Issue 2021

It’s been a tough few months with unusual celebration plans, freezing cold weather, lack of daylight, lockdown 3.0, and work slowing down. It’s bound to create some frustrations, and lack of motivation. It’s hard to sit around wondering why work hasn’t come through for us, while it has for others. It can send us in a downward spiral, but don’t let it chip away at your confidence and undermine the quality of your work. It’s okay to let it overwhelm you for a bit, but then get back to it and persevere. Easier said than done of course. In the meantime, here are a couple of examples of what you could do to fill your days with work related activities.

Chloë Thomson (BSC) shoots Channel 4 Adult Material

Chloë Thomson (BSC) shoots Channel 4 Adult Material

Francesca Zerenghi
Spring Issue 2021

Fran: What is your background? Did you go to film school? When did you realize that you had a passion for cinematography?

Chloë : My dad is a film editor, so there was always cinema in the family. When I was about 11, I went to the Children's Film Unit, which was a charity that taught kids how to make films, and that got me really passionate about filmmaking. So I did that from ages 11 to 16, and I really learned a lot. They had Steenbecks, we shot on 16mm, we made films for Channel 4. It was really, really inspiring. Then when I was 16, I was given a 35 mm stills camera, and started shooting stills and seeing the world in shots. I really loved that side of things. Then I went a slightly more wayward route to films. I did an academic degree in social psychology and worked in a number of different areas, before circling back to documentaries. Then I worked as a camera trainee and clapper loader for about 3 years before I went to the NFTS to do an MA in Cinematography. DoP Vanessa Whyte inspired me to apply. When I was a trainee, I loaded for her on a short film, which was a 35 mm short, and I just thought, hang on a second, what am I doing? I'm an assistant when I want to be shooting. So then I went to NFTS, and I graduated in 2012.

Two is the Magic Number

Two is the Magic Number

Ashleigh Ashley and Amy Shaw
Spring Issue 2021

It’s a startling fact that just 14% of women who work in UK film or TV are parents compared with 75% in the UK industry (Raising Films).

Having worked as a freelancer in the industry for almost 10 years I took a break to have my children because although I was keen to continue working in an industry that I loved (and had spent my whole working life being a part of) I found the long hours and lack of flexibility impossible to juggle. My partner also works in the sector and there are little to no childcare provisions that cover the hours a week we would have been working.

BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival 2021

BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival 2021

Oriana Gregorj
Spring Issue 2021

During the past year, the film industry has faced unprecedented challenges due to the outbreak of Covid-19. Faced with these obstacles, film festivals have been pushed to adapt to a virtual age. The BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival is not lagging behind, jumping on the wagon and delivering the event digitally once again. Despite latest announcements of lockdown restrictions coming to an end, the event will not be postponed and be held online from March 17 to 28 for UK-wide audiences to enjoy from the comfort of their own homes via BFI Player–their streaming platform.

Meet Francesca Reggiani - Icon of Italian Comedy, Film, TV and Theatre

Meet Francesca Reggiani - Icon of Italian Comedy, Film, TV and Theatre

Denise Di Castro
Spring Issue 2021

Speaking with Francesca Reggiani is a truly captivating experience, it is as if you were part of a performance! Reggiani is a comedian and actress icon of Italian theatre, TV and Cinema. In this interview, she reveals the relationship with her master Gigi Proietti and interesting anecdotes from her career and future projects. Read till the end to discover one of the highlights of her career… you won’t regret it!

Intimacy, Hollywood and Bridgerton: In Conversation With Lizzy Talbot

Intimacy, Hollywood and Bridgerton: In Conversation With Lizzy Talbot

Louise Howland
Spring Issue 2021

Back in 2016, Lizzy Talbot established Theatrical Intimacy, one of the first UK companies dedicated to challenging the archaic approach to intimacy in film and theatre. Both at the time and in hindsight, Lizzy’s vow to activate change in that space was a truly revolutionary act, largely because, as stated by Lizzy, the “world of intimacy”, as we understand it in its current form, “simply didn’t exist”.