DEC 2014
ARCHIVE!
Colin Gregg, the director I worked with on several films, has handed over a number of prints for consideration by the BFI Archive. This includes our first film BEGGING THE RING, which I don't have even in a pre-digital form. There's a real barrier to overcome for pre-digital work: broadcasters will supply a time-coded disk but charge a lot for a decent transfer. I now have some home-copied disks taken from VHS tapes of my six part drama THE BIG BATTALIONS which are surprisingly good, but not quite as I’d like them.
TRAVELS WITH A DONKEY
Now shortlisted for another funding award that could help it along: here's hoping the radically new draft can move the project forward.
TV AGAIN
Being so committed to the single film, I felt some years back that I needed to focus on cinema. With a film in production, this seems a good moment to try to return! It won’t be easy but I have a nice new project, a two-part adventure drama for TV, that should find interest.
ALCS
My six year stint as a director ended with the AGM in late November. I shall continue as a Patron of the Society of Audiovisual Authors - I’ll be meeting a number of MEPs in mid December when attending the LUX awards for European cinema.
SEPT 2014
WAITING FOR YOU
It looks like the shoot will, after all, be spring next year.
LIFETIME – IN D
Some good revisions now achieved with the help of script editor Abigail Davies. Looks like I may have a UK-based producer interested to partner Irish company Dark Window Media, which is what the project needs to reflect its Anglo-Irish content.
MOTHDUST
My second short film has been accepted into the Great Lakes Film Festival in the U.S.A. I submitted it into the Experimental section, I think that's where it belongs.
JULY 2014
IKON
The exhibition drawn partly from work I showed there during my tenure as director opened July 2 and continues to August 31. It's called "As Exciting as We can Make it" - a quote from a letter summing up my ambition for the programme! ikon-gallery.org/whats-on/
WAITING FOR YOU
I'm hoping issues around actors' availability will be resolved soon – perhaps for a shoot this autumn, but it might be spring next year.
TRAVELS WITH A DONKEY
Great interest has been shown by a French TV channel and I was in France this month to work a little more on the script with director Benoît Razy.
LIFETIME IN D
I have now cast both the lead roles which feels great. With WAITING now the priority, I think Lifetime will need to be on the back burner for a while but I plan to give it my all next year.
NEW AGENT
A pleasure to be re-examining projects that have languished somewhat! Simon is eager to bring them to the attention of broadcasters and film companies, so that's all good.
MAY 2014
WAITING FOR YOU
This is now in pre-production with a shoot hopefully in September / October – a few days in the UK and the remainder in France.
LIFETIME
The title is now LIFETIME IN D and an audition in Ireland was another useful step forward. I’m now aiming to pull in a bit of private investment and hope to secure the commitment of a Director of Photography. The hunt for the lead role also continues!
IKON
The content for the show and the catalogue text both close to being finalised now. The exhibition will be drawn from work shown 1978 - 89, when the gallery was led first by me then by Antonia Payne. It will include the recreation of an installation by Charles Garrad, who will be directing WAITING FOR YOU.
TRAVELS WITH A DONKEY
As ever with film, the hunt for funds takes time... Producer Jérémie Chevret has taken the project to Cannes along with another he is developing with his company Plus de Prod.
MOTH DUST
Struggling to find festival acceptances but I never had that in mind: I wanted to see how being sole director felt and explore film vocabulary. So it was useful.
MARCH 2014
NEW AGENT
I'm pleased to say I have an agent again: Simon Williamson. See my CONTACT page.
TRAVELS WITH A DONKEY
The revitalised version has now gone back to the CNC for consideration. Fingers crossed.
LIFETIME: the feature
Another useful trip to Ireland to hook up with Michael Parle of DarkWindowMedia and try to move the project along. Useful meeting too with Nick Dunning, who was in my film REMEMBRANCE a long time ago, who is interested in the film and I hope may take a role in it.
JANUARY 2014
TRAVELS WITH A DONKEY
Another writer has been brought in – initially this felt like a knock! When this has happened occasionally in the past, it's basically meant me being dropped from the project. The fact is a script can get kind of stuck and what's been nice in this instance is that not only has new writer Xavier Maumejean has really helped to bring in some excellent new ideas, but he's been working closely with the director Benoît Razy, and they've been sending the script for my comments. So it's worked well.
WAITING FOR YOU
A few small changes now been made to the script, in the light of the producer's thoughts on it. Good ideas, helping to develop the central character a wee bit.
LIFETIME: the feature
Production company in Ireland enthused and a useful meeting in Dublin triggered some good revisions. This newest version just gone to an actor kindly willing to read with no money on the table!
MOTH DUST
A good screening in London in November of MOTH DUST, LIFETIME (the short) along with Janet Hodgson's film and the promo shot in Sligo.
IKON GALLERY
Director Jonathan Watkins tells me plans for the show coming together well.