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THE SPIRIT O
THE SPIRIT O
If independent production is a barometer to the suc- cess of filmmaking in the UK, then the outlook must be bright. Indeed there seem to be more films being made than can find suitable distribution, but in this hands-on manner a new breed of young filmmakers are learning their craft away from the struc- tured formality of film school.
Living Spirit Pictures are
surely the flag-wavers for this
daring generation, setting an
example in both practice and theory that they are happy for others to follow. Run by film school dropouts Chris Jones and Genevieve Jolliffe, Living Spirit has recently completed its third fea- ture, Urban Ghost Story, a psychological thriller starring Jason Connery.
A tense and atmospheric tale set in a depress- ing Glasgow tower block, it is expertly handled by Jolliffe, who makes her directorial debut with the film. Previously she was hailed as the world’s youngest producer (at only 20) on Chris Jones’ previous two directorial outings. Their last effort, White Angel, garnered some respectable reviews and won several awards and after that success they teamed up to write the highly successful Guerilla Film Makers Handbook.
And as if that wasn’t enough they run a post production company called The Media Agency and have also devised an organisational computer programme called Movie Wizard, which is designed for low budget filmmakers.
But with fingers in so many pies, Jones is clear that the raison d’être of Living Spirit is to develop and produce feature films. “Growing up I was deeply inspired by movies like Alien and Die Hard,” Jones, 30, says, “those big American adrenaline rides with extremes of emotion that take you to the edge. That’s personally what I’d like to get on and do. We’re both desperate to get our hands on a bigger budget and make something with a bit of wallop.
“The more work we’ve done the more I realise how little I know. Youthful confidence allows a young filmmaker to take chances. Some go to Hollywood and do something big and excit- ing, or sometimes cock it up completely, or else get it right because they have a good cast and a good screenplay. I would have loved to have done that five years ago, but now I’m happier to wait another ten years and make a bunch of films, learn my craft a bit better, increase my communi- cation skills and hopefully then I’ll be ready to make that movie - the kind I like to see on a Friday night. Making low budget movies is a means to an end in that respect.”
At every step of the way, through their rocky introduction to film production with The
Runner to the well regarded follow up White Angel, Jones and Jolliffe have sought to share their experience with others.
“It’s such a struggle that I wouldn’t want to wish it upon anyone,” Jones continues, “so if there is any way we can help others we will. On the whole we’re happy to share as much of our expe- rience away as we can because ultimately that’s what we wanted when we started.
“We have a lot of young and new filmmakers ask- ing us for help - as we speak there’s a feature film cut- ting downstairs that cost £8, 000 to make. This girl is cutting it overnight and then sleeping during the day. That way we can help her cut her film professionally on an Avid system for next to nothing, as opposed to having to botch it on some other system.”
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