British Independent Film Awards

Popped in to the Agency to see Ian Benson. Big smile on his face. He liked 'Terra Firma' (pilot for a sci-fi series) saying it was well written, clean vivid descriptions and a believable world and dialogue - little unsure on the structure/plotting as he is unfamiliar with the TV format (as I am!) so all good. He will be sending it in to Mat at Tiger Aspect. So all good there.

Discussed how the AFI is going and possible future courses of action. So all very useful. After wishing me luck for the BIFAs that night I headed off to meet Julia and the guys.

Down the red carpet flanked by paparazzi flashing away. I guess it was more for Ray Winstone than our entourage!



Champagne reception with lots of familiar faces - Dame Judi Dench, Ray Winstone, Daniel Craig, James Nesbitt, Jason Isaacs, Tilda Swinto, Shane Meadows etc along with the more anonymous and probably more important members of the industry - financiers, producers, UK Film Council, distributors etc. It was a fabulous start to the evening.

Oh the event program had an amazing article re 'What Does Your Daddy Do?' - I have copied it below. Really flattered and delighted that John was so strongly mentioned. It was a real credit to the team. Oh also mentions I am at the American Film Institute!



Then into the formal dinner.







Then into the awards ceremony. Well to cut to the chase we didn't win. The competition was strong and the outcome of no real surprise. The award went to Paddy Considine's 'Dog Altogether' which was produced by Mark Herbert at Warp and funded by EM Media, Film 4 and Scottish Screen and starred Peter Mullan. I think it would be fair to say that we were all disappointed. Oh forgot to mention that before every announcement they played clips of all the competing films, so it was amazing to see an extract of 'What Does Your Daddy Do?' playing in front of such an august gathering - very flattering. We also went on to find out that our short film was shot on the lowest budget and was the most independently produced of the bunch!

Daniel Craig was presented an award by Alberto from Variety - was funny to see a friend being so eloquent in such a situation - good job Alberto.



'Control' did amazingly well, with Anton Corbijn and his cast and crew really catching the eye of the selection committee.



Judi Dench won the best Actress award for her role in 'Notes on a Scandal'



Ray Winstone picked up the the 'Richard Harris' award for his contribution to film. Well deserved and what a great geezer!



Then it was onto the festivities! Was a great opportunity to catch up with some familiar faces, Daniel Jewel, Rory, Katie and Bennet, Joe Oppenheimer, Robert Jones but to mention a few.

So all in all a phenomenal privilege to be a part of such an amazing evening. Better get on and make another film and this time aim to win!!!





Press Release:

Johanna von Fischer and Tessa Collinson, BIFA co-directors say: "A decade ago, the need for an awards ceremony that celebrated British independent film talent was identified. We are now ten years on and BIFA has grown to celebrate the increasingly diverse range of talent out there. This year's winners are no exception to this rule with Anton Corbijn winning the Douglas Hickox award and Judi Dench winning Best Actress."

John Woodward, Chief Executive Officer of the UK Film Council, the major funding partner of the BIFAs says: "This year's nominations and award winners really highlight the outstanding talent working in the UK with beautiful and thought-provoking films made by both established and emerging filmmakers. The BIFAs are a great champion for the British film industry celebrating excellence and originality in independent filmmaking."

BIFA are proud to announce the following winners for this year's Awards:

BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM
Control

BEST ACTRESS
Sponsored by Mac
Judi Dench - Notes on a Scandal

BEST ACTOR
Viggo Mortensen - Eastern Promises

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
Sponsored by the UK Film Council
Andi Engel, Pamela Engel and Robert Beeson [Artificial Eye]

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR/ACTRESS
Sponsored by Tiscali
Toby Kebbell - Control

MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER
Sponsored by Diesel
Sam Riley - Control

BEST DIRECTOR
Sponsored by The Creative Partnership
Anton Corbijn - Control

BEST SCREENPLAY
Sponsored by BBC Films
Patrick Marber - Notes on a Scandal

THE DOUGLAS HICKOX AWARD [BEST DEBUT DIRECTOR]
Sponsored by Pathé
Anton Corbijn - Control

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION
Black Gold

BEST TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT
Sponsored by Skillset
Mark Tildesley - Production Design - Sunshine

BEST BRITISH SHORT
Sponsored by Canon
Dog Altogether

BEST FOREIGN INDEPENDENT FEATURE
The Lives of Others

THE RAINDANCE AWARD
Sponsored by Raindance
The Inheritance

THE RICHARD HARRIS AWARD
Sponsored by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, UK
Ray Winstone

THE VARIETY AWARD
Daniel Craig


Elliot Grove, Founder of BIFA and creator of Raindance says:

"BIFA aims to recognise the plethora of new and established talent in the UK film industry. A special heart-felt thanks to the sponsors and filmmakers who have made this 10th edition such a success."

Proud supporters and patrons of BIFA include Tilda Swinton, Ray Winstone, Mike Figgis, Tom Hollander, Adrian Lester, Ken Loach, Ewan McGregor, Samantha Morton, Bill Nighy, Trudie Styler, Meera Syal and Michael Winterbottom.

General news

Its been a whirlwind couple of days back in Blighty. Have to say its fantastic to be back, I do miss the place.

Some sad news on arrival. Howard and Julia are separating so that was really disappointing to hear. They are both well though finding it tough and it must be hard on the children.

Our house is still in chaos as builders repair the roof, so staying with Julia's boss, Michael. First evening back and we went for dinner at a small Italian restaurant - finally good healthy food! Popped in to see Neil at Satellite and hopefully he and Jane will be out in the New Year to LA. In the evening met up with Ian and Carol - fab evening and lovely to catch up. Next day, lunch with Piers. It really reinforced how much I miss my good friends.

Thursday stayed over at my sister's and spent the evening playing with Luke and Olivia and looked at David's new website - looks as though the company has cash to survive until January. So fingers crossed he can build a customer base. Looks good.

Oh received a lovely skype from Catherine Lacey Dodd seems I have hit their blog page!

http://reubenjackdodd.blogspot.com/2007/11/congratulations-martin-stitt-on-venice.html

British Independent Film Awards

Its been a whirlwind couple of days back in Blighty. Have to say its fantastic to be back, I do miss the place.

Some sad news on arrival. Howard and Julia are separating so that was really disappointing to hear. They are both well though finding it tough and




Martin Stitt and Julia Stitt at the British Independent Film Awards



Critics write up of What Does Your Daddy Do - British Independent Film Awards



Pete Hotchkiss, Andy Freedman, Marin Stitt, Julia Stitt, Aidan McCarthy and Jonathan Sidgwick at the British Independent Film Awards

'Nature Red in Tooth and Claw'

Brunch with the new team....

Clay Reed - Producer
Nick Sinnott - Script Writer
Beth Van Damm - Production Design
Russell Bell - Cinematographer
Luke Lynch - Editor

The rise and fall of the Holy Roman Empire

Busy Wednesday. Meetings with Clay, Russell, Nick re 'Nature Red in Tooth and Claw' all looking good. Also had a lovely meeting with Autumn. Would be great to work with her on cycle three. Will see what happens.

Then off to the airport to pick up Julia - yeeehaaaaaaaaaa! She arrived on time - fabulous to see her.

Up early the next morning and headed off to Vegas alongwith half of the US!

Hours through the desert and then hit the sprawling mass of Los Vegas. It was like entering a city designed by a town planner on acid. Crowded as hell with the weirdest architecture you can find. One moment New York city is in front of you the next Venice, then Paris, then a Graeco Roman monstrosity. It's neon, advertising, fast food and noise pollution. The latter is phenomenal. Everywhere there are loudspeakers playing music, its incessant and non-stop.

Stayed at the MGM Grand in their quieter and more exclusive offshoot the Signature. 15th floor suite with panoramic views over the Los Vegas car parks!




Vegas is weird. Lions housed in greenhouses next to acres of slot machines. It's so sad, as voracious tourists gawk at the poor animals.




In the evening we started off with supper at the 'tournament of kings' a medieval knights show. Julia was ecstatic! I lie so badly. She so wished that the tickets had sold out, alas no. So when she arrived she insisted on ordering a stiff drink to get through the ordeal. Supper for the Lords and Ladies was a mug of ye olde coca cola and a platter of roast chicken and soggy potatoe wedges! It actually was a great laugh with the audience having to cheer for their respective knights during the tournament. We provided a large hurrah for the Irish Knight!




Afterwards we then went to a 'Crazy Horse' burlesque show. Was fantastic. Stunning six foot naked women all very tasteful and stylish.



Day time in Vegas is weird and not that much fun. It turns into one giant shopping mall. We did stop by the Guggenheim gallery at the Venetian. Must confess it wasn't drawing a major crowd like Celine Dion or the Cirque De Soleil.



In the evening we donned our glad rags and headed off for supper at the Picasso which as the name implies was covered in orginal art work by Picasso. An extravagance of an evening with a final bill of US$350 for supper for the two of us!




Checked out of the hotel and headed off to the Hoover Dam. Massive tail backk of traffic, so we were lured off the road by the opportuity of having a helicopter trip over the dam. Was short and sweet and Julia's first time in a helicopter. Breathtaking views of the dam.





Then a long slog back through the desert to LA. The desert itself was lovely and one of the highlights of the trip. Unfortunately we were soon stuck in traffic as the millions flew out of Vegas and back into the concrete of LA.

All in all an interesting couple of days. Not a big fan of Vegas - gambling, shopping, shoes, alcohol and prostitution not really my thing! Have to say it felt at times difficult to see the good sides of human nature as people hedonistically threw money around in this adults playground. In the end came home feeling slightly hollow. An experience. Looking forward to our next holiday when we aim to get away from the cities and visit the national parks.

"The centre cannot hold"

I am slightly at a loss for words. Spent the last weekend on set and it turned out way different thank I expected.



We were shooting out in Topanga at a house specially contsructed to use as a film location. Beautiful setting which looked just like it came straight out of a cheap horror film like Texas Chain Saw Massacre - half expected the locals to be playing banjos! The neighbouring property was lived in by a mad woman who looked and sounded as though a life time on booze/drugs had turned her brain in to mush. But the house was filthy and the surrounding area was covered in dog shit so carefully placing of feet was required! Was lovely to be out in the countryside. Thing was the valley only received light from approx 10 until 4 afterwhich we would be placed in shadow and the temperature would plummet.



Shoot started with a couple of simple set ups and then we moved off into the woods for a massive dolly shot of a man walking. It took ages, most of the shots over the next three days were dolly shots - they all took an age to set up and I am not sure how they really contributed to the drama of the story. I really am not a fan of dolly shots on film student shoots - it seems to come down to a camera exercise with performance going out of the window as they struggle to hit the technical requirements of the shot.

By lunch time on the first day our lead actor was struggling especially as we were rushing to snatch a coupe of shots before lunch (we were already in grace) Overall the shoot did not work, as most shots were poorly planned, set up time was enormous and the actors were ignored. Lots of look left, get up, look down, run etc......

Oh forgot to mention Zach Tobacco who handled craft services - what a great guy , he did a fab job! Go sign that portaloo inspection certificate man!



On the second day we spent hours setting up for a long tracking shot of the lead actor coming downstairs and discovering his mum passed out on the sofa with a strange man next to her. Well we took over 11 takes and couldn't pull it off, so arranged for an insert. At the end of the scene because of the change in set ups it was realised that a number of the shots were similar in size and framing. So suddenly the possibility of the scene not being able to cut together raised its ugly head. Anyway one of the crew (not a core member of the team) said it was fine as they could cut to a static of the bottles on a table. So it was instantly agreed that this would work and they should move on. Sure the crew members suggestion could work but did he know how the scene had been planned? Had they talked through the revealing of the scene with their editor and discussed potential problems in the edit? I sensed not.

We left all the gear and the truck at the location. Not all the kit was packed away and secured after the second day of shooting. There was cabling, flats and C stands left out all night oustide the house. I would hate to be responsible for the L&D for this shoot.



The straw which broke the camels back was came on the last day. Up until then Nick and I had turned up on set ten minutes before call time. Having said this members of the core team and crew turned up late. So on Monday got up at 4.30am, shower, breakfast. 5.30 picked up phone and headed to the front door only to find a text sent at 11pm (already in bed) that call time had changed to 8.30. Called Nick who hadn't received the message - he was equally furious. So arrived at the location at 8.15 in time for the 8.30 start time and safety meeting. The camera/lighting crew turned at 8.55, 25 minutes late, and the safety meeting was held at 9.15. The day was a cluster fuck - nothing planned out, dolly shots for everything, a staged car crash, Zeke had to go to hospital as he got glass in his eye, we over ran and ended up shooting at night and trying to light for the day. It was a late wrap.

One of the actresses was called back for a pick up shot, she sat around until 8.30 in the evening. It was clear that she wasn't going to be used. She was then sent home. She was a really good sport about it.

The crew did work hard and really tried to work through and get what was required but I feel it came down to poor planning and execution. Really enjoyed working with Zeke Hawkins and John Clark - both great guys and real hard workers - very professional.

Nick and I had a blast recording the sound. We checked in with Heather (Editor) after the first day to see if it was OK, it wasn't OK it was excellent. So pleased there.

Patrick Falconi asked me what I thought about the Royal Family, so when I told him that Prince Charles was my Uncle he was bowled over. If only I could have kept a straight face for longer as I really think I had him for a moment!

Finally wrapped at 9.30pm and ended up having to drive the camera truck back as nobody had been assigned to this role. Exhausted. Really didn't enjoy this shoot. It was a shame as it was s good workable script, great location just needed more planning.