It’s September 1st! This means three more weeks of official summer, a wave of exciting movies coming to my local cinema, and hopefully some new exciting acting work.
It’s been a good month of August to be honest, in fact it was the kind of month, acting wise, that I’d like to experience all the time.
It started with two corporate jobs booked through my agent and a German voiceover job from a recurring client on the themes of harassment at work and being a good team member.
In terms of auditions, I attended two short film auditions at Met Film School and one commercial casting – my second ever, and the first time I felt right for the part.
Finally, I lent my French voice to a short animated film set in a war-torn country in the 17th century. This is a project by Rising Dawn Pictures which, once finished, will serve as a pitch to produce a live-action version of the film. Due to its theme, it requires specific locations, costumes and sets. I think it’s a smart move to create an animated version first and not jump into production on the wrong budget. The process on this project was a very positive one: I enjoyed working with director Fredrik Gustafsson who also has experience in theatre directing, and loved the script. My character Séraphine is in charge of defending her farm, and the stakes in her life as well as her anxieties were very fun to play opposite fellow actor Johnny Neal, playing Marius. Talented actor and mover Luis Amalia is also in this! One of my aims right now is to steer towards more French work, and this is a good start.
With regards to Dear Mum, a film I co-produced and acted in in October 2018, it is fully finished. With a beautiful musical score by Oleta Haffner, a voiceover track I contributed, and great final touches by Donovan Swart and editor Felix Dembinski, it is off to festivals! We’ve so far been selected by Rome Independent Prisma Awards, Direct Monthly Online Festival and Florence Film Awards for the film, its cinematography and score. I am quite proud of this film and what our director Donovan Swart achieved with his script, and look forward to sharing its journey with you.
I would like to end with my latest director crush, Joanna Hogg. Her film “The Souvenir” came out a few days ago, so I’ve been exploring her filmography, starting with “Unrelated” and “Archipelago” (next is “Exhibition” and finally “The Souvenir”). What I love about her movies are how they centre on tight family circles and the terrific pain that bounces off the walls of the temporary homes her characters find themselves in. I say bounce – I’m actually picturing more of a slow snake hovering in the air until an argument explodes off screen. The long takes and very few close ups are also enjoyable, and I wonder how much she leaves to improvisation.
Thank you for reading, and toodloo!