Dear Mum: two months to go!

In acting news this week, I met a wonderful group of actors for the rehearsed reading of Romiette + Julio (a rewritten version of Shakespeare's play by Lauren Morley) at the Lion and Unicorn Theatre on Wednesday.  

In other news, notably DEAR MUM, please forgive the silence, the last three weeks have been all casting-related for me. While writer-director Donovan is working on his shot list for the film, he's also been deep in the casting process as self-tapes for four roles have been coming in. I am happy to say that we have now picked our FIONA, and that the actress has accepted the role!

In three weeks, we will hold our face to face auditions with our favourite candidates for the other three characters in London, some of whom have already scheduled their audition slot. I would say I already have my favourites for each character, but plan on being surprised.

With a little over two months before we shoot, there are still many questions to be answered, such as who will be our set designer or which beach we will choose to shoot one of our scenes at. 

Meanwhile, here is our poster for the film! It was photographed by Luisina Fascendini Gatti and designed by Marc Sargeant and shows my character Katie contemplating which words to put down on the page as she writes to her mother. 

Dear Mum: 3 months to go

We just had a great week-end of meetings on Donovan Swart's film DEAR MUM. With almost three months to go before we shoot, things are cooking.

- Casting: today, Don and I sat down to sort through the large number of talented actors who applied for the various roles in the film. I will play Katie, which leaves us with the roles of my mother, father, husband and daughter. In the next 24 hours, I will be sending out self-tape requests. This will be a great way to see how the candidates look on screen while speaking a particular part of the script. Our decision on self-tapes will lead to the next step of face to face auditions. 

On my last film DER GUGELHUPF, I only had one actor to find. Now that we have four people to cast, and that family chemistry will play a huge role, the challenge is strong. Being on the other side of things here (instead of being the actor), I notice how vital it is to have an up to date headshot and not to show images that are too dark or where a face is covered in blood. In addition, you notice the immediate impression that a first showreel clip gives. I would say that when it comes to showing acting skills, it is better to show a monologue with a plain background than a very dark clip.  

- Production: fellow producer Orhan and I sat down yesterday to make an estimate of the budget. Some funding opportunities are still open, but we are working while assuming we will work only with our money. We are still within budget, but as you know, last expenses can also pile up, such as insurance, food or costume. However it's great to notice that we have not passed our set budget. 

Greetings from HOT London.

House and dates locked

Today is all about DEAR MUM, a short film written and directed by Donovan Swart. I'm happy to announce that this week the production team locked the house we will be shooting in for four days in late September.

Indeed, the story, which involves five members of a family, mostly takes place in a house with its living room, kitchen and bedrooms. I don't think we could have found a better place to shoot in, and most importantly, this news helps everyone move towards the next important step: casting. 

We've been receiving many applications for our characters, and Donovan and I will be meeting this week to create a first shortlist that we will request self tapes from. This is another essential stage which involves emotion and human chemistry - a great challenge!

Have a great week everyone!

Another door opens

Me again! 

Following the completion of the German-language short film DER GUGELHUPF, I am now turning this page into a diary about my life as an actress slash producer!

My film has now been sent to a few festivals. There is one I am hoping will accept to screen it, but otherwise it has been difficult to decide which places to send it to. Submitting can end up costing quite a bit, so for now I will submit to only a few per month while waiting for first selections from my choices.

On the acting side of things, my Spotlight now has three reels in my three languages: English, French and German! I was pleased to receive the full film of THE INK SLINGER, shot back in February, and used a scene from it for my English reel.

In terms of what is in the pipeline, there is a theme which will define this summer: mental health. First, I will be involved in Scott Lyus's OUR SONG, a sci-fi story about dementia. I look forward to playing the daughter, as I am always happy to be involved with Scott's work. This piece will be a very personal one to him, and you can support his film here. 

Second, I am part of the production team of Donovan Swart's short film DEAR MUM, a family drama which takes place following a suicide. I will be playing the lead Katie who has lost her mother. We are currently locking our principal location and will soon start the casting process as well. I'm pleased Don has also found a cinematographer he likes, and that collaboration will be very interesting to watch. Watch this space!

As we approach the longest day of the year, I am excited to start working on roles that require me to dig deeper into myself. 

Until next time!

Watching yourself

As I wait for the last few adjustments to the 5-minute short film DER GUGELHUPF, I wanted to put on my actress hat and tell you about what it feels like to watch yourself acting on screen.

Let me tell you something: I've never been as self-critical than with this film. Is it because it's a product of my imagination? Because I was involved on more levels than in other projects? Probably!

So far, the first viewings of my films have come with some difficulty - sometimes with my inner voice screaming "stop overacting!" - but in subsequent viewings, I settle in, watch the other actors, notice the camera movements, and take more and more distance from it. I haven't lived with it as long as the director has, so I am able to take a step back and enjoy the story.

People find it strange that some actors don't like watching themselves. However, it actually makes a lot of sense. Screen acting is such a younger craft than the millennia-old discipline of the actor. The original job of the actor is to perform to a live audience. Words are said, audiences react, actors react to the audience, everything's immediate. What's more, the power of the moment means that you have the luxury of not watching your own performance. Therefore, I understand that when you are watching a film six months after actually shooting it, you may feel like some of it is fake: you have evolved, you've done other things, and you are now looking at something that you felt all those months ago. Perhaps today, you would have reacted differently.

Back to DER GUGELHUPF: I'm actually quite grateful, because I've finally found out about a very important habit I have and which appears on screen here. I've either not had it come out this much before, or directors didn't mind it, but I have been watching it multiple times over the last month and it definitely caught my eye. I see it as a lesson! If you want to know what it is, you'll have to watch the film!

On that note, I wish everyone a good week, and thank you for following!