Sunday 27 May 2007

Cannes

Making films with something to say has always been my aim but it's never been easy. I've spent the last 2 years writing Captain Kirk, a feature film about a young boy growing up in a small town in remote Scotland during the last days of punk rock and torn between his rebellious brother and an overbearing father. It's a great tale, gritty, full of brotherly love and hate and the passionate mistakes of youth. We took the film to Cannes film festival last May and ran ourselves into the ground with meetings to find financing. When a film is finished I'm sure Cannes Film Festival is a wonderful place but when your looking for money it really and honestly is not so much fun. Funny thing is money people make promises and I think they do mean well but the rosé seems to zap away a few of their memory synapses when you speak again in the UK.

However while sheltering from the sun in the British tent we hear a seminar on the big buzz coming from the states - D.I.Y. film distribution using the internet. Very interesting, and very empowering - away with the middlemen, the shopkeepers, if your film is good enough then sell it yourself. It makes sense as no-one one has quite the passion for a project than the actual filmmakers.

Great but not so much use when we first need to find a million quid to actually make Captain Kirk.

Heike "No but what about our other project - the Hardy's and fishing film?"

Andy "Err, yeah, are you thinking what I'm thinking..."

Yes we were. That was a year ago and now The Lost World of Mr Hardy is coming along nicely. We were able to go back to Cannes last week and pick up some great ideas about releasing our film on the internet.

Thursday 17 May 2007

Mayflies

Growing up in Scotland I'd only heard of the mythical mayfly from the Trout and Salmon magazines. What was this beasty? A three tailed mammoth that sends trouts crazy but cruelly only inhabits the bottom few miles of the Kingdom. Maybe it's just a myth to taunt the chookters!

I'd waited about 20 years just to see my 1st Mayfly and now I'm a Southerner too so I now claim my rights under Mayfly regulations. I've still never seen or fished a proper Mayfly hatch so there's always a revival in excitement come late May a little akin to waiting for Santa Claus. My fave local water claims to have one of the best hatches of any still water. Thing is though, late May is really tricky in my calendar as film work always gets in the way and so I always miss the mythic beasties. I duly head down to the water too early in the season but full of expectation.

The odd mayfly drifts across the top but a cold easterly blows up to put everything down (just like all the years before). The bailiff grins a 'well what did you expect look'. No luck and I can't try again for another three weeks so the mayfly will foil me once more.

I see a badger on the way home though so that makes up for a lot.