I'm going to begin.
I mean, just by saying much. I love the movie.
I saw it back at the London Film Festival, and I think that image
of Adeel [Akhtar] of dancing on a car at dusk
I just couldn't get out of my head for so long.
Such a wonderful scene in the movie.
I'm so I'm going to begin by asking about the genesis, really, of the project
and when this idea sort of first came to you and and.
Yeah, because I was reading that.
So that idea was actually involved in quite an early stage.
Yeah.
Adeel was involved from the get-Go, really.
We, we met in 2016 at the
Toronto Film Festival and,
you know, wanted, knew we wanted to work together.
And I then sort of came back to him with a one
page idea about what it was I wanted to do.
And he said, Okay. I'm in.
I've also met someone called Rio.
Well, I was making The Selfish Giant, and she inspired the character of Ava
and someone called Moey Hassan, who was
it was a deejay, landlord and actor
and had a small part in The Arbor
and he inspired the character of Ali.
So yeah, that's how it began
because I guess what I love is that Ali and Ava
are what make up the fabric of this nation on every street, in
every town there are Ali and neighbors all over Britain.
Do you feel a kind of responsibility that comes as is part of what drives you
in some ways to tell the stories of those who otherwise?
We don't generally see on screen said.
Yes, absolutely.
And that is a really lovely way to put it.
Yeah.
If I really wanted to see so-called
ordinary lives writ large
and to show how extraordinary so-called ordinary lives are,
because
I also love this idea that anyone can fall in love any stage.
I mean, did you think that was something?
I mean, that we you wish we saw a bit more of in the arts because
romance is such a young person idea in cinema, isn't it?
Is a believe and you see it.
When we see a picture like this, you realize how infrequently we do see it
when you when you see two people a bit older.
So yeah, funny feelings for each other.
Yeah. Yeah.
It feels like it's quite a rare thing.
And yes, I think you can fall in love any age.
Yeah.
And I guess yeah, that felt important to show that I'm interested in the casting.
I mean obviously there was a lot you mentioned was, was involved early on,
but did you have to see them both together before casting was it was, yeah.
Just to get a sense of that kind of connection, I suppose.
The chemistry.
Yeah, we we did what
we ended up calling a chemistry test, which was really just to see how,
you know, Adeel obviously was already in
We've done a lot of workshops with our I had done a lot of workshops
with them to sort of build the character and build the story.
And then Claire [Rushbrook] came in
and they improvise the scene on the sofa
with the headphones and yeah, they,
they just had a brilliant energy together, brilliantly brilliant.
They sparked off each other basically, and they made me
laugh and cry within that within, within that session.
So yeah, it was kind of clear that Claire was the,
the person to play Ava/
She brings such so much humanity to that role as you must be.
So you must be so, so
they did have that chemistry because I guess before you do,
whether you saw them like that in your head,
you still need to see them together in order to go.
Right. It does work. So you must have been quite relieved if anything.
Yeah, kind of thrilled.
Really? Yeah.
Because, yeah, it's exciting in a way
that not quite knowing who quite who I was going to be.
And so she's until we cast her and yeah, just think, yeah, Claire's
I just think Claire's got this incredible. Yes.
You sort of vulnerability and humanity and she's very open and yeah.
So they, they they were fantastic together in the room
and and so yeah, it was exciting to then get them on screen.
Yeah.
Because that's what I thought was in the cinema cinemas.
I was watching a trailer.
My wife turns me and said, I really want to see that.
And she said,
Adeel is one of the best actors working today
and only kind of
got me thinking, actually, he really is this
and he's kind of been bubbling under the surface,
kind of taking on so many brilliant roles over the last two decades
because I first saw him on Four Lions and then slowly just becoming
one of those kind of was dependable, brilliant actors on on screen.
Does it you sort of because obviously he is such a brilliant not to be able
to almost surprised you that he's still not,
you know, kind of the household name he deserves to be.
I think he will be
he's becoming that I mean
yeah it is really lovely sort of pushing him to the front
And I mean, you know, he's played leads before but just
yeah he's such a he's got such an amazing mind to do.
He's just a is a really wonderful person to be around.
And he's also
yeah, I just think he's quite exceptional.
Really.
Must've been quite fun directing him bouncing on top of that car.
And it looks probably like it was looked pretty chilly.
It was. Yeah, it was.
It was a lot of fun working with both of them and, you know,
like the both of them were so committed and
yeah,
yeah, what, what, what song.
But it we get you dancing on top of a car.
Oh, I think you'd have to do that.
Daniel Avery track - Dron Logic
I really love that track.
And that would get me dancing. Yeah.
If I played it this morning.
Ahead of doing this session because it is so.
Yeah, it's it's a brilliant track.
Well, you don't sing on top of a car about
playing probably about a disco.
All right,
now, it was just funny because I was actually going to ask you
what was the name of that song?
Because, let's see, when you're in a cinema, you can't shazam it.
And I was kind of.
I had to rush off afterwards...
So Daniel Avery is a great song.
No, so it's a really good song.
So what is it about Bradford's that keeps bringing you back
when you as a as a place to tell stories?
Well - Andrea Dunbar
I would say it was the subject of The Arbor, you know, that was
it was making that film that took me to
to know about this very specific street where she grew up in Bradford.
And really it was through meeting
through meeting people whilst making that film that I
then made The Selfish Giant, because it was a boy with a horse
who who I got to know while making that film.
And really it was through then making that film that this film came about.
So it's kind of like one is triggered the next, if you see what I mean.
Just just from making brilliant brilliant people
by sitting there, you say, obviously, you know, you like telling stories
of kind of ordinary people.
As a storyteller yourself, do you find that
when you're out meeting people and you know, when you're sort of just
traveling the world, going to festivals, even just at home, doing what you do,
and do you find that you are kind of looking for stories,
maybe even subconscious so when you meet people, you have it.
You always trying to see the stories of in them and things that could
then be brought to screen.
I think
everybody has got a story, so it's almost like, gah - which one?
Because.
Yeah, and also I think I'm definitely more of that.
I'd rather be doing what you're doing, what I'm doing
right now, but definitely more of a listener I think
than, than, than
than the person who wants to be talking about themselves, if you see what I mean.
So yeah,
does that I think that's the thing
is this one street in Bradford, all of these there's so many stories.
Everybody's got a story and everybody's got a story that's worth that.
That's worth telling.
So it's the, the difficulty is in
choosing what.
Oh, landing on one, you know.
Yeah.
As a listener then can you see yourself
moving into a documentary format, you know, kind of being more
of an interviewer behind the scenes and creating a story that way.
Well, in a way, that's, that's what The Arbor was.
The Arbor was a sort of documentary.
It was a hybrid, really.
And in some ways, I think there was some
parts of the process of
building the script which which come from that sort of discipline.
I suppose in that I'll go and sit with people for hours and hours and hours
and, and do very long interviews, but also just hang out with people
I don't take a camera, you know, a
record sound and make a record of, of what happened and sort of
put it into a script or workshop in some way.
So yeah, am I thinking you teach film as well?
Is that right?
If I,
I did, I did any more but I did, yeah.
I was going to ask if you found that that part
because through that process you felt you understood
more about your own craft and your and you as a filmmaker.
Why teaching it to others?
Um, I think back when I made the job,
I taught a course
well, I sort of devised the course about documentary.
And I think that, that
some of the questions that are raised raises about documentary
and fiction came out of teaching that course.
Yeah.
So what's, what's sort of next for you then, if you got another...
Because I was reading about The Essex Serpent, I was wondering about
does it feel like it now feels like, you know, making a TV show,
even if you could be so there are still filmmakers had to speak.
It's something that is almost feeling inevitable.
Obviously, Andrew Haig did it quite recently as well.
Is that as a surprise to use or moving into that medium?
Was I always been behind in some
plan all along in the back of your mind?
Definitely hasn't been the plan in the back of my mind.
No, no, no.
It was a very, very different kind of work.
You know, it was, you know, television I didn't rise to.
It's an adaptation to a pretty faithful adaptation of a novel.
You know, it's very it was kind of it was it was it's
very different from from,
you know, the work of my own independent films.
Yeah.
Do you have another film any projects being at the moment?
Lots of things brewing, but yeah, it's probably too early to say what they are.
Yeah, that's all I wanted to say was yes.
Yes, well, thank you so much for your time.
It's always a pleasure speaking to you, and I'm sure we'll catch up again one day.
Yeah. Thank you.
All right. Thank you so much.