“Quirky, Playful and Honest” short film There & Back Again is looking for backers as it looks to become a reality.
With her third directorial film now in pre-production, Hayley Emin joins us for an interview to talk about her upcoming short film ‘There & Back Again’.
Hi, how are you and how did you get into filmmaking?
Hello – and I’m well thank you! Sort of stuck in an eternally tired state, but I’m good. How are you?
I am great thank you!
I’ve always loved telling stories, and was convinced at a young age that I was going to be an author when I grew up. Film built on that desire, I used to binge-watch behind the scenes features on all the DVDs we owned. Then at around 13, having no social life, I attempted to write and make my own films. They were awful of course. Now I’m writing and directing my final year film at the University of Hertfordshire.
What inspired ‘There & Back Again”?
Well, I got dumped in a tent once and decided to make a film about it. I kid – inspiration is an interesting thing, because often ideas come from a series of unconnected, moments in your life. There’s definitely some influence in there from 500 Days of Summer, which is one of my favourite films. It’s funny, painfully truthful, heart-breaking and not afraid to be a bit silly. Probably Richard Curtis as well, Love Actually is another favourite.
I know I wanted to make a film about the aftermath of a relationship, about that awful period of time that you spend torturing yourself about everything you could have done differently, and what the consequences would be if you really could go back and change them. That’s the benefit of Sci-fi, it allows you to explore those “what ifs?” in an interesting and exciting way.
Edgar Wright has inspired the visual look and sound of the film, because what he does so impeccably is highlight the comedy already present in the script with cinematography, editing and sound design, aspects which tend to get lost or forgotten in comedic films. He’s a great writer, too.
What are the challenges of writing a script?
Making people care about it as much as you do. You already know these characters, from their deepest, darkest fears, to what type of underwear they prefer. They’re a bit of you. But the audience needs to feel them and care, not about them necessarily, but about what they care about, too. And then you need to build an engaging story around them, too.
Oh, and not letting yourself be consumed with despair if someone doesn’t like something in the script or if something goes wrong. Being a writer involves an odd combination of over-confidence and deep insecurity. One minute, you’ll think it’s the best thing you’ve ever written, and the next, you’re considering using it for toilet paper.
Describe your, “There & Back Again” in three words.
Quirky, Playful, and Honest.
When will ‘There & Back Again’ be released and what should we expect?
We’re hoping to enter it into festivals, so online release will likely be in May 2019. However, by donating a minimum of £10 to our Kickstarter campaign, you can get a digital download, and watch the film a year early in May 2018!
Expect humour, heart-break, time-travel, and possibly the ugliest tent you’ve ever seen.
Thank you for the great interview, Hayley!
If you would like to become part of ‘There & Back Again’, you can become a backer on their Kickstarter here. You can also follow their Youtube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
