Another of the upcoming producing talents in the UK is Christina Riggs, who has recently produced two acclaimed shorts, THE NEIGHBOUR and PERIOD, which are as contrasting as you can get. The former deals with a couple’s worst nightmare when they move in and the latter could be seen as a companion piece to THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES, the acclaimed female-driven play performed by many name actresses.
FILM AND TV NOW had the pleasure of speaking with the Producer as her work makes it’s way into the vast Festival circuit.
FILM AND TV NOW: You have two contrasting shorts which have varying themes. How did you come up with the ideas and concepts for these?
CHRISTINA RIGGS: The idea for Period. was devised by the writer / director, Charli Whatley. When she pitched the idea to me and Chris (who exec produced it) we were really taken with how personal the idea felt to her, but it also felt really fresh and challenging. It seems crazy that something that affects more than half the population for a week out of every month is still a taboo subject, and I was excited to be part of something that would challenge that taboo.
Phoebe, the director of The Neighbour, came up with the initial idea with Joe in mind (Joe wrote the script and plays the neighbour character). Phoebe and Joe have been friends for years, and Phoebe essentially bullies Joe and loves coming up with ideas for annoying characters for him to play. Joe fully buys into this, and wrote the character as annoying and skin-crawly as possible. As you can imagine, this odd dynamic was irresistible and I had to get involved.
FTVN: What is your journey as a film-maker so far?
CR: I started writing scripts when I was at university, then when I graduated I got a job in TV production, and saw how satisfying it is to see an idea through to fruition. I’ve developed scripted TV shows with writers and producers for Channel Four, The BBC and The Huffington Post and at the weekends, I develop my own ideas. I started working on Period., in Autumn 2017 then The Neighbour not long after. Period. was selected by Aesthetica film festival last year, and I’m in the process of entering The Neighbour into festivals now. Since filming The Neighbour and Period., I’ve produced a short drama and two comedy sketches (all in post production). As you might be able to tell, I refuse to choose between comedy and drama, so no one try to make me. I’m also writing a series of short dramas about women and fertility, and a short comedy about a leftist twitter troll who has sex with fruit (serious stuff)
FTVN: THE NEIGHBOUR heightens the tension from an unwanted guest when a new couple moves into a next-door property. Is the script based on personal experience?
What I love about the Neighbour is that it plays on the quintessentially British trait of being so polite that you end up putting yourself out. That British awkwardness is so recognisable and a great source of humour. I’ve never personally met that overbearing neighbour, but I have 100% put myself out to avoid conflict in the past.
FTVN: PERIOD looks at the relationship between a woman and her natural body cycle. Sometimes this is an uncomfortable subject to communicate. Has it been inspired by the recent changes going through the industry?
CR: Charli wrote the script for Period. before the #MeToo movement really took off, but the themes in the film are part of the same conversation. Our ambition for Period. is that it will contribute to a general openness in conversation around women, their bodies and their place in society.
In her director’s statement, Charli wrote about the feelings of shame she felt around her menstrual cycle, which I think is a very interesting and pretty universal phenomenon. One of my first memories around periods was being given a tip from the school nurse, that if I felt embarrassed to be using sanitary products, I could hide them up my sleeve. Whilst well intended, tips and experiences like this cement the association between periods and shame in girls’ minds from a young age. And why should we be ashamed?! It’s madness.
FTVN: You have mentioned previously about your struggles to get your films out there. For the benefit of other film-makers reading this interview, what challenges have you faced so far and what have you found easy?
CR: I think the hardest thing with any creative endeavour is always knowing where to start. This applies to all stages of the project: development, production and distribution. I found it particularly tricky finding funding for The Neighbour, and we ended up paying for it ourselves (which was a bit killer, although the budget was tiny). I also always hate asking people to work on a film for free, but have been blown away at how many talented people are willing to sacrifice their time if they believe in the project. I hope some day soon to be able to pay these amazing people properly!
FTVN: Tell us about the casts for each film.
CR: Bluebell Williams (who plays the girl in Period.) is a friend of Charli’s who hadn’t acted before, but who Charli felt had something very relatable and would communicate the emotional journey of the character – something that was really important because we don’t have any dialogue, we needed someone who could express the story with her facial expression and actions.
Joe Barnes, who plays the Neighbour, is an actor, writer and comedian. He is one half of critically acclaimed sketch double act GOODBEAR, who’ve been recommended by the Times, Guardian and Telegraph, with all three of their Edinburgh shows transferring to London’s prestigious Soho Theatre. He was also one third of MINOR DELAYS (‘Remarkable’ – The Telegraph) and has appeared in content for BBC One, BBC Three, ITV2 and Channel 4. He is a regular on BBC Radio 4 Extra’s Newsjack and has written on Newsjack, Newsjack Unplugged and Radio 4’s The Now Show.
Rose Matafeo, who plays Martha in The Neighbour, is a comedian, writer and actor from New Zealand. In 2018 Rose’s critically acclaimed show “Horndog”, directed by Phoebe Bourke, won the best comedy show award at The Edinburgh Festival Fringe and was nominated for the best show at Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Rose is a regular face on TV having featured on Have I Got News For You (BBC One), W1A (BBC One), Unspun with Matt Forde (Dave), Jon Richardson’s Ultimate Worrier (Dave) and The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice (Channel 4) in the UK, while in New Zealand Rose is the lead writer and star of the sketch show Funny Girls (TV3) which is in its third series, and a regular on panel show 7 Days (Three Now NZ). Rose has also performed at Just For Laughs in Montreal and has opened for Reggie Watts and Rob Delaney in both New Zealand and the UK.
Rob Carter, who plays Neil in The Neighbour, is a comedian, actor and writer. After realising a career in banking wasn’t for him, Rob trained at LAMDA drama school and has since starred in several plays and had cameos in Peep Show and Fresh Meat as well as making the final of the BBC New Comedy Award. He has taken his character, Christopher Bliss, (a very well meaning but completely talentless author) to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival three times, to great critical acclaim.
FTVN: You worked with two different female directors. How has your working relationship been with each of them and what are their respective skills in film-making?
CR: Charli pitched the idea to me and Chris (the exec producer) not long before we actually shot, and that was the first time I met her, so our working relationship developed pretty quickly. Charli has an amazing clarity of her own vision, which she kept hold of throughout the whole process.
I was working with Phoebe on a comedy series when she approached me to produce The Neighbour. Phoebe has a load of experience directing live comedy, including Rose Matafeo, who plays Martha’s Edinburgh shows. She’s always keen to get super collaborative with the actors and let them put their own stamp on things, and she’s really fun to be around which is kind of crucial for comedy.
FTVN: Where did you shoot and for how long?
CR: Both films were two day shoots. We were on a tiny budget for both of them, so stuck to locations that we could get for free. Period was filmed in my flat and The Neighbour was filmed at Phoebe, the director’s, house.
FTVN: What was the budget for these films?
CR: Both budgets came in at around £1K – as I say, pretty tiny.
FTVN: Finally, would you like to work on a big-budget film than a short?
CR: Yes, definitely. It would be amazing to run a bigger scale production and crucially, I would love to be able to pay some of the talented people I’ve worked with as much as they deserve.
THE NEIGHBOUR is currently unavailable, but will be soon.
PERIOD can be viewed publicly here:
Please do support this film-maker when you can.
