Harry Brandrick uses very personal experience and emotion to convey the troubled soul of a man trying to reform in a relationship with his daughter in the new short film drama THE OUT.
Film And TV Now spoke with the film-maker about the short.
FILM AND TV NOW: How much is making a film like this a therapy for you?
HARRY BRANDRICK: It can be therapeutic as you’re exploring and confronting thoughts, feelings and memories from the past. But it’s no replacement for actual therapy! I wanted to use my personal history as the base but I didn’t want it to be too introspective. I think part of the creative process is using the personal but taking it to somewhere new.Â
FTVN: When you reflect on your experience with your father, how challenging was it to avoid becoming like him as an addict?
HB: It wasn’t challenging to be honest as we grew up and lived in very different circumstances. There are many reasons why people take drugs and there are many reasons why people become addicted.
FTVN: Tell us about your cast.
HB: I worked with an incredible Casting Director, Louise Collins, who just nailed it.
Louise cast all of the roles apart from the main character, Liam. Allan, who played Liam, is a friend of a friend. Though we weren’t close so it was a big confidence boost when he came onboard to develop the script further and get the film made.
Louise came on later and found Jamie, Savannah, and Kimberley who each play Marcus, Sofia and Jade respectively. As well as the other smaller roles, all very talented actors who were a dream to work with.
Allan is half-Kurdish and I wanted to bring that into the film as a way of representing that community, so Louise managed to find a Kurdish woman, Emine, to play the neighbour. She’d never done any acting before, it was amazing!
FTVN: Tell us about your production team.
HB: Jack, producer, and a friend of mine came on board early and really took the lead on finding most of the production crew, there were 13 of us in total.
I’m always blown away by the talent and dedication of the teams that I’ve worked with on the few shorts I’ve made. And it was no different with The Out. Our camera team, led by Kia Fern-Little, a very talented cinematographer, were just incredible, and so was everyone else. Our AD Jess was superhuman.
I remember during prep she pulled over in her car at night on the way back from a 15 hour+ day to do the schedule with Jack and I. All of these people are working full-time in the industry doing insanely long hours and for them to take time out to work on this, it’s just very humbling and awe-inspiring.
The industry needs to do more to look after and nurture our production teams, it wouldn’t exist without them.
FTVN: Where did you shoot and for how long?
HB: It was a 3-day shoot. We spent 2 days shooting in a friend’s flat on an estate in Hackney, East London.
The situation was very precarious due to covid. Hackney Borough Council Film Office hadn’t allowed any filming on housing estates since the start of the pandemic and we were shooting during peak covid lockdown. But Jack (producer) did a solid risk assessment and the planning was pretty rigorous, which we had to present to them. They were impressed with it and let us do it, which was unreal.
I don’t know what we would have done otherwise as we were shooting in a friend’s place and didn’t have the budget for anywhere else. On the third day we shot at the house I was living in at the time in northeast London.
FTVN: Who and what are your key cinematic influences?
HB: I’m a big cinephile and I feel like I’m inspired by everyone and everything I see. But big ones for me are Cassavettes, Pasolini, Claire Dénis, Yasijuro Ozu, Satyajit Ray, Fassbinder, Billy Wilder, Hou Hsiao Hsien, Douglas Sirk, Steve McQueen, Edward Yang, Lynne Ramsay, Alan Clarke..I could go on and on!
FTVN: Would you like to explore the issues and themes in this short in a bigger narrative feature project?
HB: Yes absolutely, I’m working on a couple of feature film scripts at the moment that are very much linked to The Out.Â
FTVN: What are the virtues of indie film-making compared to mainstream film-making for you?
HB: I’ve only ever worked on my own shorts and I’ve never had a job in the film industry at large so I’m not able to answer this I’m afraid!
FTVN: What issues and themes are you keen to explore in future work?
HB: I haven’t given that too much thought as for me it usually starts with a character rather than a theme or political issue. Off the top of my head; mental health, class, patriarchal masculinity, addiction, immigration, family, love…
There are a lot of things I’m interested in exploring but it has to tie into the character and the story that you’re trying to tell.
FTVN: Are there plans to show this short to drug charities, as well as addicts and relations affected by those who are addicted?
HB: There’s not, but I’d love that, I was thinking of reaching out to some organisations whilst developing the script but never got round to it. There needs to be a big shift in how we treat addiction and drug related crime and I’d love for this film to be part of that conversation.Â
FTVN: Who would you like to work with most in the future?
HB: I’m still very much in the early stage of my career so at this point I’m just grateful for anyone to work with me!
FTVN: How has the festival circuit helped your film?
HB: The festivals that the film has screened at have really cared about it and have been there to support the film and get it out there, which is huge. Watching it with an audience is such a buzz.Â
FTVN: Finally, what are you most proud of about this short?
HB: I’m just proud that we got it done and that I stuck to my vision. I try not to get lost in my ego too much. Film-making is inherently a team effort and I’m proud of what we created and everyone who worked on it.
