Talented and recent recipient of the BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer, British producer Oliver Ridge has two films that have been highlighted at prestigious festivals – CORNER OFFICE starring John Hamm which headlines the Tribeca Film Festival and his LGBT feature JOYLAND premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Film And TV Now spoke with the film-maker about his projects and reflections.
FILM AND TV NOW: You recently won the BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer. How does BAFTA support film-makers like yourself in your development?
OLIVER RIDGE: Winning the BAFTA Newcomer award was not just a huge honour for me, it also opened the door to all kinds of networks and events.
To this day I am still friends and collaborators with some of my fellow winners from that year. But BAFTA also host screenings and masterclasses, it has really helped me to be part of such an incredible organization and I am proud to be a recent new member.
FTVN: You graduated from the prestigious Drama Centre. Tell us about your evolution there and what were the key things that have stuck with you in your journey as a film-maker?
OR: Whenever I think of Drama Centre, I think about how tough it was. The standards they set and the demands they made of their students.
Though there were drawbacks to their approach, it really set a high artistic standard for me and left me under no illusions about the meticulous detail and preparation needed to succeed. I take that with me in all parts of my job behind the camera – you should see my mood boards lol.
FTVN: You have two films imminent, CORNER OFFICE – showcased at Tribeca – and JOYLAND, which premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Tell us about these projects and also your experience at Cannes.
OR: They are very different films, but I love them equally.
CORNER OFFICE is a dark comedy that makes you question what’s real and what’s not. I’ve seen Jon Hamm in many roles but never one like this. He is such a great actor and a great human being. I can’t wait for people to see this film and him as Orson.
JOYLAND is a delicate but often painful look at characters at odds with their culture, their families and themselves. What Saim has crafted is so stunning and I believe we can all see parts of ourselves in his story. Cannes was so surreal, to go to a festival like that and win the Jury Prize is every filmmakers dream.
FTVN: Tell us a bit more about your project-in-development, SYNTHETIC, which is a ‘violent science-fiction love story’ from what we have been told.
OR: My publicist would kill me if I said too much. But it’s been a real labour of love, I have been working on it and crafting it for several years now. It is a look into what it means to be human, and can you love something that isn’t human.
FTVN: JOYLAND is the first Pakistani film to be in Official Selection at Cannes. Given the subject matter, how has the film been received in its’ native country and are there other stories you would like to make in that region?
OR: So far, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. It has been wonderful for me to watch the outpouring of love and emotion being directed at Saim and our cast. I’ve always wanted to make films all over the world, not just in the west. The next stop hopefully is Malaysia.
FTVN: JOYLAND is an LGBTQ+ feature. What sort of stories are you hoping to see in the future that celebrate and showcase this demographic?
OR: I am just hoping for a future where all filmmakers can showcase their talents on an equal playing field and that all their voices can be heard free of persecution.
FTVN: What is your thought process when it comes to screenwriting?
OR: I have a writing partner (Doug Mercer) and I’m so lucky to have him. He gives my ideas structure and gets them down on paper (or final cut pro) and from there I can really get into editing or workshopping them. Doug has had too many late night phone calls about ideas or edits.
FTVN: Tell us about your casts of CORNER OFFICE and JOYLAND.
OR: The performances in JOYLAND are getting so much praise and rightly so! But what is so wonderful about them for me, is that this is the first feature film for so many of our cast.
The performances are so natural and real – completely devoid of ego. They shot for so many days and gave us just the best performances. Ali Junejo is a real star to watch in my opinion.
In CORNER OFFICE, there are few more recognizable faces than Jon Hamm (though can you immediately recognize him behind that moustache?) and there are more established and recognizable faces in supporting roles – including Danny Pudi (who I have loved for years!) but the same lack of ego remains, this was a tough shot because of COVID restrictions but everyone did the work, and no one complained.
FTVN: Tell us about your production team.
OR: It changes. I will often come into films that have moved on in terms of development to be closer to shooting. My team is three people, but I have found myself working with the same producers again and again. Kathryn Moseley for instance – we have made three films together in the last three years. She’s the best!
FTVN: Do you plan much when you are prepping a film for production?
OR: It varies on my involvement, but the short answer is ‘like a mad man’. Already for Synthetic, I have been table reading the script, and workshopping the script. I have mood boards and post it notes everywhere. Long lists of reference films and script breakdowns and more late night phone calls.
FTVN: Who and what are your key film-making influences and what was the first film that sparked your enthusiasm and passion for films as a whole?
OR: Nicolas Winding Refn changed everything for me. I was in a cinema in Vancouver watching Drive and I remember after the opening car chase that music dropping for the intro and being in awe.
In that moment it was the perfect fusion of visual and audio – I left that cinema only wanting to be behind the camera telling stories. I watched his entire back catalogue and used Valhalla Rising as a study in film school several times.
FTVN: What issues and themes are you keen to explore in your future work?
OR: Science fiction. I look at my slate going forward and so much of it is science fiction which to date is one of the few genres I haven’t made yet. I want to continue to champion diverse issues and also want to explore turning some genres on its head. I have a sci-fi noir series in the works that I believe does this very well.
FTVN: Which film-makers and actors would be a dream to collaborate with in the future?
OR: I shamelessly reached out to James Gunn on Twitter not long ago, he responded, but he didn’t say yes… though he also didn’t say no. I would love also to collaborate with Alex Garland one day. Actors wise, Michael Fassbender and Tilda Swinton are two of my dream people to work with.
FTVN: What challenges have you faced in light of the global challenges of the last two years as a person and a filmmaker?
OR: We got shut down with just six days left on a romantic comedy shooting in LA in March 2020.
It was awful, mostly because no one knew how bad this was going to be. Was this the end of the world? Would it be over in a few weeks? The news was saying different things and that uncertainty led me to come back to England and we couldn’t finish that film for over a year.
I didn’t work again the whole of 2020 – like so many film-makers couldn’t. The break gave me an opportunity to reset and look at my career and make changes. But like so many I lost loved ones to the disease.
FTVN: Finally, what are you most proud of to date about your achievements and career?
OR: That I am still here, still making films. Making that first one was so hard but taught me so much. There were times during that experience when I thought I wasn’t cut out for this. I’m glad I was wrong and I’m so glad I am still here. Next stop Tribeca.
