On the box
There is very little that can convince a person to wake up at 4am to spend sixteen hours in a green box. A love of film will do that to you.
As a Production Assistant I adored being surrounded by film people, despite the long stretches of time staring at a green screen. I had spent both my degrees analysing the minutiae of films and television so it was wonderful to finally understand how it all got made. I'm still analysing, just in a different format now.
top five film & TV.
materialists
Celine Song
In a bar scene, Lucy lambasts John for thinking that 'dating's not serious, it's just girl shit'.
I would argue that the thesis of both Celine Song's feature films (Materialists, Past Lives) is to prove John wrong. The 'girl shit' of dating and childhood sweethearts are shown to be as multilayered, complex and moving as any. I loved it.
arrival
Denis Villeneuve
As a teenager I was obsessed with learning french. One degree, one disastrous au pairing stint and lots of hard work later and I can now call myself fluent.
Nothing- no film, book or conversation- has ever captured the magic of language learning like this film. I'm also fascinated by how on earth it was adapted to screen.
severance
Ben Stiller
You might think I'm including this just because it's in the zeitgeist You'd think differently if you saw the way I screamed at the television at the end of season 2.
I've listened to every episode of The Severance Podcast, twice.
I would love to talk to Ben Stiller about how it links in with The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
CODA
Sian Heder
I grew up as a carer, and its a story that's so rarely told on screen. Even though my experience is very different to Ruby's, this movie made me feel incredibly seen.
I'm fascinated by the directorial choices needed to tell this story authentically.
paddington 2
Paul King
I'm a firm believer that any film- whether its a rom-com, superhero blockbuster or teddy-bear romp-can say something important.
Very few films or TV shows have something more important to say than Paddington 2.
