5 Questions with Ben Hector
1) What have you been up to since we last spoke for "Jo" last April?
Since Jo we had to re-learn how to make films in a sense as we were no longer able to rely on the University for gear. So we downscaled in terms of our production and concepts using very limited crews and free locations. It was actually really freeing in a way as we tried to remove everything that was extraneous and focused on performance and story. We stripped it back so much that we even made a 22 min Dogme short film! Since then we've been trying to reintroduce production value. I'm lucky to have very talented friends like D.P Tomás Brice & Sound Designer Tom Beale who are able to create excellent results on very limited means.
2) What was the initial idea here and how did it evolve?
I work in casting and this more or less happened in an audition once. It was a little different - I think it was a romantic scene and they had just broken up with their partner in real life, and we were all wondering what to do in the room. I'd also been talking to the actress Emma Keele about potential projects, and somewhere along the line our conversations merged with this real life event and out came this film!
3) What was the biggest challenge in making this film? And generally what part of the creative process do you enjoy the most?
The biggest challenge for this film was that we had to get it all done in one day. I was totally wiped before we even started shooting as I had self-produced this and had worked really hard to find the little girl (we got lucky in the end with Billie Gadsdon). Therefore I didn't really get to grips with the camera plans until quite late, but luckily I had a very supportive team who were able to bolster me up when I needed it the most.
4) What’s a film you’ve seen recently, new or old, that you really loved and why?
A film I've seen & loved recently is 'Beanpole'. It's full of great characters who are so well cast with amazing faces, and its setting is rendered so well with these really striking textures and colours. The first 15 minutes is heart breaking - I was physically leaning towards the screen with my eyes wide open.
5) What’s next for you?
Next up is a slight change of tone; I'm writing a film about a bassist in a pub band who has bloated ambitions in life at the expense of his family. I wanted to write it as a short but it wants to be a feature so I'm following it where it goes!
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http://vimeo.com/benhector
IG: @ben.hector1