Interview with the Filmmaking team of the short film WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN

WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN was awarded BEST FILM at the March 2017 Comedy Short Film Festival in Toronto.

The filmmaking team was nice enough to answer some questions for us.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Hans Lucas (Producer): The opportunity to produce a film for an award winning and Scottish BAFTA nominated writer and director team and further develop an established professional relationship.

From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this short?

Hans: Production took almost one year. The early stages were lightning quick but due to Pinewood Studios’ other commitments we had to remain patient when it came to designing and mixing the soundtrack.

How would you describe your short film in two words!?

Hans: Elegant. Parody.

What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

Charlie Francis (Director): The flat we filmed in was three storeys up. Ideally our DOP Mark Boggis would have preferred something on the ground-floor, as it’s easier to control the daylight coming in by setting up screens or lights outside. We also couldn’t go wild with dressing the flat, and as such there are maybe one or two bare walls which production designer Jo Brunwin would liked to have covered, but we couldn’t hang anything on them.

Time is money and we had no money. Our actors came in very well prepared after only one rehearsal, and the whole crew were true pros. The extreme generosity from several areas helped make the film possible; Scottish Screenwriters helped cover essential food and travel costs; a local hotel gave us use of two rooms for filming for a day; we were given a huge discount on renting camera gear; and a very, very understanding boyfriend.

What were your initial reactions when watching the Toronto audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

Katie White (Writer): We have been extremely lucky to have this, and our previous film, travelling to festivals around the globe, but unless we attend the festivals we don’t really get audience feedback. So for me, I felt absolutely delighted and such pride that team WAMLAW’s work was so well received. If I could send everyone in Toronto who said such fantastic, constructive comments – including the host – a thank you card, I would. But since I can’t, I’m sending our gratitude and much Scottish love from the whole team!

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video:

How did you come up with the idea for this short film?

Katie: I woke up, or maybe I was still awake at 6.30am, the morning after we had won Best British Short Film at the Iris Prize Festival, with our film Middle Man, and we had a £14.000 post production at Pinewood Studio award to use so we needed a new script asap. Two ideas wandered into my head; WAMLAW was one of them. (The second one is about to start its crowd-funding.) I read out my notes from my phone to Charlie the director, in the car on the long drive from Wales to Scotland, and he just turned to me and said, “Write that fucking script!” So I did….

What film have you seen the most in your life?

Katie: Field of Dreams – kinda apt since we as a team keep trying to build our films in the hope of ‘they’ coming along and financing our features.

Hans: The Empire Strikes Back

Charlie: Star Wars Episode 5

What song have you listened to the most times in your life?

Charlie: Probably ‘New Gold Dream’

What is next for you? A new film?

Another LGBT short drama, feature plans (non-LGBT), plus a pile of shorts we’d love to all make.