Women in film: A Q&A with film-maker Lucy Brydon

Lucy Brydon is a Warwick graduate who has made several short films and is currently directing her first feature film SICK(er). She also teaches a screenwriting module here at Warwick.

After you left university, you lived in Shanghai and made short films and commercials. How did you get into the industry?

I did indeed. In the late 2000s, China was just opening up and there were tons of opportunities. I started off working with friends on little shorts – acting, writing, and production design. I tried to do acting so I could understand how it feels to have to take direction. Then I started directing my own shorts whilst working in development at a production company, managing commercials and various film projects for them. The boss there figured out I could write and got me to co-write a feature script for a novel adaptation, then I went freelance.

Did you always want to be a filmmaker, or did that develop over time?

I was always into films as a kid and had many well-worn VHS tapes shared between me and my siblings. I did a film studies class when I was an undergraduate at Warwick which is where I first learned about film, film history, and I got really into it. I thought I would pursue fiction writing and that’s what was offered here at that time. I really liked that also. But it was in Shanghai when I started to get involved in little film projects that I realised I loved it and wanted to make it a career. This was before everyone and their dog had a vlog/YouTube channel.

I was always very creative and, to me, film is the only way that you can use all types of creativity and collaborate with other people all the time. I have written a novel that came out a couple of years ago, and I really liked doing that, but it’s much lonelier. I love fashion and music and all types of design. So it makes sense in a way to bring those things together.

Bottom line, I love to tell stories.

You also attended Columbia University to study Film Directing. What can one look to gain from getting a formal education in film, and is it crucial to go to film school?

It was a mixed thing. I dropped out because I couldn’t afford to continue after one year. It’s helpful to go to film school because you’ll meet your network and collaborators for years to come there. However, if you are really determined you don’t need it.

We’re lucky now that all the old Hollywood-type structures are dying. It’s a much less elitist art form. So you can easily pick up a Canon and just shoot something with your friends. I would recommend doing what I did, to be honest, although it did suck at the time. A lot of directors didn’t go to film school (e.g. Jim Jarmusch dropped out of NYU).

You’ve travelled quite a lot! Has that influenced your work or your ideas about film?  

It definitely has. A couple of projects I am developing have a strong Chinese influence. I am also very good pals with people in several countries and that possibly gives me a different perspective on things. And a perspective on being British that I didn’t have before that.

It’s sensible to do some travelling in your twenties and get that stuff out of your system.

What are the challenges of filmmaking?

Getting money from anyone to do anything. Getting your script ‘finished’.

Are there any challenges that you believe particularly face women in the industry?

I have experienced sexism and harassment, particularly– comments from people on sets and even overtures from producers I was the assistant of. It was gross. It was one of the reasons I went freelance – because I don’t want to have to take that from anyone.

Having kids is something that is a major issue for women filmmakers. Weird hours and irregular work make it difficult to manage childcare. It’s particularly difficult for female cinematographers, who travel so much for work and have a very physical job. There are cool groups like Raising Films trying to support parents in films, but there’s a long way to go. It’s one reason a lot of women drop out of the film industry.

For so long, stories have been dominated by straight, white, cis males. It’s exciting now because it seems to be changing. But I think genuine parity is a few years away.

And what is the most satisfying thing about the work?

It takes a certain type of person to be an artist, writer, or filmmaker. You have to have an ego and see things in your way, and want to communicate that. I just feel lucky that I have people indulging that half the time. At the moment I’m gearing up for shooting my feature, so I spend a lot of the time having conversations with actors, production designers, cinematographers – all great talents who want to be part of something I dreamed up. That feels good.

The most satisfying thing to me is when people see my work and it connects to some part of them, or they see some unique perspective in it. Films take so long to make that the pay-off takes a long time in that regard, but when it comes it’s pretty amazing. Being in a cinema with everyone watching something you have done is a very nice feeling.

You’ve also written short stories and a novel, Shanghai Passenger. What are the biggest ways in which the creative process differs between writing stories and making films?

As above, films are so collaborative and dependent on resources, it’s sensible to be pragmatic about what you can realistically manage. So a first feature with two million bucks worth of special effects alone is probably not smart.

Not so with fiction. That’s one of the lovely and freeing things about it. You can go wherever you want with it, and the only real relationships you will have are with your agent, editor, and publisher.

Film is a bit more storytelling by committee (although obviously as a writer/director the final decision is mine). Every decision is questioned. It makes you interrogate things more, perhaps. You have to justify everything you have in your script to about ten people. Film is just more demanding overall. It’s why the industry attracts such characters.

To sum up – both are wonderful in their own way and at different times of life.

Do you have any advice for people wanting to get a job in film?

It sounds obvious and it goes for any industry, but tenacity. It takes balls and persistence to get anything done. You need to be a bit pushy, even if it’s not in your nature. But always be nice and charming. People remember if you’re mean. Also, you will hear ‘no’ much more than you will hear ‘yes’.

Work hard and pick projects that you can really get behind, that a producer or production company can say ‘oh yeah, I see why s/he wants to tell this story’. If you jump on some fad, they always see through it. I’ve only managed to get a film funded and a novel out by being utterly committed to the projects – and it showed.

You probably have to be comfortable with the fact that your life is not going to be particularly straightforward if you want to make your own stuff.

And finally, something more light-hearted! Your top 3 favourite movies are…?

I veer between high brow and trash quite happily. But if we’re being highbrow: Despues De Lucia, The Headless Woman, and Safe.

 

You can check out more of Lucy’s work here

More information about her feature-length film SICK(er) can be found at its website here