Your new movie
The Truth Will Out - in a few words, what is it about?
We
follow documentary filmmakers behind the scenes, taking a closer look at
things that go on. They visit a family of witches for the show, all is going
to plan until the host notices the youngest daughter, the crew are aware of
his interests, implying that this is an occurance, and seek to capture footage
to blackmail him. However, the family of witches have other ideas of how to
handle a situation like this.
What were your sources of inspiration when writing
The Truth Will Out?
I was reading a lot about Wicca and Greek
mythology, this inspired the witch characters the trilogy, also known as the
triple goddesses of witchcraft (based on the phases of the moon) Diana, Phoebe
and Hecete. Co-director Sam Mason-Bell and I were also very taken with the #metoo movement and were
keen to tell a story inspired by this.
You have co-written and co-directed The Truth Will Out
together with Sam Mason-Bell [Sam
Mason-Bell interview - click here] - so what can you tell us about him, and what
was your collaboration like, both during writing and actually shooting the
film? This is our second feature where we have both co-written
and directed together and it just seems to work! We have our own ways of
storytelling which means we get to brainstorm and come up with ideas from the
start. That's the hard part really, then everything else is easy because we
both know and are happy with the story and are set on delivering it. Since The Truth Will Out
isn't your first time working with Sam Mason-Bell, what can you tell us
about previous collaborations, and how did you two first meet even? We
met through Facebook! I was an actress in a short for Sam called Angel of
Decay. Sam wrote a script and I edited it and actually ended up coming up with
the film's name. So, really we just started working like this automatically.
Do
talk about
The Truth Will Out's
approach to horror! Docu-horror is really only
scary because it is meant to portray as close to reality as possible.
The Truth Will Out also does imply that there are works of magic, we chose to show
those moments outside of the documentary style of filming for a more evocative
feel.
You have shot The Truth Will Out
found footage/mockumentary style - so what are the advantages and
challenges shooting that way? The challenges
mainly come in post, editing things so that they don't look overly edited is
actually harder than it sounds. Sometimes you have to choose between quality
and believability. A huge advantage is that we didn't have to hide much, the
camera and sound men were characters and therefore we were able to capture
things authentically as most things were captured by them. A few
words about the flat The Truth Will Out
was filmed at, and what was it like filming there?
Sam and Jackson's humble abode! They agreed to let me loose and to redecorate
for the film. Most of the decorations were collected from numerous charity
shops, which was fun! But the cherry on top came when Jackson brought down a
box full of paintings, these were painted by his late aunt, they were so
unusual and some were straight up creepy - they were perfect! What
can you tell us about your overall directorial approach to your story at
hand? I
mainly focus on character direction and improv exploration with the actors.
There are some scenes that require less to no dialogue, those scenes where it
is important to convey a feeling to the audience, are often what I specialise
in. You also play one of the leads in The Truth Will Out
- so do talk about your character for a bit, what did you draw upon to
bring her to life, and have you written her with yourself in mind from the
get-go? No not at all, the
characters were inspired by a trilogy in mythology. Kate was based on Hecete,
magic goddess of the night. She was a dark character that I felt attached to
immediately and knew that I would be able to portray. I wasn't sure if acting
and directing was a good idea but I figured that there was one way to find
out! What can you tell us about the rest of your cast, and why exactly these
people? The cast were an easy cast, we knew each other from working on
previous projects. Kayla Charlton (Phoebe) was not someone with much acting experience
but was perfect for the role, so I had to make sure to offer her more guidance
as a director, she did a great job. A few words about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere?
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Everything went so smoothly, we were a real family for
those few days, getting a good sense of the characters and their relationships
on set. Everyone was an actor in the film that was on set, so we were
literally all in it together. The
$64-question of course, where can The Truth Will Out
be seen? Sam can tell you this, haha! Anything you can tell us about audience and
critical reception of The Truth Will Out
yet? So far we have received a great response. Thanks
for the interview!
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