Graham is a lifelong friend of the Lift-Off family after first screening his outstanding short 'BE NOW' at London Lift-Off Film Festival 2015. Since becoming a Lift-Off Network Member, Graham has engaged with the Network and supported others Members via the Lift-Off Network Members Facebook group.
Following his win at Paris Lift-Off Film Festival Online 2019, which has earned his film 'A STITCH IN TIME' a live screening in London, we catch up with Graham to discover more about his work and what it means to be a Network Member...
What is your main aspiration within the film industry?
I want to direct films that explore the human condition. Films that look at what it is that makes us who we are, the influences which made us the people who we have become. How through positive interpersonal connections we not only improve the lives of others but those of ourselves along with the world around us. Films which inspire questions to ask ourselves so that we can look more closely and think about the impact and consequences of our actions on our own lives, the people closest to us, and on a wider scale.
Please could you tell us a bit about your film 'A STITCH IN TIME’?
‘A Stitch in Time’ was born out of a question I have sometimes asked myself: if you had the opportunity to go back in time and advise your younger self with the knowledge and insight you have now at this point in ones live, would you? When one looks back at ones decisions and the choices we have made, it is impossible to know what the result would have been if we had turned left instead of right on a particular day in our life. So, in some ways, it is a pointless exercise but it doesn’t stop me from thinking about it from time-to-time. The ideas behind the script are based on two things, a poem by Robert Frost ’The Road not Taken’ and Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. The poem has stuck with me ever since I read it at secondary school, and the allegory I came across during a weekend workshop more recently at the London Film School. I could go on but it might get a bit longwinded, message me if you’d like t know more. I'd be happy to discuss over a coffee or a pint, depending on the mood and the time of day.
What has your experience been with Lift-Off?
Ever since I first met Ben and James when my film ‘BE NOW’ was screened at London Lift-Off a few years back, they have been so supportive and generous with their knowledge and time. From the beginnings from when they unbelievably ran the organisation on their own to the great resource it has become now, the principals of those founders has stayed true. Lift-Off is there for its Members rather than the other way round, it is I think the vision that they set out to create: a community of supporting people who are all passionate about making film. It feels like a good initiative to be a part of and I always recommend it to other film makers who aren’t currently involved.
What is your favourite aspect of being a Network Member?
I think I might have already answered this one, but o stress it’s good to feel part of a community.
Is there anything you would like to promote?
Yes I would like to promote myself, I am only half joking. I am working on a follow-up to ‘A Stitch in Time’ which, along with ‘BE NOW’, will be a trilogy or triptych of films around the subject of personal choices.
The next project is a feature I am working on called ‘Meeting Point’. It focuses on a 30-something woman who is still dealing with the aftermath of a toxic relationship she had with her father. Whilst trying to find her way through life and not repeating mistakes from the past, a chance meeting changes everything and her world turns on it’s head. I would like to find a creative partner to see this project to a stage where it is ready to go into production, that could be a writing partner or a producer. If you're interested, then do message me by your favoured method and we can chat. Or come to the Members screening at London Lift-Off on Friday the 13th, I’ll be there.