On Wednesday 24 July, Directors UK members came to the Charlotte Street Hotel for a special screening of I Am Kirsty, followed by a Q&A with Dominic Savage.
I Am Kirsty is one of a three-part anthology for Channel 4, and stars Samantha Morton in the titular role. Dominic spoke to fellow director Morgan Matthews (X+Y) about improvisation, his transition from documentary to drama, and working with actors to develop a story.
If you couldn’t make it, don’t worry — you can catch up with all the live-tweets from the evening below.
Our preview screening of I Am Kirsty is about to begin. If you enjoyed last night’s I Am Nicola, make sure you join us in about 50 mins when we’ll be speaking to writer-director @SavageDominic #DUKiam #IAm pic.twitter.com/eTcqtkbJL0
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 24, 2019
That was I Am Kirsty - every bit as powerful as last night’s I Am Nicole. Make sure you watch on @Channel4 next week #DUKiam #IAm
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 24, 2019
We’re now joined by writer-director @SavageDominic, who’s talking to fellow director Morgan Matthews #DUKiam #IAm
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 24, 2019
Dominic explains that the I Am series began with working so closely with Gemma Arterton on his previous project, The Escape #DUKiam #IAm
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 24, 2019
The Escape aligned with Gemma’s own experiences and was built around her. That inspired Dominic to do another project built around a specific actor #DUKiam #IAm
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 24, 2019
But why women? Dominic puts it down to his strong mother. A woman who was held back by preconceptions of her gender in some ways. Maybe these films are a homage to her #DUKiam #IAm
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 24, 2019
#DUKiam #IAm pic.twitter.com/7kJbRMyFXW
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 24, 2019
From speaking to female actors, Dominic thinks that they’ve often had bad experiences with male directors - people bossing them around and not listening to them #DUKiam #IAm
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 24, 2019
He does everything he can to avoid that. He’s always listening, always collaborative #DUKiam #IAm
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 24, 2019
Dominic speaks about the semi-autobiographical nature of these films #DUKiam #IAm
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 24, 2019
It might not be 1:1, but each of these projects reflect things that these three actors have experienced #DUKiam #IAm
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 24, 2019
They helped develop the story behind each film. Dominic then wrote a script, and they then served almost as script editors, making suggestions and helping it feel real to them #DUKiam #IAm
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 24, 2019
Dominic acknowledges that it’s a very difficult business to make personal films, films that say something about your own life. So he doesn’t have some great business plan or expectation than anything will ever get made #DUKiam #IAm
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 24, 2019
Every project feels like an impossibility, but you keep on and eventually it gets made. Each time that happens it convinces you that you can do anything #DUKiam #IAm
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 24, 2019
Dominic explains that his scripts look like normal scripts, just without any dialogue. There are suggestions of what to say in there, and they still run to about 60 pages. They’re more actors’ scripts rather than buyers’ scripts #DUKiam #IAm
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 24, 2019
There’s such a push to entertain now. It’s hard to get darker material commissioned. Obviously you hope to do both, but he actually enjoys the added challenge of trying to get these kinds of projects made #DUKiam #IAm
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 24, 2019
There’s such a push to entertain now. It’s hard to get darker material commissioned. Obviously you hope to do both, but he actually enjoys the added challenge of trying to get these kinds of projects made #DUKiam #IAm
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 24, 2019
The film was shot in 9 days. Dominic doesn’t always work to conventional schedules. Takes could be incredibly long and exhausting, so sometimes they’d stop work at lunchtime as they couldn’t do any more. The crew loved it! #DUKiam #IAm
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 24, 2019
Dominic was a child actor in Barry Lyndon (!), and he feels that experience taught him a lot about experimentation #DUKiam #IAm
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 24, 2019
As controlled as Barry Lyndon is, Kubrick was constantly trying to find a scene through repetition and experimentation. Dominic definitely learnt from that #DUKiam #IAm
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 24, 2019
Dominic started his directing career in documentary. He worked on a project that had real people improvising conversations. It was a drama-doc hybrid, but because people felt it was presented as a doc, it was accused of fakery #DUKiam #IAm
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 24, 2019
And that helped him transition into drama. He values the freedom drama gives you to tell truth without that added obligation #DUKiam #IAm
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 24, 2019
Dominic tells us that he’ll amend a script to fit around a location. If somewhere feels right then even if it isn’t particularly convenient to shoot there, he’ll change things to work in the space available #DUKiam #IAm
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 24, 2019
Dominic: each script is a provocation - a provocation to the actor to feel something and react #DUKiam #IAm
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 24, 2019
Asked how he works with actors, Dominic says it’s more about what you don’t do. As long as you start with a relationship built on trust and belief, then it’s a case of not ignoring the actor’s needs #DUKiam #IAm
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 24, 2019
Dominic doesn’t do rehearsals - he did on his very first drama but hasn’t done so since. He prefers to find the performance through the actual takes on location #DUKiam #IAm
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 24, 2019
I Am Kirsty was shot on 50mm, using one lens all the way through, which gave them a lot of freedom #DUKiam #IAm
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 24, 2019
This film needed a bit more space, whereas I Am Nicola was more intimate and shot close up on 35mm #DUKiam #IAm
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 24, 2019
Explaining his approach to casting the child actors in I Am Kirsty, Dominic says he looks for people who are easy in themselves #DUKiam #IAm
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 24, 2019
The children in this gave performances that revealed bits of their own personalities. It felt real #DUKiam #IAm
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 24, 2019
And a lot of it can come from how they work with the other actors. Samantha Morton was wonderful at working with them and creating a relationship with the child actors so you could believe that they’re a real family #DUKiam #IAm
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 24, 2019
And that’s a wrap! Thank you so much to @SavageDominic for joining us and sharing his film, and to Morgan Matthews for moderating the Q&A #DUKiam #IAm
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 24, 2019
Make sure you watch the incredibly powerful I Am Kirsty when it airs on @Channel4 next Tuesday #DUKiam #IAm
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) July 24, 2019
I Am Kirsty will be broadcast at 10pm, Tuesday 30 July on Channel 4.
Photos: Brendan Foster Photography
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