SE16 Community Fund Fundraising Film Screening
Published on October 21, 2021 by Hannah
Time is running out to get tickets to our fundraising screening of South African Spook Hunter, this Saturday 23 October at 5pm at Sands Film Studios in Rotherhithe.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/se16-community-fund-film-screening-in-person-access-tickets-174648818317?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
Ahead of the screening, the SE16 Community Fund spoke to Daniel Rands and Kathryn MacCorgarry Gray, the directors of South African Spook Hunter, about their experiences as filmmakers.
SE16 Community Fund: How did you get into filmmaking as someone who wasn’t born into a family in the film business?
Daniel: I’ve always watched films obsessively, but didn’t get into making them until I became a member of Youth Animation & Media in my teens. YAM was a South London-based charity organisation that provided young people with the skills and resources to make their own films, which was an incredible opportunity for me. Taking Media Studies at A-Level and studying film at university also allowed me to think about films with more nuance and depth. Other than that, it’s just been making my films in my spare time and slowly getting better at it!
Kathryn: My uncles bought a hi8 camcorder that me and my brother were allowed to play with, so we started recreating claims direct and gillette adverts we’d seen on TV. I basically never put it down and started forcing my friends to help me make films, and I’m still doing that today.
SE16CF: You've started your own production company, Mongrel Pictures, what is that like and how did you create it?
K&D: Spook Hunter technically doesn’t have a production company attached, together we created a collective called the ‘Amateur Filmmakers Social Club’ to champion filmmaking at all levels, with plans to create programs to encourage people of all ages to get into film.
In early 2020 we joined forces with Director of Photography Toby Lloyd, and created Mongrel Pictures. The three of us work together to make extremely low budget films, so we haven’t yet needed to worry about financing beyond our means. The name came from a feature film Daniel is currently writing, but for us a mongrel represents the nature of film as collaborative. A mongrel is a dog made of different breeds, and so is film. I guess none of us coming from purebred film industry families is a happy accident.
SE16CF: You are both local filmmakers who started your own production company. For aspiring filmmakers in the area, what advice would you give?
K&D: Our advice would be to keep experimenting, make films with whatever you can and try to reach out to other filmmakers and learn from them. Watch films with an eye to learn, and don’t be scared to make mistakes, they’re crucial for you to grow!
You can book tickets to see South African Spook Hunter and to ask Daniel and Kathryn more questions about film making and the film here:
Tickets are pay what you want, with a suggested donation of £7.
We look forward to seeing you there!