The Directors’ Take Podcast

E135 - To Sundance and Back Again with Writer/Director Tomisin Adepeju

In this episode of The Directors' Take podcast, your hosts Oz Arshad and Marcus Anthony Thomas are joined by Writer/Director Tomisin Adepeju. Tomisin is a Nigerian-British Filmmaker based in London whose work has travelled to several major film festivals including Sundance and BFI London Film Festival. He also is the founder and curator of the film event DAILIES which platforms the exceptional work of emerging filmmakers. In this conversation we dig down into his journey to talk about the following:
 
-Why he began filmmaking.
-What he believes directing is.
-Why he felt the need to go to film school.
-How he got into Sundance.
-What happened after.
-Finding his voice.
-The struggles with the industry pathway.
-What the future looks like for him now.
 
Biography
Tomisin Adepeju is a Nigerian-British Filmmaker based in London, England.
His multi award-winning shorts, The Good Son & Super 16mm graduation film, Marianne have been selected at over 100 International film festivals, these include; Oscar-Qualifying Urbanworld Film Festival, the 25th New York African Film Festival, Smalls Film Festival & Triforce Film Festival. Both shorts have also screened at several prestigious institutions including: Cinematheque Suisse, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, The Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Film Society of Lincoln Center, the British Film Institute & BAFTA.
His award winning short, The Right Choice had its World Premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, it was also selected to screen as part of Sundance London. The film has screened at over 45 International Film Festivals, these include; Oscar-Qualifying; Pan African Film Festival 2018, Cleveland International Film Festival & HollyShorts Film Festival.
Tomisin is a 2018 Edinburgh Talent Lab alumnus, in 2019, he was one of the 12 filmmakers selected to take part in the annual NETWORK@LFF development programme at the BFI London Film Festival. His most recent short Appreciation had its World Premiere at the Oscar-Qualifying Pan African Film Festival 2019 & it’s North American Premiere at Oscar-Qualifying Aspen Shortsfest. The film was also an official selection of BFI London Film Festival 2019. He is currently developing his debut feature.
He is represented by United Agents in the UK and Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in the US.
 
Nuggets of the week
Oz: Diarmuid Goggin Twitter (X)
Marcus: Timothée Chalamet & Martin Scorsese Have an Epic Conversation | GQ
Tomisin: 'Film as dream, film as music. No art passes our conscience in the way film does, and goes directly to our feelings, deep down into the dark rooms of our souls.' by Ingmar Bergman
 
Credits
Music by Oliver Wegmüller
 
Socials
Instagram: @TheDirectorsTakePodcast
Twitter: @DirectorsTake
Tomisin's socials: Twitter (X) & Instagram
Dailies socials: Website, Twitter (X) & Instagram
 
If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at TheDirectorsTake@Outlook.com.

E134 - Halloween Special: Directing Ghostwatch with Lesley Manning

In this episode of The Directors' Take podcast, your hosts Oz Arshad and Marcus Anthony Thomas are joined by Lesley Manning, the director of 1992's cult classic British horror, Ghostwatch. The highest rated single drama for 48 years on the BBC and named by Channel 4 as the most controversial TV drama, Ghostwatch has had a a resurgence around its 30th anniversary and is now being credited as one of the films to have popularised the use of found footage, comfortably predating The Blair Witch Project. Lesley is also a tutor at the prestigious National Film and Television School, so we talk about her career as well as doing a deep dive on craft. The conversation covers:
 
-What is directing?
-Her journey into the industry.
-What obstacles did she face in trying to become a director?
-How did she get her first break?
-A craft deep dive on Ghostwatch and the fallout after release.
-Her process of teaching, commonalities in directors.
-How she sees the industry now and the challenges that are there.
 
Lesley's Bio
Welsh born Lesley Manning started making films at Bristol Art College where she graduated with 1st Class Honours. She trained at the National Film and Television School as a director and graduated to work on films and serials at the BBC. One of which was the cult hit Ghostwatch, the highest rated single drama for 48 years – BBC Screen One film strand and named by Channel 4 as the most controversial TV drama.
Lesley directed My Sister Wife BBC Screen Two film strand and won CRE best drama, Best Asian Film Award and was screened at Dinard and Brussels film festivals. 2011 Leila is the first feature Lesley has written as well as directed – and was a finalist at Austin Festival, winning Best Actress at London Independent FF and Audience and Jury award for best narrative at United Festival.
In 2013 she completed Honeycomb Lodge – written by Surendra Kochar – a controversial film set in the British/Asian community won Best Film NRI in Delhi International Film festival. Now a tutor at the National Film and Television School, she has helped the careers of directors' such as Lewis Arnold, Nick Rowland, Rose Glass and Mahalia Belo.
 
Nuggets of the week
Marcus: The Battersea Poltergeist - Podcast series
Oz: Top Boy Director Breaks Down The Final Ever Episode | William Stefan Smith
Lesley: Chinese Proverb - 'The person who says it cannot be done, should not interrupt the person doing it'
 
Credits
Music by Oliver Wegmüller
 
Socials
Instagram: @TheDirectorsTakePodcast
Twitter: @DirectorsTake
Lesley Manning: Instagram & X (Twitter)
 
If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at TheDirectorsTake@Outlook.com.

E133 - Demystifying Editing with BAFTA Breakthrough Brit Mdhamiri Á Nkemi

In this episode of The Directors' Take podcast, your hosts Oz Arshad and Marcus Anthony Thomas are joined by the prodigiously gifted editor Mdhamiri Á Nkemi. A BAFTA Breakthrough Brit and Screen Daily Star of Tomorrow, he has a long list of credits which includes The Last Tree by Shola Amoo, Blue Story by Rapman and Ear for Eye by Debbie Tucker Green. With a natural sense of story and rhythm, we do a deep dive with Mdhamiri on the craft of editing. This conversation includes:
 
-His journey into editing.
-How he chooses his collaborators.
-What are the first conversations with a director like?
-The process of assembling a first cut.
-How do you navigate notes?
-What does he bring to a project?
-Can an editor have a style?
-What does the future hold?
 
Born in Hammersmith, up until the age of 12 Mdhamiri had his heart set on becoming an author, but on discovering that his friend’s new camera had a video mode, that love of storytelling transferred to making films and he began them from there, often playing every role himself. 
He took part in the inaugural BFI Film Academy scheme for young aspiring filmmakers’ and subsequently studied editing at the National Film and Television School.
His first credit came on an independent feature called A Moving Image, Directed by Shola Amoo and produced by Rienkje Attoh, which premiered at BFI London Film Festival.
This led to bigger standout films such as The Last Tree, again with Shola Amoo, Blue Story which was written and directed by Rapman, and Debbie Tucker Green’s Ear for Eye which was recently added to the criterion collection. 
Nuggets of the week
Marcus: How to direct actors - Directing Advice from the Greats
Oz: Scriptnotes 403 - How to Write a Movie
Mdhamiri: The Servant - Apple TV
 
Credits
Music by Oliver Wegmüller
 
Socials
Instagram: @TheDirectorsTakePodcast
Twitter: @DirectorsTake
Mdhamiri Nkemi: Instagram
 
If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at TheDirectorsTake@Outlook.com.
 
 

E132 - The Art of Cinema Part 2 with Film Guru Ian Sellar

In this episode of The Directors' Take podcast, your hosts Oz Arshad and Marcus Anthony Thomas are joined by Ian Sellar, a Director, Screenwriter, Script-Editor and tutor from the National Film and Television School. He has had a key hand in the development of all the major success stories you have seen that have passed through the halls of the NFTS, such as Rose Glass, Nick Rowland, Mahalia Belo and our most recent guest Lewis Arnold to name but a few. Often cited as a genius, we brought him on for a chat to break down the building blocks of cinema so that you can interrogate it more clearly as an art form. This conversation includes:
 
-How breaking down stories informs your preproduction?
-We talk through various film exercises.
-When is a story ready to be executed?
-How do you sustain tone?
 
Ian Sellar is a Scottish director, screenwriter, Script-Editor and tutor of Fiction at the National Film and Television School. He began his career as an assistant to Bill Douglas, after which he went on to directing shorts and studying at NFTS. His first features, 'Venus Peter' and 'Prague', were in official selection at Cannes and went on to be distributed worldwide. He runs feature writing and directing workshops internationally.
 
Nugget of the week
 
Ian: Ahir Shah (Comedian)
Oz: DVD Extras (YouTube Channel)
Marcus: In the Presence of Absence by Mahmoud Darwish (Book)
Credits
Music by Oliver Wegmüller
 
Socials
Instagram: @TheDirectorsTakePodcast
Twitter: @DirectorsTake
 
If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at TheDirectorsTake@Outlook.com.

E131 - The Art of Cinema Part 1 with Film Guru Ian Sellar

In this episode of The Directors' Take podcast, your hosts Oz Arshad and Marcus Anthony Thomas are joined by Ian Sellar, a Director, Screenwriter, Script-Editor and tutor from the National Film and Television School. He has had a key hand in the development of all the major success stories you have seen that have passed through the halls of the NFTS, such as Rose Glass, Nick Rowland, Mahalia Belo and our most recent guest Lewis Arnold to name but a few. Often cited as a genius, we brought him on for a chat to break down the building blocks of cinema so that you can interrogate it more clearly as an art form. This conversation includes:
 
-How did he find himself working in film?
-What is his perspective on perspective in film?
-Is there a formula to making a film?
-Films as information.
-How do you choose where to place the camera?
 
Ian Sellar is a Scottish director, screenwriter, Script-Editor and tutor of Fiction at the National Film and Television School. He began his career as an assistant to Bill Douglas, after which he went on to directing shorts and studying at NFTS. His first features, 'Venus Peter' and 'Prague', were in official selection at Cannes and went on to be distributed worldwide. He runs feature writing and directing workshops internationally.
 
Credits
Music by Oliver Wegmüller
 
Socials
Instagram: @TheDirectorsTakePodcast
Twitter: @DirectorsTake
 
If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at TheDirectorsTake@Outlook.com.
 
 

E130 - Lewis Arnold Part 2: The Craft of Directing TV

In this episode of The Directors' Take podcast, your hosts Oz Arshad and Marcus Anthony Thomas are joined by Director Lewis Arnold, whose directing credits include MISFITS, BROADCHURCH, DARK MONEY, CLEANING UP featuring Sheridan Smith, DES featuring David Tennant, TIME featuring Sean Bean and Stephen Graham, SHERWOOD with Adeel Akhtar and he has most recently directed all seven episodes of the newly released ITV series based on the victims of the Yorkshire Ripper, THE LONG SHADOW. There aren't many better working directors in the UK that we could bring on to discuss how you can become a successful jobbing director in this industry. The second part of our conversation includes:
 
-What's the first thing you do when you get a new directing job?
-What does casting look like?
-How do you construct sequences for work you haven't written?
-How do you schedule?
-How do you run the edit process?
-How do you manage the work/life balance as a working director?
 
Lewis Arnold has just finished directing all 7 parts of THE LONG SHADOW for New Pictures/ITV.  Prior to this he directed James Graham’s SHERWOOD for House Productions/BBC1 and Jimmy McGovern’s TIME, for BBC Studios starring Sean Bean and Stephen Graham. Both shows were nominated for multiple TV BAFTAs in 2022/23. TIME went onto win Best Mini-Series and Best Leading Actor for Sean Bean whilst SHERWOOD picked up the award for Best Supporting Actor for Adeel Akhtar.
In 2020 he directed and executive produced DES for New Pictures and ITV, having created the three-part drama with writer Luke Neal. The series won the International Emmy Award for Best Performance By An Actor in 2021, and was also nominated for Best TV Movie/Mini-Series. The first episode had consolidated viewing figures of 11.4 million making it ITV’s biggest new series since the launch of series CLEANING UP in January 2019, a show which he developed with writer Mark Marlow, directing the first four episodes for Sister Pictures.
It was on graduating from the National Film and Television School in March 2013, that Lewis embarked on directing his first TV project, directing with two episodes of the final series of BAFTA-winning C4 show, MISFITS. He followed this up by directing the first four episodes of Russell T Davies’s new E4 show, BANANA, and was named a Broadcast Magazine Hotshot 2014 for his work on both shows.
Other credits include BROADCHURCH and HUMANS, which became Channel 4’s most successful original drama in over 20 years when it aired in 2015. After directing two episodes on series one, he was asked back a year later to direct the lead block of the second series for Kudos and AMC.
Lewis is also represented in the US by Matt Greenberg and Jon Cassir at CAA.
 
Nuggets of the week
Oz: Lucy Prebble posts her intro to the Succession Season 3 scripts book
Marcus: Under the Skin - Behind the scenes
Lewis:  Jeff Thompson - We all get the same amount of time in a day
BFI NETWORK: Directing for TV with Lewis Arnold
Directors' Now
 
Credits
Music by Oliver Wegmüller
 
Socials
Instagram: @TheDirectorsTakePodcast
Twitter: @DirectorsTake
Lewis Arnold: Twitter (X) & Instagram
 
If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at TheDirectorsTake@Outlook.com.
 
 

E129 - Lewis Arnold Part 1: Breaking into TV Directing

In this episode of The Directors' Take podcast, your hosts Oz Arshad and Marcus Anthony Thomas are joined by Director Lewis Arnold, whose directing credits include MISFITS, BROADCHURCH, DARK MONEY, CLEANING UP featuring Sheridan Smith, DES featuring David Tennant, TIME featuring Sean Bean and Stephen Graham, SHERWOOD with Adeel Akhtar and he has most recently directed all seven episodes of the upcoming ITV series based on the victims of the Yorkshire Ripper, THE LONG SHADOW. There aren't many better working directors in the UK that we could bring on to discuss how you can become a successful jobbing director and we'll spend the next two episodes breaking down just that. The first part of our conversation includes:
 
-What is the job of a director?
-What was his journey into directing?
What does he see the pathway into the industry looking like now?
-His resource Directors Now.
-How does he interview for projects?
-The differences between first and second block directors.
 
Lewis Arnold has just finished directing all 7 parts of THE LONG SHADOW for New Pictures/ITV.  Prior to this he directed James Graham’s SHERWOOD for House Productions/BBC1 and Jimmy McGovern’s TIME, for BBC Studios starring Sean Bean and Stephen Graham. Both shows were nominated for multiple TV BAFTAs in 2022/23. TIME went onto win Best Mini-Series and Best Leading Actor for Sean Bean whilst SHERWOOD picked up the award for Best Supporting Actor for Adeel Akhtar.
In 2020 he directed and executive produced DES for New Pictures and ITV, having created the three-part drama with writer Luke Neal. The series won the International Emmy Award for Best Performance By An Actor in 2021, and was also nominated for Best TV Movie/Mini-Series. The first episode had consolidated viewing figures of 11.4 million making it ITV’s biggest new series since the launch of series CLEANING UP in January 2019, a show which he developed with writer Mark Marlow, directing the first four episodes for Sister Pictures.
It was on graduating from the National Film and Television School in March 2013, that Lewis embarked on directing his first TV project, directing with two episodes of the final series of BAFTA-winning C4 show, MISFITS. He followed this up by directing the first four episodes of Russell T Davies’s new E4 show, BANANA, and was named a Broadcast Magazine Hotshot 2014 for his work on both shows.
Other credits include BROADCHURCH and HUMANS, which became Channel 4’s most successful original drama in over 20 years when it aired in 2015. After directing two episodes on series one, he was asked back a year later to direct the lead block of the second series for Kudos and AMC.
Lewis is also represented in the US by Matt Greenberg and Jon Cassir at CAA.
 
Nuggets of the week
BFI NETWORK: Directing for TV with Lewis Arnold
Directors' Now
 
Credits
Music by Oliver Wegmüller
 
Socials
Instagram: @TheDirectorsTakePodcast
Twitter: @DirectorsTake
Lewis Arnold: Twitter (X) & Instagram
 
If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at TheDirectorsTake@Outlook.com.
 
 

E128 - Demystifying the art of Production Design with Jacqueline Abrahams

In this episode of The Directors' Take podcast, your hosts Oz Arshad and Marcus Anthony Thomas are joined by Jacqueline Abrahams, a BAFTA and BIFA winning Production Designer who has worked with directors such as Michael Winterbottom, Yann Demange and Yorgos Lanthimos. We used this conversation to tap into their creativity and to dig down into the collaboration that can happen between a Director and Designer to ultimately create the best work. This conversation covers:
 
-What is a Production Designer?
-What was her journey into the industry?
-How do Production Designers inform their process?
-How do Production Designers elevate story and character?
-What is the relationship between the Designer, the DoP and Director?
-What makes a good Director?
-What is the nature of art, creativity and authenticity?
 
Jacqueline Abrahams originally trained in Fine Art, specialising in performance and live art. She worked as a scenic painter for four years before moving into design where she has worked to design feature films, shorts, TV dramas, theatre, performance and live art. She is experienced working with scripts, on improvised pieces and with artists in a less conventional context. 
She has designed productions that have large ambitious studio set builds, completed location-based work and has experience working within very strict budgets too which is always good. She won the BAFTA in 2009 for best production design for TV series Wallander, was nominated for a BAFTA in 2010 and won the RTS Best Production Design award in 2010 also.
Jacqueline’s notable credits include TV series Wallander, Diary of a Call Girl and the original series of Topboy and feature films such as The BIFA winning The Look of Love (2013) from Michael Winterbottom, The Lobster (2015) by Yorgos Lanthimos, as well as Lady Macbeth (2015) by William Oldroyd and His House (2018) by Remi Weekes.
 
Nuggets of the week
 
Oz: Greta Gerwig's Official Barbie Watchlist
Marcus:  BIFA Insider: The Lobster with Jacqueline Abrahams
Kwellin: You can't live life without taking risks.
Capitalist Realism: Is there no alternative? by Mark Fisher (Book)
 
Credits
Music by Oliver Wegmüller
 
Socials
Instagram: @TheDirectorsTakePodcast
Twitter: @DirectorsTake
Kwellin: She doesn't have socials, she just lives life... so should you.
 
If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at TheDirectorsTake@Outlook.com.
 

E127 - How to make a movie at Film4 with Amy O’Hara

In this episode of The Directors' Take podcast, your hosts Oz Arshad and Marcus Anthony Thomas are joined by Amy O'Hara who is a Development & Production Exec at Film 4. We began this podcast as people who are actively working at making our own TV and Feature Film projects, but the pathway towards this goal is extremely rocky, murky, difficult etc... So we brought Amy on to help break this process down for us/you all. This conversation includes:
 
-What are Development and Production Execs?
-How do they find, develop and nurture new and emerging talent?
-What do they look for in filmmakers and projects?
-How do you submit projects to Film4?
-What does payment look like when developing a feature with Film4?
-What does a good development process look like?
-We also cover a bunch of listeners questions too!
 
Amy O'Hara is a seasoned Development and Production Executive who joined Film4 in October 2021. Her career in the film industry has been marked by a strong commitment to nurturing new and emerging talent. Prior to her current role at Film4, she held the position of BFI NETWORK Talent Executive at Film Hub North, where she closely collaborated with aspiring writers, directors, and producers, overseeing a diverse slate of films. 
Amy previously worked at Film4 company from 2013 to 2016, serving as the assistant to the late Sue Bruce-Smith, who was the deputy director at the time. Between her two tenures at Film4, Amy gained experience at the International Distribution company STX, where she served as a Marketing Executive, focusing on UK Productions. 
With a track record of championing innovative projects and diverse voices, Amy O'Hara continues to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of UK storytellers at Film4.
 
Nuggets of the week
Oz: Guy Ritchie's Kingdom: Master Your Life and Own Your Game
Marcus: The Deepest Breath - Netflix/A24 Documentary
Amy: Sharon Van Etten - Quiet Eyes | Past Lives (song)
Annie Dillard - The Writing Life 
'How we spend our days is of course how we spend our lives.'
 
Credits
Music by Oliver Wegmüller
 
Socials
Instagram: @TheDirectorsTakePodcast
Twitter: @DirectorsTake
Amy: Twitter (X)
 
If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at TheDirectorsTake@Outlook.com.

E126 - Demystifying Intimacy Co-ordinators with Louise Kempton

In this episode of The Directors' Take podcast, your hosts Oz Arshad and Marcus Anthony Thomas are joined by Louise Kempton, who is an intimacy co-ordinator that has worked on projects such as The Great, Gangs of London and the upcoming feature film Hoard. Intimacy co-ordination is a relatively new role and directors may feel that they are losing control of intimate sequences with this being a barrier between them and performers... So we brought Louise on to help demystify the process of working with an intimacy co-ordinator so you can get the most out of this collaboration. This conversation covers:
 
-What is an intimacy co-ordinator?
-Why are they so important?
-At what point are they brought onto a project?
-What is their process in constructing intimate scenes?
-How are directors involved in rehearsals?
-Can you still tweak things on the day as a director?
-How do you do intimacy with low budget work?
 
Louise is a freelance intimacy co-ordinator working in TV, theatre & film. Louise trained with Intimacy on Set under the mentorship of Ita O'Brien, and has worked extensively as an associate member. Louise regularly facilitates workshops and seminars, introducing the Intimacy on Set guidelines and safe practises to trainee actors and directors, film crew and production. Louise's work enables the creation of dynamic and exciting choreography, within a safe and supported environment.
 
https://www.louisekempton.co.uk/intimacy-coordination
 
Nuggets of the week
 
Oz: Weekend Read (App)
Marcus: Meet the Producer - The Production Guild (Podcast series)
Louise: Try to connect with your inner child and take time to reflect on the beautiful moments and people that surround you.
 
Credits
Music by Oliver Wegmüller
 
Socials
Instagram: @TheDirectorsTakePodcast
Twitter: @DirectorsTake
Louise: Instagram & Twitter
 
If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at TheDirectorsTake@Outlook.com.