Today at Raindance
Edicius
Director: Uzo Oleh | United Kingdom | 2021 | 23 Minutes
When things go sour with Jason’s most powerful client, he knows his life is on the line. He receives a visit from his intuition, a man with his exact likeness, who claims to have the answers to save him. All Jason has to do is trust him… but can he?
Alt:
A little bit about you, how did you find photography and film?
Uzo:
Photography is a long story…I used to be an optician. So, I did the whole let me do something in health. I wanted to be a doctor originally, although I didn’t really want to be a doctor. My family wanted me to be a doctor…so I thought I’d be an optician. And then I found photography when I realized that life is too short. So, you know, work on something that is your passion. It was very good to me. I had been a photographer for about 15 years before I started looking into film and film was my first passion cinema. I think that if I grew up in a different area and I had more resources, I would probably have gotten into film earlier, but it’s just so expensive and you need a big team. So, I waited, I’ve been a photographer a while.
Alt:
What made you decide to go into photography? What was the influence?
Uzo:
Just being able to make stuff, you know, as a kid I just loved making stuff, whether it was like little films on the camcorder or taking photos and getting in trouble with my mum because no one’s posing. And then, to eventually get to the point where you want to tell stories with images, it’s good because you can do it by yourself. You can do it alone; you can go off and do these portraits. You need one other person or you can do some landscapes, you know? So, it was an easy access for me to just get into the making of art. It’s been very fortuitous that I found photography because the other option was music. Not a good idea.
Joy:
As a photographer, what camera do you shoot on?
Uzo:
Oh, it depends. It really depends on the project. I have a Canon, I have a few canons. I have some old Nikons, we hire Hasselblads if we’re doing something big that needs to be blown up, but it really just depends. The lenses are more important than the camera I reckon. Nowadays they’re all the same. They’re all as good. They have to be.
Alt:
Tell us a little bit about your practice, you photographed Idris Elba and Ed Sheeran to name a few. So, is it fashion photography or say editorial photography that you specialise in?
Uzo:
Advertising, beauty, fashion, portraits, all that stuff. Not really landscapes…I do that privately. I love being out and just taking your own landscapes, but for work it has always been fashion, beauty, advertising, that kind of thing. You get to shoot sexy people like Idris, and I remember shooting Ed, the first time I shot Ed was at the beginning. He was the new guy, and it was awesome because it was this super talented guy in this studio and he’s just jamming. I’ve got my guitars here as well, and we’re having a little jam and I was like, oh, I think he’s going to do alright this guy, let’s see how it goes.
Alt:
Can you tell us a bit about your film, Edicius. I’ve watched it, it’s very interesting. It’s kind of grown into a full-length feature. Can you tell us about the idea, you know, it was almost like your conscience speaking to you, tell us about the inspiration behind the film?
Uzo:
The idea came from the concept of being able to speak to yourself because you hear the voice in your head all the time. What would it look like if we were to personify it and you could see, visualize, those conversations? Especially when it’s your intuition who has a grasp on things that you don’t really pay attention to because you’re executing all the time, and your intuition is sending you a bunch of different signals and telling you, listen, don’t do this, don’t do that, this is what’s going to happen, think about it. We watch this poor guy, Jason, crumble through some stressful situations while his intuition is there supporting him and trying to give him some outs, they just don’t get on very well.
Alt:
Can you tell us a bit about how it feels that the film’s been selected for The Raindance, it’s also got the attention of the BAFTAs and Oscars…how does it feel for the film to be going in that direction?
Uzo:
I love it. It feels great. I feel great. It’s interesting because with the film, I wanted as many people see it as possible, and because it’s a short story, it’s so hard to find the audience for shorts. So, the approach was to try and make it look like a movie, to make it come across as cinematic as possible. I feel like we nailed that, it’s such a great team. They killed it. The fact that it’s getting recognition is really positive and exciting because it just means that the more people will watch it, get to see it, and see how mad we all are.
Alt:
And what does it feel like to be back in the festival circuits? Obviously, we’ve been locked down…There’s a lot of big events that have opened up now. Raindance is one of them.
Uzo:
Don’t get me started, I love it. Meeting people, sometimes hugging people, you know, cheeky little hugs, hugs with strangers, best thing in the world, missed it for almost two years. It’s great. To be in the cinema, with my goddaughter, we got to watch the film with an audience. At one point someone sat in the front, I wanted them to become my new best friend! I didn’t get to talk to them, but they grabbed their head when something happened…I was just thrilled watching people watch it, you know? Yeah, it’s a real honor, a real exciting time.
Alt:
As a director, what are some of the influences, what are some of the stories that you like?
Uzo:
Influences are anything to be honest, I think that everything from, I was going to say poetry, right? I don’t read that much poetry, maybe it’s just the hipster in me coming out for a second… Everything from classical music to traveling, moments that you see, I think inspire you. My thing is tragedy and human triumph, that kind of fine line between tragedy and human triumph, I think is incredible. I think that when the average person must dig deep and overcome some madness, maybe the madness they created themselves, I think that kind of stuff really excites me. Also, the execution. I like the stories that must be told cinematically, that do their best when they’re expressed in a way that is cinematic, I love all that. I think that’s why I love going to the cinema as opposed to reading a book or seeing a play, something that kind of had to be a little bit grand, I’m into that.
Alt:
What were some of the lessons that you learned while making this short film, lessons that you’ve taken away and thought, okay, maybe I can do this bigger or better, or maybe I’ll change this, or, you know I love this?
Uzo:
I think when it comes to films, it’s all about the team. You must make sure you’re rolling with people that are smart and communicative and that will protect you and protect each other. You’re going to be working with them for years. That’s the thing I learned…I get why some filmmakers always work with the same people, I learned that in a big way. The other thing is that it really takes so long, so you can’t think about the end goal…in my case, I have to kind of break all these things into chunks, because as a photographer, you can take a picture tomorrow and have it finished the day after. You can get this instant gratification. So, with films, I learned that it takes way longer than you think, costs way more than you think, and yeah, I love it. Communication and collaboration, that’s the key. It’s been a great experience.
Alt:
We’ve just come out of a period whereby a lot of inequalities have been exposed…Obviously you are at the rain dance film festival, are you optimistic in terms of the major festivals, and the film industry, are you optimistic about the way forward and do you think this progression that we have now will continue?
Uzo:
I think so. I think that you must be optimistic, if you’re not, we don’t stand a chance. So even if you’re facing tragedy, you kind of must be optimistic no matter what…not just for us, but for the youngsters. I think it is a great time because people are paying attention to certain things and certain people, certain groups, which is great. But I think that, I’m old enough to remember the last time they paid attention, you know, and the time before that maybe. So I think that it isn’t a smooth line, I think there’s going to be peaks and troughs, and I think that we have to try and remain optimistic and communicative actually, because you know what happens sometimes when people have emotions, it’s like you forget that we are all actually part of the same community, that’s the goal, right? So we have to keep communicating. Yeah, that’s probably the most political, I think I’ve ever been in my life. And now I’m on record!
Alt:
In terms of your film, what do you want the audience to take away? Is there a message that you wanted?
Uzo:
I want them to take away sweaty clothes, ideally. I hope that they are a little bit on edge as Paul Jason is. I would love that connection to be there. And, also, that you shouldn’t believe everything you think…just like your intuition has its bottom lines and your behaviour is not necessarily just ‘oh, I I know this, so I’m going to be able to do this’. I think that that line that composed complications around trying to do what is good for you. I think that’s really interesting. I’d love people to tap into that and start wondering about the voice in your head a little bit more, being a little bit more critical.
Alt:
Do you always tap into your intuition?
Uzo:
I try to, I make stuff, right? So, you kind of have to, but I’ve said before that you make stuff with very technical things as well. You have to be really like right and left brain, you have to tap into your imagination, your intuition, your instincts, your reflexes, but at the same time, you have to be very mindful and very technical, you have to plan in order to make these things. So that balance is really good and alive in me. That’s kind of my background and it has been for a while.
Alt:
Will you physically be at the Raindance film festival?
Uzo:
Yeah, absolutely! I wouldn’t miss it…Seeing that film on the big screen is one of my favorite things in the world. It’s weird, it’s my favourite film that I’ve ever seen. So yeah, I’m going, I’m going to drive to Leeds. I’m driving to the Norwich film festival as well. This is what I’m going to do…They are showing it in Sweden as well…I might even go to that screening. I’m so into this thing, maybe a bit obsessed.
Alt:
What are you working on next?
Uzo:
The feature-length version, I’m writing that now…not right now, I’m procrastinating a tiny bit. But I’m focusing on that and then also on a crazy TV pilot idea that I have…it’s bananas. It’s so open honest that I think people are going to be into it.
Cast: Michael Socha, Adele Oni, Stuart Bowman, Sahera Khan
Writer: Uzo Oleh | Director of Photography: Tristan Chenais | Editor: John Smith ACE | Music: Thomas Farnon
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