Following on from his two acclaimed short films, Duane Hopkins' debut feature film 'Better Things' screened at the BFI 52nd London Film Festival, having received its premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in June 2008.
Following on from his two acclaimed short films, Duane Hopkins' debut feature film Better Things screened at the BFI 52nd London Film Festival, having received its premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in June 2008. We caught up with him at Edinburgh to discuss his film and his transition from shorts to features. Better Things is a multi-narrative drama, depicting everyday life in small-town England. The film follows several characters, who deal with personal relationships in their own particular way.
Following on from his multi award-winning, critically acclaimed short films, Duane Hopkins presents a painterly view of rural existence and the community's approach to life, love, loss and intoxication.
Small-town alienation in Better Things.
After spending 8 months casting 21 speaking roles, 6 months in pre-production and finishing up in the editing suite with 'enough rushes to cut a hundred different films', Duane sees the feature filmmaking process as more of a marathon slog compared to the heady sprint of making a short.
Watch the video interview to discover more about the challenges he faced and why he'd go back for more...
Better Things screened at the BFI 52nd London Film Festival on Friday 17th October 2008 at the Odeon West End and Wednesday 22nd October at the David Lean Cinema.
It is released nationwide on 23rd January 2009.
Stephen Bailey | Published 15 October 08, updated 21 January 2009
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