The 27-year-old (pictured right) produced Hotel Infinity, as well as Get The Picture, an intense portrayal of a photographer in a war zone. The short film, which stars Brian Cox and Lloyd Owen (pictured above), is based on the opening scenes of a feature from writer/director Rupert Wyatt. Get The Picture was funded by the Film Council and FilmFour's Cinema Extreme scheme, which aims to encourage filmmakers with an original vision.

Is it unusual to have a short film that also works as an opening to a feature?

I think it is unusual. We were quite careful to make sure that it stood alone, that it does feel self-contained. It's the very opening of the feature and it was very interesting to show that section of the story. But it's definitely not a trailer for the feature - we wanted it to be an individual film and to work by itself. I think it's also an unusual setting for a short film, and an uncommon subject. That struck me as something that would mark it apart, and hopefully bring it to people's attention.

Was it difficult to get Brian Cox on board?

It was actually brilliantly easy. Executive producer Simon Relph had worked with him before; we got him the script, he read it and liked it and agreed to meet Rupert. What was less easy was trying to fit into his availability. He was just finishing Troy, and starting on The Bourne Supremacy, so our whole pre-production was somewhat concertinaed. There was a lot of very fast preparation, it was quite a crazy time. But Brian was fantastic, and very supportive. Having someone like him involved was wonderful... He's read the feature script and says he'd like to be in it, which is great. We're thrilled by his endorsement. We're at final draft stage with the feature, and we're about to send it out. It's incredibly fortuitous that we have the short film screening at the same time as were finishing developing the screenplay. We'd never have guessed that would be the case when we first started.

How did you get into film production?

I started in university doing a lot of drama and comedy, did a bit of acting and wasn't very good (laughs) and quickly moved into production. I knew towards the end of my time at university that I was becoming more interested in film, and I got a job as a runner on Hideous Kinky, the Kate Winslet film. That led to a job with the same company - Greenpoint Films - as a receptionist, and I ended up being assistant to the head of the company. I spent four years there, and then did the producer's course at the National Film and Television School for a year - the Industry Course. Then I started producing shorts, and the next step was developing features... I'm part of production company collective called Picture Farm, which involves directors as well as producers, and also one actor, Damian Lewis, who is also taking a production role. Ben Freedman is the other producer in the company, he is based in New York, and produced Dark Days, the documentary directed by Marc Singer. We've been developing a project together, to film in New York, which we're hoping will get going next year.

When you come to the Edinburgh Festival, what are the key things you're aiming to do?

I'm here to support Amanda and Rupert, and I’ll try to see as many films as possible! I think it's so important constantly to enlarge your knowledge of film, and being able to talk to people about what they think is good or bad is absolutely key. In other festivals it's sometimes hard to have conversations with people you don't know. For example at Cannes you need to set meetings and it's much more formal, but here it seems a very good environment for meeting people informally. There are some very senior people in Edinburgh this year, for example Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner of Working Title are up. Generally I've had good experiences with the senior people in the industry helping those more junior - for example Simon Relph, Ann Scott and Patrick Cassavetti of Greenpoint.

What would you say are the key skills a producer needs?

I'm going to quote Michael Kuhn who said the first rule of producing is "Don't Panic!" It's very easy in the heat of the moment to slightly flip out, but maintaining a sense of calm is very important. Particularly in production, the crew look to the producer as a centre of calm, and it's vital, even if there are problems, not to let them overwhelm you. I think you also have to look long term, that sense of "don't panic" should also apply to your career and you should know what your goals are, and not be put off by small problems. It's not an easy career, the industry here is small and there are more producers than there is work, but if you have determination and believe in yourself then I think it's a great career.

Interview by Jen Foley.
You can contact Picture Farm at info@picture-farm.com