Features

Take three simple filmmaking rules: 10 minutes or under, made digitally, and costing no more than £10,000.

Then put a premium on technological and creative innovation.

The result? Eight short films in a range of narrative genres from documentary to drama to animation, with one of the eight now shortlisted for a British Independent Film Award.

This then is the London Calling programme, devoted to giving the capital's filmmakers a voice. But who are the talents responsible - and what equipped them to meet the challenge in the first place?

On this page you can meet Tom Harper, 27, from Finsbury Park and 30-year-old Jo Ho, a Londoner of Chinese descent who hails from Dagenham. Use the link below for more young talent.

Tom Harper - how did you begin making films?

I worked as an assistant editor in a post-production facility and wanted to learn how to use the equipment. I figured the best way to do this would be to try and edit some footage that I had shot myself and soon realised that I enjoyed getting the footage much more than I enjoyed sitting in a dark room trying to get the computer to work.

A class of teenage schoolboys are oblivious to their teacher's attempts to question them about the wider world. But they're about to have a lesson they'll never forget and one that will change their lives. Forever. 

Ok, so the last sentence is a bit of a cheat, but this makes it four lines now, so I really screwed it up.

You tackle some pretty relevant issues concerning war and identity, what's the overriding message that you want audiences to take from Cherries?

I'm not sure there's a message, but I suppose that for me, a prominent theme in the film is the danger of political apathy. But ultimately I hope that the film is entertaining and is thought-provoking along the way rather than didactic. 

This isn't the first time you've shown at a film festival - your former project Cubs showed at Sundance, Edinburgh and New York. What's so special about London in comparison?

London is where I live and where I grew up. Most of my films to date have been about Londoners and therefore it's particularly important to me what a London audience thinks of my films. But it's also fantastic to be part of one of the premier international festivals with so many great films and events on my doorstep. 

They say that the short film is a director's calling card. What's next for you?

Off the back of my first short film Cubs, I got work directing television. I've recently completed a pilot for BBC3 called Dis/Connected and am about to start work on a prime time drama for ITV1 called The Last Van Helsing.

I also have a feature film in development with FilmFour and Celador Films that I hope will shoot in the spring.

Next up is Jo Ho with her short 'Monkey Nut Tales'. How did you begin making films?

After my degree, I found I wanted to work in film and television and realised that I wanted to write and direct. Having not studied either, I thought it'd be a good idea to learn writing by studying my box-set of The West Wing, so I saw every episode of the first season at least 8 times.

Then I stopped procrastinating and wrote the first draft of my first feature script. I went on to make my film Isolation 9, which I wrote, produced and directed (currently being shown on BBC Film Network) on a budget of £2,500, which I could then use as my show-reel.

I then won funding from Film London and the UK Film Council to shoot Monkey Nut Tales.

A young girl's carefully crafted magical world shatters when her mentally ill mother is hospitalised and her estranged grandma comes to stay. The only way grandma can communicate with her is via the fantastical stories she tells. As they battle over their new roles in the house, they come to terms with their grief.

You've used an interesting mix of animation, film and CGI to tackle the sensitive issues of mental health, and it works! What inspired you to do this?

Within the Chinese culture, one of the most shameful afflictions you can have is a mental illness, as the sufferer is considered weak. As a child growing up, I have someone in my own family who had a mental illness and I've experienced first hand this negative and damaging attitude, so this subject is very close to my heart and one I felt I had to give a voice to.

But at the same time, I'm a fairytale kinda girl, and I wanted to tackle this topic in a heartwarming and delicate way, and to also incorporate both my culture and my art skills. This film is the result.

Having chalked up ten years in the industry, you've been described as "young, driven and fanatically hard-working" - how do you keep the momentum going?

I saw an interview with Sidney Poitier where he said, he decided not to set his bar the same as everyone else, but to raise it higher - that's the mantra I live by.

I just sold my flat in order to fund this next year so that I can focus full-time on writing and directing and not worry about having to bring the rent in on time. But my savings will only last for a year, so something had better happen soon!

They say that the short film is a director's calling card. What's next for you?

I have a kick-ass TV series in development with the BBC. I've also developed a kids fantasy feature film with a brilliant European lab called Pygmalion, and I'm about to finish a final draft of the feature version of Monkey Nut Tales.

My project after that, is a supernatural thriller set in the UK about a young Chinese girl who's being haunted by a vengeful ghost. So, pretty eclectic.

London Calling screens on Monday 29 October, 21.00 in NFT1. Use the links here for more details, and to read about two more filmmakers in the London Calling strand, Matt Day and Susanna Wallin. 

RELATED LINKS: