Sitges Pitchbox interview: Liam Garvo, director of ‘Biopunk’
Biopunk is one of the projects that was presented in the last Sitges Pitchbox edition. We talk to Liam Garvo, the director of this fantastic project, about the pitch in Sitges and the current situation of Biopunk.
We want to know you better. Why did you choose this job? Where did you study? Where did you start your career?
My background is in a completely unrelated area to film. However, about ten years ago I was looking for a creative outlet and came across a filmmaking competition to create a 30 second advert for a novel that was being released. I didn’t know anything about the filmmaking process so I read whatever I could find and joined an online community of filmmakers called Shooting People. From there I slowly put together a team and we went and filmed the advert over the course of a day. Our entry went on to win the competition and screen as part of the ad reel before Spiderman 3 at the Odeon in Leicester Square. From that moment on I knew I wanted to make films.
Tell us about your work. What have you done? Could we watch some of your more important works?
As a director I’ve made a number of shorts and music promos over the years — most of them in the SciFi genre. You can check out some of them on my Vimeo page.
And as a Producer, I’ve just finished producing my first feature film, THE FITZROY, along with my producing partner James Heath who produced BIOPUNK. THE FITZROY was written and directed by Andrew Harmer who also wrote the screenplay for BIOPUNK based on a treatment I put together. That film is due to be released soon so be sure to check it out when it is! You can find out more about THE FITZROY at its website.
Let’s talk about Biopunk. How it all began? What is it about? How long have you been working in this project?
I’ve been working on BIOPUNK for about three years and wrote the original treatment for it over the course of about six weeks. Set in the not too distant future in a world devastated by gene hacking, the human race no longer finds itself the dominant species. Decades of gene manipulation have transformed large parts of the population into new breeds known as Altereds. Corralled into ghettos and treated as second-class citizens, a fragile new world has emerged.
Biopunk follows the story of Resha, a street-wise Altered struggling to make a living whilst raising her younger brother Kio. When Kio is kidnapped by a militarized faction of the Altereds, she is forced to venture beyond the city’s limits in a race to rescue him before he can be turned into the ultimate weapon.
You are looking for an international co-producer in Belgium, Germany or Ireland. What’s the reason to prefer these countries?
We’ve met some really great international co-production partners over the past year having pitched the project at a number of film festivals and markets. Belgium, Germany, Ireland in particular have very competitive tax credits and incentives for international film co-production.
After Sitges Pitchbox, how is everything going? How did the event help you?
Sitges was an amazing experience. It was fantastic to be surrounded by a group of super talented filmmakers and to be able to pitch BIOPUNK to an audience of established industry professionals and get feedback on the project. That’s helped us hone and improve the pitch which has been great.
What do you need to develop Biopunk right now?
We’re currently speaking to co-production partners and approaching cast. At this stage it would be great to get a partner on that can help us drive the project forward.
What is the best value of Biopunk?
I think in terms of what makes this film stand out as something different, is that it’s an ambitious film with a clear theme around human displacement — commenting on the fact that there has never been a refugee crisis like we are experiencing on a global scale presently, all wrapped up in a big bold entertaining sci-fi film.
Did you try to show your project before submitting it to Filmarket Hub? What was your experience?
We had previously taken the project to the Cannes film market where we had our proof of concept short and meetings with a number of sales agents and potential co-production partners. The feedback was positive as most people were impressed by the execution of the proof of concept, though recognised it as an ambitious project.
Why did you applied to Sitges Pitchbox?
We wanted an opportunity to meet likeminded filmmakers and pitch our idea to a panel of industry professionals and Sitges offered just that.
What could you tell about your experience in Filmarket Hub and Sitges Pitchbox?
The Filmarket hub was the first time we had presented the project in such a public forum and to such a large audience. Something like that focuses the mind as to what the key elements of the project are that we need to sell. It forced us to really think about the best way to present the film and what we needed to do that. The actual presentation itself was somewhat tense, though a valuable experience.
How was the experience during the event and the networking?
The most valuable experience at the event was meeting with the other filmmakers, seeing how they pitched their projects and receiving direct feedback from your peers.
Though there was little opportunity to network with potential partners, we did receive a request from a sales agent to read the script after the event. We are now in advanced discussions with that sales agent to take the film to market.
Would you repeat the Pitchbox experience?
Absolutely!
Do you think this kind of events are useful to you?
Definitely. I’d love to do more of them.
Any advice to future participating projects?
Rehearse your pitch so that you know what the key points are that you want to discuss. Personally I wouldn’t script it too much though, otherwise you might get hung up trying to remember your lines when you should just be able to talk around the points. Good visuals or a sub 1 min teaser video are really helpful in getting across the style of the film as well. And remember to keep it concise!
This is like a quiz for you, some quick questions to know you a little more:
Tell us your 3 favorite screenwriters
Aaron Sorkin, Christopher and Jonathan Nolan, Coen Brothers.
3 favorite screenwriting books
I find I get quite a lot out of just reading scripts from films that I like or for new projects.
3 favorite directors
Christopher Nolan, David Fincher, James Cameron.
3 favorite films
Inception, Schindler’s List, Chinatown.
