Crowdfunding Pick: To Nowhere
“It’s very fun to shatter expectations of women on screen and in stories. It’s very important too.”
I always gravitate toward coming-of-age stories. There’s something so… longing about them. First loves, figuring yourself out, endings and beginnings. I may be in my thirties but I still see myself in the young peoples’ stories I watch play out on screen or read in books.
So when I saw filmmaker Sian Astor-Lewis’s crowdfunding project, I knew it would resonate. To Nowhere is a story of two friends, Finn and Tulip, as they spend a day roaming London together. Angst and chaos ensue—yes this is a dark take on the coming-of-age genre.
To Nowhere has already been shot and edited and now they’re raising funds for post-production. There are seven days left in the crowdfunding campaign and they still need help to meet their goal. I had a chance to chat with Sian about her inspiration for the film, the importance of the lighting design, and more. Check it out below!
Sian Astor-Lewis is a London-based independent writer/director. She is currently working to complete the final stages of post-production for her debut feature film To Nowhere. Her screenplay for To Nowhere (then entitled Masks) was a Semi-Finalist for the Best Screenplay Award in the New Renaissance Film Festival in 2017. Her second feature film is currently in preproduction.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got involved with filmmaking.
Sian Astor-Lewis: I’m the writer and director of To Nowhere, which is my debut feature film. It’s a dark coming-of-age drama about two troubled teenage friends who spend a chaotic, alcohol-fuelled day wondering around a lonely corner of London. As their dynamic becomes increasingly toxic, they’re forced to face their deepest fears and desires. It explores themes of queerness, trauma and love. I started making films about twelve years ago and have taken an independent path to get to this point. I experimented with finding my voice on a variety of low-budget short films, and spent a lot of time learning how to write, and building a team. This project has been in development for five years and we are currently running a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds to finalise post-production.
Tell us about this project! Where did the idea come from?
SAL: Two characters were born in my mind and I spent several years trying to work out what actually happens in the narrative. They are absolutely at the centre of the story: it’s a character-study in many ways. Personally, character is the crux of my fascination with film. They are two damaged people, and we see them on a single day of their lives, with many layers of unseen history behind them. Brutal or gentle, spiteful or kind, Finn and Tulip’s voices are at the core of the film’s identity. It’s set during the distinctive life-phase of adolescence. I wanted to capture the lives of two people who are uncomfortable and confused, and portray an experience that is earthy, visceral, and disorientating. I wanted to capture a gut feeling, which is at once joyful and distraught.
A lot of people may not fully appreciate all the work that goes into a film after its shot. What in particular do you need to accomplish for your film to be finished?
SAL: Every stage of filmmaking is so important. Even with the same rushes you could make many different films. We’re currently working on sound design which has a huge impact on the tone. It’s another tool to convey story. We’re also developing the colour grade. The subtleties of colour make a huge difference to how you feel. These things all contribute to the texture of the finished film. We’re also raising money to buy the rights to music, which is so essential for the story. We’ve faced a lot of challenges doing everything remotely during the lockdown, with remote ADR sessions and such, but we’re also very fortunate in that we have a really excellent post-production team who have been working incredibly hard to bring out the essence of this story.
The characters Tulip and Finn are the heart of this film. How did you and Casting Director Heather Basten go about filling the roles?
SAL: Casting was the vital ingredient for the film to reach its full potential. Heather was really thorough, hardworking, and had a very clear idea of what I was looking for. She knew the casting needed something unique to do the script justice. When I got Josefine Glaesel’s (who plays Finn) self-tape, I was instantly very intrigued. I didn’t initially realise at the time, but she’s actually based in Denmark, so she had to travel to London for not one, but two separate rounds of auditions and then once more for the shoot — which really shows her incredible commitment! She was a very exciting casting because she brought something very different and unexpected to the role that really brought it to life. She has incredible intensity. Lilit Lesser (who plays Tulip) was the only person who could have played that role; they are an incredibly sensitive and nuanced actor, and a joy to work with. It was also an exciting opportunity to work with Orlando Seale (who plays Stanley): he’s so spontaneous and authentic. He also really understood what I wanted from the character. I’m delighted to have worked with all of them and deeply respect their commitment and involvement.
The film uses light in an extraordinary way. Can you talk about how you designed the overall look/mood?
SAL: We wanted to convey all the experiences that the characters are going through with the use of light. We have a dichotomous thread running throughout the film, between love and fear, which is reflected in the colour palette. We wanted to capture a slightly dreamy feel, as if the characters are a little disconnected from reality, to show their preoccupations. We thought hard about framing and lens choices to bring out different elements of how each character feels: there is a strong contrast between feeling free or feeling trapped. There are certainly a couple of scenes which have a surreal feel to them. We wanted to evoke an uncanny feeling of unreality in moments to reflect the turns real life takes. From the script stage I knew which scenes would need really strong visuals to convey pivotal moments for the characters. It was wonderful to work with our DoP Mads Junker to create this visual language.
What excites you about using crowdfunding?
SAL: Crowdfunding is a really liberating platform where you can take more control over your funding and reach out to friends, family and patrons for support. It’s also about connecting with your audience, and sharing your journey and inviting other people to join. I think it’s the most certain way independent filmmakers can raise funds. You also learn about a lot of things that will come in useful in other stages of filmmaking, like marketing, networking, and expanding your audience. It’s a really essential funding platform for a film like this, which otherwise may never get made.
Tell us about why you are a feminist and why it’s important to your filmmaking.
SAL: In my work I primarily try to be authentic, including the flaws and contradictions that come with being a human being. Because I’m a woman, female experiences come out. Also because you write and direct from a deep place, that place isn’t bound by gender or sexuality, so it tends to stray into more interesting, androgynous spaces. It’s very fun to shatter expectations of women on screen and in stories. It’s very important too. People are a lot more complex than that, and much more interesting. I worked as a script reader for a few years and in 99.99% of scripts I received women were primarily, if not exclusively, introduced as being attractive, often in quite a sexualised way. I had to try and convey to these developing writers that that’s a terrible description — not only from a sexist point of view, but also because attractiveness is utterly subjective, and you perceiving someone as attractive has absolutely no impact on their personality. It’s so vital to portray alternative female narratives, and I aspire to do this in ways which are truthful, poignant and playful.
What’s the best advice about filmmaking you’ve ever received?
Focus.
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