Three Weeks In

As part of the course we got to attend the BFI London Film Festival and we went to see a Belgian art film called The Last Winter. It was beautifully shot in some stunning landscapes but incredibly boring. I don’t mind slow films that much, but if the pace never changes even slightly then it’s bad news for a tired work-laden acting student on a Monday afternoon. I did stay awake; I struggled, but I did.

Shooting our 3minute film with no dialogue was a great experience. Our choice of location was ambitious to say the least: Westminster. On two occasions we were stopped and questioned by the police and both times they were very friendly and understanding. We got some lovely shots with Big Ben in the background and some background extras from the hordes of passers-by gave more than funny looks during the scenes with us fighting beside the road or pretending to jump off the bridge. It’s so public, so busy and so noisy that we would never normally be able to do any filming there, so I’m glad we took this opportunity.

We had a particularly intense movement session on Friday, by the end of which about a third of the class were in tears. It was quite draining because we pretty much didn’t stop moving for two hours, and I suppose it started to unlock emotions because we were moving to some pretty powerful music. At the end I felt strong compassion for my classmates but also strangely alienated: the session seemed to unlock cheerfulness in me rather than sorrow, so I was sitting there grinning like an idiot amidst the tears and sniffs! But we had a big group hug at the end of it, so that was fine.

I went to St Helen’s church this week by a friend’s recommendation. It is a great church, bigger than I expected, and I felt very welcome. I had a really exciting chat with a filmmaker who has just entered the same competition I entered some years ago called ‘Enter the Pitch’. Register to vote for his pitch here:

http://www.enterthepitch.com/1319711920.pitch

He mentioned an article he had read entitled something like ‘God is back in Movies’. These are exciting times. More than ever before Christians need to get involved in the film industry: Hollywood is turning from superficial superhero spectacles to meaningful Biblical Blockbusters. In the next few years we will see epic realisations of the stories of Noah (directed by Aronofsky), David & Goliath (starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Taylor Lautner), Moses (directed by Spielberg) and the poem ‘Paradise Lost’ (directed by Proyas – who directed I, Robot). In the past Biblical epics have been huge commercial successes and let’s also not forget that many in today’s cinema audience may never have heard these stories. Believers need to be present in every area of the industry to ensure that the truth and meaning of these powerful stories is maintained. This is why I’m pursuing this career, and it's no coincidence that this is happening now. I really sense that something huge, and more exciting than I could have imagined is just around the corner. God is revealing Himself to a new generation through cinema, and He's gathering an army of His people to make it happen. And what makes this so exciting and exhilarating is that He's called me to be a part of it.

My aunt, Judith, sent me an apple tree sapling for my birthday and this week I planted it in our little back yard. The story with my flatmates is that in fifty years time the tree will be really big and there’ll be four different students living here. Then one day a famous actor will turn up at their door and ask to see his apple tree!