What were the biggest challenges you faced making That Night, and what was the message you wanted to convey with this film?

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Short films always face two big challenges in my experience, not enough time and not enough money! This one was no different in that regard but also, that’s the nature of the beast and to some extent the challenge you agree to engage with. Having made quite a few shorts now I know that having a brilliant band of players around me with the same outlook helps mitigate some of that difficulty. For example on a practical level a lot of the shoot was cold and dark, but that stuff falls away when you’re all excited about capturing good performances on the camera. My team are the best and we got through it with hand warmers, Kit Kats and kindness.

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The message at the heart of THAT NIGHT is about human connection, I suppose. Both how positive and how heartbreaking that can be and how we mustn’t avoid it, even if it causes pain. In an increasingly AI filled world, I think my films are very much the opposite of that, they are fully centred on what it means to be a human being. It’s hard sometimes and at other times it’s hilarious and often it’s both of those in one day. That’s what I think we should gather in the dark to watch stories about together and that’s what I think we need to admit to each other when the lights come on. There’s no perfect, but we are all here.

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When creating a short, how much flexibility do you give yourself and your cast with the material?

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I think THAT NIGHT might give the impression that it’s all a bit loose-y goose-y and unstructured and it’s funny because actually the opposite is true. In order to create that sense of freedom we actually had to be really organised. We had so many locations and so many fixed points that we had to hit quite precisely for the story to work that that all went in first as a sort of physical framework. That said, of course there has to be room for creative thought once we were on set. My motto is: Plan, Plan, Plan, Improvise. I think that very much held true here, there was a physicality that all my talented actors possess that I wanted to be able to run with and represent. That made it trickier for camera but overall it added to the emotional feel of the camerawork and Rik, my DP, was more than up to the challenge.

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Was there any one scene that was particularly tricky for you to shoot?

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The footage on the tube was probably the most challenging because it’s a really important visual spine that runs through the film so I had a strong idea of how I wanted it to look, but we were run and gunning so time was of the essence. I wanted enough footage so that we never had to repeat a shot in the film, which we did achieve but it was bit of a feat getting there!

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Have you always had a passion for filmmaking?

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I’ve always had a passion for films, even though that wasn’t really in my family. When I look back now I was always a filmmaker on the inside, but actually it took me a while to get going. I don’t come from privilege and earning money had to come first. It still does through my commercial work. I was a photographer first which satisfied my aesthetic appetite up to a point although secretly I wished I was making movies. I did get good at cameras and lens and lighting though as well as directing models and understanding how to get people relaxed in front of the screen, so nothing was wasted in the end.

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What do you think you discovered about yourself as a filmmaker during the making of this, That Night, and what would you say has been the biggest lesson you’ve taken from this project?

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THAT NIGHT was the project where I set myself free a bit, I dared a bit more in terms of what we could achieve. My DP Rik and I called it fearless filmmaking. I think my visual language is improving every time I get on a set and telling a story without words is so much of what I love to do, much as I adore a good script and great dialogue. We go to the cinema for the pictures, as well as the words so I think I pushed myself there but in a focussed and disciplined way.

"I like having people that we don’t normally see so much as the subjects of my films, I enjoy the grey area and the people who aren’t necessarily the flavour of the month or making good decisions."

Moving forward, what themes and subjects are you looking to explore with future films?

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I love films about relationships, and really that’s all films actually! But what I mean is that even if the structure of a movie is genre based, it’s the way that people behave and interact with each other that really keeps us gripped to the screen as an audience. I like having people that we don’t normally see so much as the subjects of my films, I enjoy the grey area and the people who aren’t necessarily the flavour of the month or making good decisions. I’ll always want my characters to be specific and nuanced in whatever they are doing.

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Are you able to tell me anything about your debut feature that’s in the pipe works?

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I’m working on a micro budget first feature, it’s based on the characters in RUN actually to bring this full circle! It returns to them a few years later when they are thrown back together and get to watch them grow and change. It’s very much in the spirit of those Linklater films that followed the same actors across many years, BOYHOOD and the BEFORE SUNRISE trilogy. I’m excited to get it underway and I think it has something to say about men and women and they way they interact, as well as coming of age, whatever your age might be.

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What has been the best piece of advice you’ve been given on your filmmaking journey?

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Keep going! Or versions of that. About twice a week I think bugger this I’ll pack it all in and throw myself to floor in an over dramatic manner, but luckily I have enough good people around me that say just stand up and get on with it. I also love that we can do this for each other as it’s a tough old game and everyone feels like that at some point.

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And finally, what message would you want your audiences to take away from That Night?

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I’d love people to walk away with a message of hope, despite the tricky subject we explore. I hope they laugh as well as feeling moved, it’s so important to have that levity in drama and often it can be missed out.