Champions need champions
On having the right kind of filmmaking supporter
I’m going to start bringing in other voices in these posts. Either in the form of an interview on one subject with one great guest, or canvassing opinions on a single question.
I have some amazing names lined up for future posts already.
Filmmaking can feel deeply transactional. You’re often left wondering what people truly think - are they promoting you for their own benefit, or are you simply deluded and lost?
Which is why all of us, at every stage of our careers, need supporters.
(Yes, all of us. Even Scorsese thinks so - here’s how he describes Robert Altman’s support “I remember that he was so gracious, so reassuring, and entirely complimentary. He really went out of his way for me. It was inspiring, and it meant the world to me.”)
I don’t just mean peers who are trying to do the same, either. I mean people who are already further along than you. People you can aspire to be, whose work you admire, and are just excellent at what they do.
(And yes, it is of course vital that you build a strong collective of peers around you. But let’s discuss that another day.)
In the moments when you feel like a failure, when you're stuck creatively, or when you're waiting for a breakthrough, having supporters like these makes all the difference.
For me, the ideal supporter is someone who has created outstanding films, someone with an aura of achievement and a genuine willingness to nurture others.
How do you find supporters like this? By openly sharing your work without immediately asking for anything in return. By being generous with praise, and being utterly genuine in your admiration for that person and their work.
This isn't the transactional part of the industry. You're not asking them to executive produce your project or secure a financing meeting. You're sharing a part of yourself because their work has genuinely touched and inspired you.
I have been really lucky to have supporters at different stages of my career. Each of them has significantly shaped both my creative process and who I am as a person.
Brian Hill was one of the most impactful. I was introduced to Brian by another supporter of mine called Peter Sykes who had seen a film I’d made out of college (about some Mudhorse Fishermen).
Brian runs a company called Century Films and has directed some really incredible films. Drinking for England, made with poet (now Poet Laureate) Simon Armitage, is an utterly mesmerising piece of work. It’s incredible to think that something like that, so bold and so formally daring, was a TV production.
(Century Films has had a bunch of good filmmakers come through, including Morgan Matthews (A Brilliant Young Mind, The Fallen and my favourite - Taxidermy, Stuff the World), Tim Wardle (Three Identical Strangers) and more…)
The impact Brian had on me was, at first, pure validation and a huge confidence boost. He always treated me like a filmmaker. At a time when I wasn’t sure I could make it as one - or even if I’d survive - Brian helped me feel like I belonged. He asked just the right kind of questions, listened to my thoughts and ideas, and never took it all too seriously.
One of a great things about Brian is the way he treats people. He doesn’t take interns because he doesn’t believe in having people work for nothing. He cultivates an environment that is social and involving, and he believes in films speaking to society.
How Brian handled himself as the head of the company and as a filmmaker had a lasting impact on me and how I go about my career. His direct and indirect lessons on how you treat people and how that affects the films you make (and vice versa) is something I think about constantly.
When I was writing this I realised I haven’t spoken to Brian for a while, so I thought I get his point of view on what it’s like to be a supporter.
When I was starting out I always tried to get someone older and with more experience to be interested in me, reasoning that if they were interested in me they would help to push my career along. It was never something which was formalised or even discussed but I had a lot of help from different people along the way. It wasn’t always entirely altruistic from their point of view - Paul Watson taught me a lot but it was mostly in terms of how I might be useful to him. I didn’t mind that because I spotted it early on and he was pretty open about it - Paul could never disguise his colossal ego. One thing I learned from that was not to be like him, to offer advice and support because I’m genuinely interested in a particular film maker and want to see them succeed. I think that’s the first step to being a nurturing supporter, put away your own ego and get involved with someone because you believe in them and their work. I’m currently mentoring a young woman who had a terrible experience with someone prior to me, she was being mentored by an experienced and well known film maker who just wanted to talk about herself the whole time. I think you also have to commit to someone and do the things you say you are going to, which can be time consuming, so make sure you have the time and the space to take people on. I’m also working with a young Italian/Palestinian team trying to make a film in the West Bank, which I’m giving a lot of (unpaid) time to. But I believe in them and I believe that they are trying to make an important film.
Why is it important to me? One reason is that there are so many arseholes and fakes in this industry, and it really bothers me to see young film makers being let down or misled. It’s also just part of who I am. I was raised to help other people and use whatever talents I might have in a positive way. And coming from a working class background and not going to the right school or university, and not having connections, and speaking in the wrong accent, has made me acutely aware of privilege and elitism in our industry. I loathe it and if I can give a leg up to someone who needs it, that’s got to be good. In the 30 years I’ve been running Century we’ve never taken on unpaid interns.
Who do I choose to support? There has to be something there, a spark, a genuine interest in storytelling, which you always had (I’m sure you still do). I can usually discern that pretty quickly. And I like people to be aware of where they are and have a desire to learn. Lots of people I come across now have made perhaps one film and they suddenly think they know everything. I don’t care if they went to Oxbridge or graduated top of the class at the National Film School, I look for passion and energy. I do set realistic goals (for them and myself) and sometimes I’ve had to step back at a certain stage. Last year I was working with a couple of film makers on a climate change project. I was happy to do it and I like them a lot but the longer it went on, the more of my time they demanded, until it became unsustainable and I had to part company with them. I keep in touch to see how they are getting on but I’ve had to minimise it.
It’s a two way thing, definitely. The thing about film making is it’s not a finite entity. You don’t just learn to do it. There’s always something else to learn, new techniques, new ways of doing things. The day you think you know everything is the day you stop developing as an artist. So I get stuff from the people I work with, I listen to them, discuss their ideas, debate different films and so on. The reason I’ve kept doing this for so long is because I’m curious and want to further my education - and that can come from anywhere. And working with young film makers stops me being a curmudgeonly old fuck.
Beautifully put.
Brian never told me what kind of films I should make, or what he thought my career should look like. He encouraged me to be the filmmaker I wanted to be—and that kind of support is incredibly impactful.
We’re all swinging wildly between self-doubt and unchecked ego, and desperately in the need for guidance. Having a great supporter helps you balance those extremes.
Realising that every filmmaking finds it hard sometimes is incredibly calming somehow.
I’ve always needed good support, and I really recommend seeking it out. But make sure it’s the right kind of support—someone who backs you for the work you want to make, not just because it serves what they’re doing.
In my experience, that kind of generosity exists in a lot of filmmakers. You just have to ask the right person nicely.
I’d love to know what you want to hear about, and who you’d like to hear from - let me know!
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