On song - from rom com to arthouse
Josh Appignanesi's films have won acclaim the world over. In 2002 he won the 91Èȱ¬ Three New Film Makers Award with his short, 'Nine and a Half Minutes', featuring a youthful David Tennant.
Last year he directed his debut feature film 'Song of Songs', a story of incest set in the tightly knit north London Orthodox Jewish community.
Q1. Tell us about your prize winning short 'Nine and a Half Minutes'.
It's a compressed romantic comedy that goes wrong. For me it was my first proper shoot - I never went to film school so it was the first time I had proper kit.
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Q2. What was it like working with David Tennant on 'Nine and a Half Minutes'?
We auditioned a lot of people and he was the best... He is a lot of fun to work with.
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Q3. After the romantic comedy 'Nine and a Half Minutes' your debut feature was an arthouse film, 'Song of Songs'. Weren't the two projects very different?
There are similarities. There's a boy, there's a girl, they meet... stuff happens. Both films are about a battle for power. There are ways in which you make the same movie over and over again.
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Q4. Describe 'Song of Songs'.
In some ways it's a dry, cold, intellectual film... I thought I'd go for the jugular.
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Q5. 'Song of Songs' is an austere looking picture. Was this what you wanted?
There is an austerity of gaze that functions in some films better than others. In a hyper capitalist world it is a kind of active resistance to slow things down.
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Q6. Tell us about your next project.
'Within' is a psychological chiller in the vein of 'The Shining' set in an old people's home.
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Josh - the CV
2002 - wins 91Èȱ¬ New Filmmakers Award for the short 'Nine and a Half Minutes'.
2006 - Directs his first feature film 'Song of Songs' on a shoestring. It wins a Special Commendation at the Edinburgh Film Festival.
Josh offers advice to would be filmmakers.
