my story
Up until a few years ago, I hated film. I had only been to the cinema to see blockbusters and action-packed farfetched Hollywood features. I couldn't connect with it, and I felt exhausted by the end. Eventually I gave up and decided all films were pointless, until Céline Sciamma's Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) came along. For the first time, I saw the potential in film; the artistic expression, the beauty of the composition, the poeticism of the dialogue – spoken and unspoken. I was taken with it, and I’ve never looked back since.
As a very visual person, photography has always been something I have felt pulled to since childhood. I was given my first, very cheap, very plastic camera aged around 8, probably a gesture that my family didn’t think much of, but that little camera introduced a new way to view the world, a new view that I loved.
Romanticising the world through my viewfinder, at the ripe age of 8, has led me to Liverpool John Moore's University where I currently study Film. The development in my studies has allowed me to share my view; to find the techniques and tools to present my vision to an audience. This has been an incredibly rewarding experience, and as I face my final year of study I feel creatively fulfilled and excited for what comes ahead.
The more I’ve researched and come to understand the industry, I have discovered there are so many interesting roles that I feel compelled to explore. Screenwriting is the subject area that I find most interesting because, to me, the screenwriting is the essence of a film. There can be beautiful films with no substance that won’t be nearly as impactful as something that is visually basic, but well written. Stories are an intrinsic part of our lives and people watch films to find connection and relatability. This is where I feel screenwriting starts to become a craft. It’s easy to write but it’s difficult to make it compelling.
I've not left my photography background behind me. I still have a true love for finding that composition that takes a film and makes it art. Screenwriting awoke the storyteller within me, and cinematography has become another layer of visual storytelling.