BAFTA-winning director’s advice to budding film makers

“Make films that have an international appeal,“ was the advice that double BAFTA winner Asif Kapadia gave to student film makers.
Kapadia (pictured) returned to his alma mater, the International Film School Wales (IFSW) to conduct a masterclass in movie-making and talk about how films are developed, produced and distributed.
Speaking at the University of Wales College, Newport, in a lecture theatre packed with young movie-makers who will one day be seeking jobs in the highly competitive film industry, Asif talked knowledgeably about the business side of film-making. The students were also treated to screenings and discussions about Asif’s award-winning films – including his first feature film as a director, ‘The Warrior’, which scooped two awards at the recent BAFTAs.
“One of the things I learned from my student films,” he said, “was that they did really well internationally, in places like France , Italy and America. So I realised that if The Warrior was going to be a success I had to make sure it had international appeal. My advice to film students and anyone who wants to make successful films is to find something that will sell throughout the world – don’t do anything that’s too British.”
He said that he had learned this valuable lesson with his short film, “The Sheep Thief”, which had won a prize at the Cannes Film Festival and enjoyed success worldwide.
Recalling his days as a student, Asif said, “I was very young when I came to Newport to study film-making – I didn’t know anything. I wrote and directed five short films whilst I was here. Because making films as a student was low budget you learned from the process of physically doing everything – lighting, directing, shooting and cutting the film. It was very practical and I loved the process of making films.
Kapadia scooped two trophies at the BAFTA awards for his first feature film as a director, ‘The Warrior’, which won the prestigious Alexander Korda Award for the Most Outstanding British Film of the year and the Carl Foreman Award for Best Debut Director.
He has acquired a considerable reputation for producing and directing short films and documentaries for the BBC and Carlton TV as well winning the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival for his short film ‘The Sheep Thief’.
(SP)