WXFF 2020: Rosie Baldwin
Rosie Baldwin talks to us about her Women X submission, Stitch - her first foray into the realm of fictional filmmaking. Stitch follows a woman under lockdown setting out to improve upon herself with unexpected results.
Tell us about yourself and the work you do.
I'm actually normally a documentary filmmaker and have made short docs for the BBC and Vice, as well as various funding bodies. I have been really lucky with the reception to these films; they have won multiple awards and screened in cinemas nationwide and at BAFTA-qualifying festivals such as Sheffield DocFest and Aesthetica. I tend to focus on character-led stories that provide a wider reflection on society as a whole. I have made four films featuring people living with various disabilities, so I suppose that is a main area of focus for me. I am dyslexic and struggled a lot with feeling inferior for a long time, so I think I am attracted to stories of people finding ways to live and thrive in an often disabling society.
Stitch (which is screening at Women X) is my first foray into fiction story-telling since I left university. It was a very collaborative project and came about through the BFI Network x BAFTA Crew programme. A small group of us on the scheme (Zara Symes - writer and performer, Chloë Kilby - Editor, Jovana Gospavic - Production Design, Vincenzo Marranghino - DOP, and Adrien Leung - Composer) got together (virtually) right at the peak of lockdown when we were all just stuck inside with all our productions halted and feeling like we were stuck in limbo, and came up with the concept over a couple of Zoom calls. I think the film does reflect the cooped-up, loss of control we were all feeling at the time.
What is the proudest moment of your career so far?
This is quite a difficult one because I am one of those filmmakers that will always find fault with their own work. A recent documentary I made followed a post-punk band made up of adults with learning disabilities over a period of about two years. I got to know them really well, and tragically during the filming one of their mentors died by suicide. It was an incredibly hard project to film, and I lost sleep over how to best tell their story for over a year. It meant a lot to the band to tell their story of resilience, love and using creativity to overcome the worst situations that life can give you. They are also very outspoken and passionate about promoting good mental health, and the film won the Grand Jury Prize at the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival. It was amazing to see such a raw story which showed the different ways in which people grieve being recognised, and knowing that their story continues to move and inspire others is an amazing feeling. A shorter version of the film is available on Vice Noisey (just in case you're interested!).
What themes do you want to explore in your future work?
I'm really interested in the concept of home; what it means to different people in different situations, and how that is being changed by the effects of the climate crisis. Lots of people are being displaced due to the rise in extreme weather conditions, and I think that those numbers will only continue to rise.
What three things do you always have on your bedside table?
I hate to admit it but my phone is always on my bedside table. Not so much because I'm checking the news or social media on it, but because I really struggle to sleep in complete silence. I have a few podcasts I subscribe to which I can guarantee will send me straight off to sleep, not because they are boring but because the producers have such soothing voices. The problem is I'm usually out with ten minutes of hitting play, so it takes me ages to get through one episode and I can't even remember where I got up to.
The same jewellery I wear every day - my little gold hoops, chain and a couple of rings. I'm not much of an accessoriser so I just stick to what I know.
A pen and paper. I have really vivid dreams that are sometimes funny, sometimes weird or sad, and sometimes terrifying, and I forget them really quickly - so when I've had a dream I want to remember I'll make a quick note of it. I've never done anything with these - it's purely so I can remember them to tell my boyfriend and my friends later on.
What are you working on at the moment/next?
I'm working on a film about my hometown, Bognor Regis. It incorporates a bit of the themes of home, which I mentioned earlier, and nostalgia. I am following a really brilliant character who feels trapped in a small town but really wants to get out and make her own way in the world. I'm really excited to see where the story goes.
Tell us three things you're grateful for?
My dog. My boyfriend and I have the sweetest greyhound - he is massive and really gangly and clumsy like Bambi, but he loves everyone and is excited about everything. He is a rescue and before we had him was used for racing, so he had a rough start in life. It took him a while to come out of his shell but his enthusiasm for the little things every day is really contagious and always puts me in a good mood. The other day he sniffed a really stinky bin whilst we were on a walk and it just made his day. He reminds me to enjoy the little things. Maybe not a bin, but you get what I mean.
I am so grateful for my friends. It really hit me this year, with every that's gone on, how happy they make me - they are so funny and supportive and brilliant. I mean, I knew all this anyway but I think this year I really realised how lucky I am to have them. I'm super proud of all of them, they are all doing such great things even when things have been really, unimaginably hard.
Finally, me and my brother were talking recently about how some of our earliest memories are of our parents working three jobs each when we were kids. My mum was a hairdresser/Avon Lady/waitress, and my dad worked on fridges (I wish I could be more specific) by day, delivered pizza by night and did the Pools rounds. They worked really hard so that me and my brother could pursue the things we wanted to, which is pretty amazing. Actually, my brother is also a really talented musician who often scores my films for mates rates. So I guess I'm grateful for all my family!
How did you overcome COVID restrictions with your cast and crew whilst filming?
All the development and pre-production was done over zoom, and the filming took place over a day in Zara (the writers) flat. There were only three of us so it was easy to keep a distance and masked up. She has big doors that open out into the garden so we could alternate who was inside and who was outside. It was really odd, but we intentionally kept it as simple as possible so it was doable.
Are there any new lockdown trends that you would include in Stitch if you were to create it now?
I'm not sure. Maybe something about the rise in anti-maskers? I feel like a lot more people are now questioning the need for masks or a vaccine, so maybe that could be worked in. I think conversations around the pandemic now are a lot more fraught. At the time we filmed it, the main vibe was that we were all just frantically trying to make use of all this new free time and drove ourselves a bit crazy trying all these new trends, but quite soon after it all got a bit curtain twitchy and surveillance-y. That would probably be fun to add-in.
You can watch Rosie’s film, Stitch, at Women X 2020. Tickets are available here!
