An Interview with Hollie Bryan
Hollie Bryan is a producer based in the North of England. After starting off her career producing music videos, Hollie then expanded her creative skills into the world of filmmaking in 2013 with her first short, Geezer. This year, she is a part of BFI Weekender - a weekend dedicated to celebrating the best working-class talent in filmmaking today. In this interview, Hollie talks to us about the challenges and joys of entering the film industry, as well as her current and upcoming creative projects.
Congratulations on being a part of BFI Weekender this year! What does it mean to you to be part of this event?
It was great to be part of a process with so many people in similar positions to myself experiencing similar struggles and working through and unpicking those together. Also, it symbolises that I have learned and progressed professionally. Above all, it is a great opportunity to meet so many other creatives across the country.
Following on from the BFI Weekender’s aim to showcase working-class creatives like yourself, did you encounter any challenges when entering into the film industry as a working-class individual?
I found this a tricky question to answer...to know what difficulties are related to my class and what relates to other extraneous factors - such as location, career stage, familial support among many others. At Weekender, It was great to learn that we all felt similarly about our progression into the industry including the challenges. I think the most prominent thing that a lot of us had in common was that it took us a while to realise that we could enter this kind of profession.
Do you have any suggestions in terms of what would have made it easier for you to enter the industry?
My immediate answer would always be more funding and prominence for the arts in state-funded schools - I’m saying that at a time when this funding has been dramatically cut means it has never been more relevant. The more you restrict access at school level the more the arts become a privileged space, a microcosm of ideas and perspectives, with the only people developing creatively from a younger age primarily from wealthy families and those attending private schools.
Still from short film Hanging On. Picture credit to Anastasia Arsentyeva.
You started your career producing music videos for independent and major record labels – what an interesting career start! Did you always intend to make short films, or did this career inspire you to move into the short film making world?
When I first entered the industry I didn’t fully understand the importance of short films. Getting into music videos was a pure accident of timing - I just happened to have met directors who were directing them. I just went with it. And this continued into my first short film. Down the line as I saw these directors’ careers develop I eventually learnt more about the industry and came back full circle into the industry with a more focussed approach to make shorts as the stepping stone to making feature projects.
As a producer, what is your creative process like?
I tend to work with other people’s stories and help develop them into something that we can both take forward as our baby.
What kind of themes do you like to explore in your filmmaking, and why?
I am mostly attracted to character-driven stories - something that delves into the flaws of humanity alongside entertaining plots. However, I do also love true stories that put focus on a particular issue relevant to today.
Still from Hanging On. Picture credit to Anastasia Arsentyeva.
Also, is there anything you’ve watched recently that you’ve loved?
I really loved Limbo by Ben Sharrock. Such a dark reality for so many people but it’s a film that tells it so impactfully while not straying away from still being entertaining.
Do you have any upcoming projects that you’d like to tell us about?
I’m currently developing a VR project around echo chambers which I really hope is going to be a fun but eye-opening short interactive film for school groups. I hope that it will open a discussion about how their own perspectives are formed. It’s the first time I’ll be working with my own concept so I’m sure it’ll be a learning curve!
Where to find Hollie:
Website - https://www.cosmosquarefilms.co.uk
Twitter: @holsbryan
Interview by Susanna Demelas
