WXFF 2020: Nicole Pott
Our film festival Women X is just on the horizon and today we have an interview with the wonderful Nicole Pott, director of Asphyxiate which is screening in our Selfhood Stories strand. Here she speaks to us about her current and previous works, ensuring the set was a safe space, and creative decisions made in Asphyxiate.
Tell us about yourself and the work you do
I’m a director, who makes films about freedom seeking mavericks. I’ve been directing for around seven years now. Over the last few years, I have been successful at directing various short films, including 'Kaleidoscope', which was selected at a variety of festivals across the world, including Oaxaca Film Festival, Detroit SheTown Film Festival, British Independent Film Festival and Harrogate Film Festival. It was also selected at Film The House, and I was the only female director to be nominated for the Directors UK Best Director Over 19 award. In 2019, I directed two short films 'Powerless', which I also wrote, and 'Asphyxiate', which I was approached to direct. Both these films were completed in early 2020 and received five star reviews from UK Film Review. 'Powerless' recently won Best Short Film at Romford Film Festival and ‘Asphyxiate’ has been nominated for three awards at Women X.
What is your proudest moment of your career so far?
That’s a hard question because I have had so many proud moments, but I suppose my proudest moment, though a little cliche, is being on set on both the set of Powerless and Asphyxiate and seeing everything come alive around me with a passionate group of talented filmmakers without having to worry about anything because you know all elements are covered.
What themes do you want to explore in your future work?
I love dark drama, I think the word “theme” is interesting because a lot of themes of past films have been about either domestic abuse, mental health, loss and lonerism. I guess I’d like to create stories that are about real people, going through real things and bringing it back to my tagline, creating films about “freedom seeking mavericks”.
Michaela Longden, who plays Katie, wrote and produced the film - how did you come to direct it and what was the collaboration process between you two like?
I’d worked with Michaela a number of years ago on another short film I was involved with and hadn’t spoken to her for years. Michaela got in contact with me a few months prior to the shoot, adamant that she wanted me to direct the piece because she loved my work and I was blown away. She sent me the script and I really loved it, but asked if she would get it down to 16 pages at the most because there was a lot more to it and she took the challenge on, which was great. I, of course, agreed to direct it.
It was great collaborating with Michaela, the script itself was an emotive piece and I developed a different opening with her to add something extra to it. The original opening was in a bedroom, where Katie was looking into a mirror and there was a poem over the top, but I pushed forward what was then called the “water tank” idea and she loved it. We had no clue how we were going to pull off what we wanted to pull off, but we did! With Michaela, this script is autobiographical, so working with Michaela to get across both our visions on the piece was very important, especially as we wanted people to feel how real it was for her.
The constant switching of tone in the film is very effective - what did you hope to achieve by that creative decision?
The script came with the constant switch between when they first meet and then when things get serious. I really wanted to play around with the idea of drowning and feeling lost, so I always knew that once we were pushing onwards to post-production that sound design was going to be, probably, the most important part of the process. I wanted the audience to feel like they are suffocating and when Katie takes that final breath towards the end, the audience would, hopefully, breathe also.
Tom is a character that feels very uncomfortable to watch, right from when we first meet him - what sort of directions did you give to actor Anthony Quinlan to create that character?
It was really interesting with Anthony (or Quinny) on the project. He was so keen to hear a lot about Michaela’s relationship with her ex and how that affected her, so really the character development was done through working with both of these actors. We spoke about the change in character from “Mr Nice”, though I still find him creepy from the get-go, and then his transformation as time goes on.
This is a film that centres around such a sensitive subject matter - what did you do to ensure that the set was a safe, comfortable space for all involved?
I had a very good 1st AD, Josie Connor! All of the bedroom scenes were a closed set with a small amount of crew in the room, whilst the other crew were outside. This was to ensure that the actors were very comfortable. Not only did we have a sexual scene in the film, we also were dealing with an writer/actor Michaela Longden, who was basically going through what she had already been through again, so we had to make sure Michaela was as comfortable as possible. She told me earlier this year that she did have nightmares for a few weeks afterwards, but it was all worth it for the film that we created. We also had the water scene, which Michaela was very up for, but she didn’t really enjoy being under water, so it was interesting trying to coordinate that in a swimming pool to keep her happy and safe.
Tell us three things you're grateful for?
I’m working a lot on gratitude at the moment because it’s so important to give yourself a positive mindset and feel like you are already abundant. I am so grateful for having such supportive parents, who have allowed me to chase my crazy (not anymore) dream for the past eighteen years! For also having a very supportive partner, Ray, who is also an actor so we get to collaborate with and give each other feedback. I am grateful that I get to work with the amazing cast and crew that I get to work and, hopefully, continue on the journey with over our careers. Finally, though this could be counted as a fourth, I am grateful to be recognised for the work I’ve created and the opportunities that come my way. I hope they don’t sound too cheesy, it’s all the truth!
What three things do you always have on your bedside table?
I have a lot of unread books on my bedside table, currently I’m reading Metahuman by Deepak Chopra after just finishing Untamed by Glennon Doyle. Should be finishing my fiction books too that have been sat there dusting! Other than that, usually the earrings I forget to take out as I put my head on the pillow and can’t be bothered returning them to my jewellery box and the alarm clock that I dread to hear in the morning.
What are you working on at the moment/next?
I am currently in development for my debut feature ‘Obsession’, which is currently in late casting stages and early financial. Obsession is about a young singer who, at the start of her career, blindly begins her own undoing as she struggles to cope with her volatile reality. I have cast a fantastic lead, who I know is going to do so well off the back of this feature, and we have some names that we can’t yet announce. Other than that, I’m working on three short films, which at the moment it’s all up in the air because of the dreaded C-word.
