At our recent graduation last December, the winners of this year's Carlie Tufnell Spark Fund prize of £15,000 were BA Practical Filmmaking graduates Lea Krüger and Eva Goodwin.
Lea and Eva gave us some of their time to tell us all about their process for pitching for the Spark Fund, their biggest filmmaking inspirations, as well as a sneak peek at their upcoming short film. Read on to find out more!
Can you please start by telling us a bit about yourselves and what you studied at Central Film School?
Eva:
Hello! I’m Eva Goodwin, and I just graduated from the BA Practical Filmmaking course. Before filmmaking, I studied Anthropology, so in a way, filmmaking felt like a natural extension of that interest. It’s become a way to try to bring those human stories to the screen and to explore fictional characters that feel real.
Lea:
Hi! My name is Lea Krueger, and I started at CFS on the BA Screenwriting course, but actually transferred to the BA Filmmaking when I realised how much I enjoy being on set. I am originally from Germany and moved to London for CFS.
How did you find the process of pitching for the Carlie Tufnell Spark Fund?
Lea:
Nerve-wracking but at the same time really fun? I think Eva and I spent about 50 hours on the slides of our Canva presentation because we enjoyed preparing the pitch that much. It definitely helped having Eva with me through it all. I definitely would not have been able to do it without her!
Eva:
The pitch was anxiety inducing but extremely rewarding. It was my first time co-writing/directing, and Lea was really my rock throughout the process. I think we wanted to balance staying true to our vision for Aged Like Fine Crime, with being open to the options of others, particularly to the panel, and being willing to adapt.
Could you talk a little bit about your upcoming Carlie Tufnell-funded film, ‘Aged Like Fine Crime’, as well as the inspiration behind it?
Both:
Aged Like Fine Crime is a chaotic heist-gone-wrong led by four older women who reject the way society expects them to behave. We’ve often described it as The Golden Girls meets Money Heist meets Sex and the City.
Eva:
When Lea first presented me with who we now lovingly refer to as “The Girls,” I immediately fell in love with them. Our story positions our Girls as the heroes of a fast-paced adventure. It felt like letting the older women in our lives, like our grandmothers, take centre stage in a way that we feel Hollywood rarely does.
Lea:
First and foremost, we wanted to tell a story about four vibrant ladies in their seventies who refuse to be put in the box of ‘too old’. It’s a celebration of ageing! Like Eva said, our grandmas are a major inspiration for the concept, but also the lack of adequate representation of women over 50 on screen. We have the ‘horror film hags’ and the ‘Disney witches’ in animation, but we do not have many female heroes over 50. So that’s where our story steps in…
What does winning the Carlie Tufnell Spark Fund mean to both of you?
Eva:
Being trusted with arts funding straight off the bat after graduating is a rare opportunity. We’re hugely grateful to the Tufnells for their generosity and commitment to supporting young filmmakers like us. Ultimately, the fund means we get the opportunity to see our girls take the screen, and it’s a chance we’ll be taking and running with!
Lea:
We are incredibly lucky to be given the chance to make a fully funded film, which is beyond amazing! The Tufnell's generosity is truly inspiring, and we are very grateful to have received this support! CFS and Rory (CEO) have also been very supportive in setting us up with script development sessions and access to resources. It’s kind of the full package, really.
What skills and experience are you most excited to bring from previous projects to ‘Aged Like Fine Crime’ ?
Lea:
Personally, I have found that being an open collaborator is one of the most important skills to have in film. The finished product is like a big puzzle and in order for each piece to fit, everybody needs to work together by communicating clearly.
It has already been a pleasure collaborating with Eva on the script, and I am beyond excited to step into co-directing and co-producing and assembling our crew…
Eva:
I’ve slotted into lots of different roles at CFS and I think learning how each department operates has really shaped the way I approach filmmaking. It’s given me an appreciation for how collaborative the process is and how much every role contributes to the final product. This is also my first time co-writing and co-directing, so I’m extremely excited to bring the creative partnership Lea and I have developed together in pre-production onto the set.
How do you feel that this award will help you get started in the film industry?
Lea:
For most of our crew this will be the first paid job in film which is an absolute honor, but also of such importance. It can be really tricky to get out of that grey zone of being a film student and semi-professional, and not wanting to decline any job offers even if they are unpaid. We are very thrilled to be that first official job for some people and hope it’ll help all of us to find our footing in this industry.
Eva:
The whole process felt like a great jumping off point from completing our grad films. The pitch alone was really insightful and gave me a lot of confidence in our idea and vision for the project. On a practical level, the fund allows us to experience more of what it means to run a professional set. As Lea mentions, paying cast and crew and managing a real budget feels like a big step in moving from our film school bubble into the industry.
Do you have any advice for women looking to study film?
Both:
Do it!
Are there any filmmakers, past or present, whose work continues to inspire you?
Lea:
I am a BIG fan of Wong Kar Wai’s work and the dreamlike feel of all of his film’s visuals - though quite different to what we’ll be going for with ‘Aged Like Fine Crime’. I also just adore anything animated!
Eva:
Věra Chytilová’s work is insane! Watching Daisies for the first time blew my mind, it felt like turning what I knew filmmaking could be on its head. I also love a lot of early Wes Anderson films, The Royal Tennenbaums is my personal favourite, it’s definitely become a key visual and narrative inspiration for ALFC.
If you could only watch one thing for the rest of your life, which film or TV series would you choose?
Lea:
Don’t make me choose please…
I could however watch Run Lola Run, In the Mood for Love, or Fantastic Planet on any given day. The same goes for reruns of Fleebag and Bluey (yes, the Australian Kids TV Show).
Eva:
Yikes, this is probably the most difficult question to answer. I feel like it changes every day, BUT, today I’ve been thinking about rewatching But I’m a Cheerleader. Truly a classic. (I will also never turn down a screening of Coraline.)