On last night’s 82nd MK3D show at the BFI Southbank, Mark welcomed some brilliant guests.
First on stage was legendary producer of over 250 documentaries John Battsek, who has two films out this month: The Deepest Breath, available to stream on Netflix from 19 July, and Wham!, available to stream on Netflix now. John and Mark talked about these two very different narratives and what it takes to make a gripping documentary. John also talked passionately about The Film That Changed His Life, Leon Gast’s When We Were Kings (1996), on the life, sports and politics of Mohammed Ali.
Next to join Mark on stage were much-loved comedienne, writer and producer Sally Phillips, with documentary director Louis Myles, who came to talk about the short film he co-directed with Ahmed Twaij about Brentford’s football team for Down’s Syndrome kids, the Mighty Penguins. Two of the players who feature in the film, Olly Phillips and Charlie Rowley, were on stage to talk about how playing on the football team had changed their life, and what it was like to be in the film. Sally talked about the importance of representation, and various film projects authored by creators with DS, which is changing the landscape for the better, including The Puppet Asylum, and Otto Baxter: Not a F***ing Horror Story. She also talked about her DS-led projects currently in development with Captain Dolly, the in-house production company at Film Soho.
Final guest for the night was maverick director Ben Wheatley, to talk about his upcoming summer blockbuster, Meg 2: The Trench, which hits UK cinemas 4 August, starring Jason Statham and some incredible sea creatures. Ben and Mark had lots of fun talking about the making of the movie, and the diverse traditions on which the film builds, including the writing of Edgar Rice Burroughs, the special effects creator Ray Harryhausen, comics like Hook Jaw, the Japanese Godzilla movie tradition, and a film that especially inspired Ben’s directorial style in his latest feature, Mothra (‘Mosura’, Ishiro Honda, 1961).
We closed the show with Sound & Vision, paying homage to the brilliant use of music in Dream Girls (2006).
All photos by Julie Edwards
