Last night was the 85th #MK3D @BFI, and Mark celebrated by hosting a stellar lineup of guests: Joanna Hogg, William Oldroyd, Jeanie Finlay and Emerald Fennell.
First on stage was Joanna Hogg, who talked about her new BIFA-nominated film THE ETERNAL DAUGHTER, which stars Tilda Swinton in a dual-performance of mother and daughter against the eery backdrop of a stately home in North Wales. Joanna talked about the process behind making this film, and revealed some of the light relief she indulges in as a Guilty Pleasure in-between shoots, including the cartoon Rick and Morty, which she called ‘anarchic’ and ‘very meta’.
Next to join Mark on stage was director William Oldroyd, who previously directed BAFTA-nominated drama LADY MACBETH, to talk about his new film EILEEN, which stars Anne Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie both working in a prison in 1960s Boston. William talked about adapting the film from Ottessa Moshfegh award-winning novel, and described his Hitchockian noir as ‘The perfect Christmas story’.
Mark then welcomed back Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker Jeanie Finlay, who talked about her upcoming doc YOUR FAT FRIEND, which follows the life of US-based writer and fat activist Aubrey Gordon. She described meeting the film’s subject, recalling that ‘her writing was tender, I didn’t know who I was going to find’. In fact she found a lively, funny and raucously entertaining woman. Jeanie highlighted the way she likes to balance the emotional tone in her work: ‘If you laugh more, it makes you cry harder’. She also talked about Hirokazu Kazeeda’s AFTER LIFE as a life-changing film.
Our final guest was Oscar-winning director Emerald Fennell, who came on the show to talk about her self-confessedly ‘depraved’ new film SALTBURN. She spoke about the film’s characters as ‘the kind of people you desperately want to like you, or you desperately want to sleep with.’ On writing SALTBURN during lockdown, Emerald described the impulse to write it as ‘what happens to you when you can’t touch people and fluids are forbidden’. For a film that inspired her, Emerald chose CRUEL INTENTIONS, recalling how, when it was released, the film caused ‘immediate loss of virginity’ in her class at school.
Finally Mark paid tribute to the late Richard Roundtree, best known for his portrayal of private detective John Shaft in the 1971 film SHAFT, by playing the film’s iconic opening credits complete with its iconic funk soundtrack.
With thanks to Charlotte Matheson, Josh Glenn, Hannah Greenwood, Sophie Kendrick, Stuart Brown, Jill Reading, Matt Dinsdale, Kelsey O’Connor and Laura Symons for making it all run so smoothly.
And of course to Julie Edwards for the fabulous photographs.