18-year-old award winning director Kate Lane screened short film in Framestore CFC in Oxford Circus, home to the largest visual effects studio in Europe with working credits on Harry Potter, Troy and Cold Mountain.
The 12 minute short film titled ‘Finding Yourself’ attracted a wide diverse audience in search of fresh new talent. Amongst cast and crew, numerous industry professionals attended the screening. Mike Woods, head of production at MobTV comments ‘Excellent sequences that point towards someone who's dedicated and talented.’ Mary Lewis, a former BBC employee adds ‘To make a 12 minute film there never seems to be enough time to squeeze in a good story. ‘Finding Yourself’ achieves that.’
‘Finding Yourself’ is about a young play writer called Rachel (Sasha Jackson) torn between fitting in and being normal, or pursuing her dreams but at a cost of having to sacrifice everything else.
Writer, director, producer and editor Kate Lane was awarded Best short film at the Peter Kittel Film festival for her last film ‘Young Souls.’ She then went on to secure funding for her next project ‘Finding Yourself’ and assembled a strong professional cast and crew. She comments ‘the experience of working in a professional environment enabled me to develop the talent that I acquired as well as grow as a filmmaker.’
Lead actress Sasha Jackson has appeared in commercials as well as TV (ITV, BBC and Channel 4) working alongside Harry Enfield. She has since completed numerous short films and two feature films, one of which is bound for American and European release. Sasha comments on Kate ‘She brought out the best in my performance and took me back to some really tough times in my life and relate those to the situations that Rachel faces, and this helped to bring a realism to the emotions.’
Co-starring with Sasha was Ian Keir Attard, playing Jamie a teenage heartthrob. Ian started his professional career in theatre playing Richard, Duke of York, in Richard III at the Leicester Haymarket and has toured twice to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Ian adds ‘This young film directors enthusiasm and dedication will I’m sure result in more new films of her high quality standard.’
In ‘Finding Yourself’, the young play writer struggles with a mother who believes she is pursuing a hopeless dream. Amanda Fullerton who plays Rachel’s mum has been cast in several short films and a feature. The feature will be distributed in 2006 and will compete at Cannes.
‘Finding Yourself’ deals with universal themes of teenage life. Kate describes the film as ‘a personal journey that is close to my heart. It is inspired by the realities of life and the obstacles that I have encountered as a teenager. The film explores identity and people feeling the need to fit in, in order to feel accepted. It reflects the importance of following the most truthful and honest path we can, even if that means making sacrifices.’
From the age of 7, Kate started as a professional actress for television at Sylvia Young agency, landing roles in commercials, a BBC television series and the hit series Casualty. Then at the age of 13 she discovered her true passion in life, and before even picking up a video camera, she created her company name ‘Heart and Soul Films.’ ‘It is and will always be my aim to make films that affect people and have an emotional response that is more than entertainment. This is why I wanted to be a filmmaker, to tell stories that matter and make a difference.’
The film was shot in four days in her local town Watford. A great team was pulled together including Andrew Mott, the Director of Photography. With 25 years of experience working for the BBC TV center, Andrew’s credits include BBC2’s culture show, channel 4’s Saturday night TV, football focus and Blue Peter. Alongside the team is Music composer Dave Loughran whose credits include the Rat Pack in the West End Savoy theatre and work for the Birmingham Rep Theatre.
‘Finding Yourself’ was Executive produced by Chee Keong Cheung of Intense Productions.
Kate has received positive feedback and is exited to be taking it to international festivals. She is now looking to attract a producer and funding for her next project, which will start in July.
For further information on Kate please visit www.heartandsoulfilms.co.uk
