19 year old talks to BAFTA-winning director about new project.
A teenager from Birmingham has been back in the interviewing hot seat recently when she quizzed legendary British director Stephen Daldry about his new film Trash for Into Film, the nationwide education charity, which enables young people to learn about the film industry, contributing to their cultural, creative and personal development, and is supported by the BFI with Lottery funding.
19-year-old Aanisah Sherbaz, who attends Hodge Hill Girls School, has been involved in the Into Film Talent Development programme through the film club at the school. She was invited back as an alumna to interview BAFTA winner Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot, The Reader, The Hours) for his latest film Trash, the story of three children who make a discovery in a trash dump and soon find themselves running from the police and trying to right a terrible wrong. The film has been nominated for ‘Best Film not in the English Language’ at this years BAFTA awards. A
anisah attended a preview screening of the film to help her prepare her questions before chatting to Daldry at the film’s press day abd spoke to the director about the challenges he faced working with the inexperienced young actors that lead the film, the challenges of shooting a bilingual film and the differences and risks of working in working in pacified areas of Rio.
Aanisah said of her experience interviewing Daldry; “I saw the film which was amazing, I absolutely loved every minute of it, I was just so ready to speak to him and find out more about it. The best bit was actually meeting him, he was really lovely to speak to, really easy going, and the interview just flowed.”
Aanisah’s interviews are hosted on the Into Film network for its 10,000 strong membership of schools, colleges and youth groups across the UK to view (www.filmclub.org).
She was given this opportunity as part of her role on the Into Film Talent Development programme, which enables young people with a passion for film to report from film industry events and interact with inspirational people within film whilst still in education, something that is widely regarded by education experts as hugely valuable for raising aspirations and providing information about potential career opportunities. Aanisah’s previous assignments include interviewing GBF director Darren Stein, and actor Michael J. Willet, interviewing Idris Elba at the Film Africa Festival and chatting to the stars on the red-carpet at the 2011 BAFTA Film Awards.
Reflecting on what she’d learnt during her time as an Into Film reporter she added; “I think I learn stuff every single interview, I don’t think you can ever get to the stage where you are like ‘I’m the most perfect interviewer’ there’s always things you can do to better yourself and always things to learn, you’ve just got to let it flow. That’s what I try to do with all of my interviews, just be happy, be myself and enjoy it because its over so quickly, you anticipate it for so long and its over in minutes.”
Into Film is an education charity that seeks to put film at the heart of young people’s learning and promote the use of film as a powerful education resource. Into Film Clubs are free for all state funded schools and non-school settings and offer free access to thousands of films and education resources about film and filmmaking for learning through and about film, as well as learning about the film industry and careers within it. Inclusive and accessible for all students regardless of their background or ability, film clubs help promote young people’s educational, social, moral, spiritual and cultural development helping schools achieve OFSTED requirements.
Supported by the BFI with Lottery funding, Into Film incorporates the legacy and staff of two leading film education charities, FILMCLUB and First Light, building on their experience and success in delivering programs of significant scale and reach to children and young people across the
For further information about Into Film and to start an Into Film Club visit: www.intofilm.org or call 0207 288 4520.