Athena Film Festival - The Rain Collector
A young woman in Victorian England confounds ideas of what is appropriate or expected, and finds purpose and maybe even love through science. Inspired by true events, supported by the Alfred P Sloan Foundation.
Interview with Writer/Director Isabella Wing-Davey
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Thanks! I wanted to make a period short film that challenged stereotypes, about gender, about women in science, about the genre, and, having been in New York for 8 years, I wanted to go back to the UK, which has such a great history of period drama, and do something surprising.
Women who aren’t pretty find comfort in books. The narrative of smart vs pretty girls is so destructive to young women. I wanted to make a film that shows a young woman who is charming and pretty but chooses to be interested in more than male attention. It’s not that she was ignored and therefore got involved in something intellectual: part of her charm and humor comes from the fact that she’s intense about her interests.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
You should watch The Rain Collector because it’s a period film that feels wide in scope and scale which was made on a budget, and there’s a girl in a corset up a tree and you don’t see that very often!
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Ultimately the film is about challenging expectations. Vanessa frustrates her mother’s expectations of appropriate female behaviour. In fact, every character provides a challenge for Vanessa and her own idea of what she should be doing, whether it’s her mother, the delivery man, or Captain Fitzwiliam. But it is also a hopeful film, about the possibilities of being your own woman, and following your dream, and the idea that that doesn’t necessarily have to be alienating.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?
The script changed a lot through development, because I wrote the first draft a few years before we got to shoot the film. Originally it was a single scene film, but I realised that we needed more context and that the world that Vanessa was living in was definitely worth exploring which would add to the drama of the film. When Wigwam Films came on to produce the film in the UK they had amazing script notes that really helped bring out the nuances in the characters.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
We’ve been really lucky with the feedback. The Alfred P Sloan Foundation and the NYU Grad Film department were the first people to give feedback on the project, and they saw the potential in this story which made it possible for us to make the film. They supported the project at the development stage and it gave us the confidence to push forward to production, and just as we were having our festival premiere the Hollywood Foreign Press Association gave us a post production grant which helped enormously with delivery and festivals, which was a great boost.
We premiered the film at Leeds International Film Festival (in Yorkshire in England in the area where we shot the film) which was very special to us, to show the film there first, and we had a great response from local people. We’ve also been all over the US with the film, IFFBoston, Dallas Film Festival, FLICKERS Rhode Island International Film Festival, and to have the film pick up awards has been very encouraging.
I’m really pleased that the look of the film has received recognition as well, I had a very specific look and color palette that I wanted for the film, and it was wonderful to work with such an incredibly talented creative team, Neus Ollé (Cinematographer), Antonia Lowe (Production Design) and Charlotte Espiner (Costume Design), to create the world for these characters, and the positive feedback has really reflected that, both in Q&As and also a Production Design award for Antonia Lowe.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I’ve noticed at screenings that audiences laugh at different places in the film, and there are moments that really connected to the audience in Dallas that didn’t make people laugh somewhere else for example, that’s been surprising. And also the way that people have reacted to the mother character has been fascinating to me. Some people find her sympathetic and then other people see her as some sort of Draconian figure. There’s been a very interesting split and I do think speaks to the biases of the audiences themselves and what they’re expecting to see in a period film.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I hope it encourages people to come and see the film and to learn more about The British Rainfall Organisation and the role of women in scientific volunteer organisations of the time.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
I’m interested in showing the film wherever people would like to see it, and so it’d be great to talk to more distributors or additional festival directors about the film. I also think that the film could have educational value, to be apart of the debate about women in STEM, and so it would be great to start a dialogue with journalists and educators.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I would love people to explore the hidden stories of women in science and if the film helps to give someone a way into that world, and peaks their interest, then that’s great!
As with any film, I hope that it contributes to a dialogue about the subject matter. I’m pleased to be part of the conversation about women in STEM, and pushing forward more nuanced depictions of women on screen. It’s been really heartening in the last 12 months to see women in science appearing on screen, and I’m excited to see studios start backing films, like Hidden Figures, which are shining a light on forgotten women who have contributed so much.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
How can we change perceptions of women in science? How can we change the pretty vs smart categorisation of girls and women.
Would you like to add anything else?
Geena Davis says “if she can see it she can be it” and I think it’s incredibly important to make films that feature women and POC in nuanced roles, so that we’re contributing to a world on screen that reflects the lives lived off screen. This is a period film, but with a very contemporary message about female ambition and female power, and I’m excited about a lot of the work being created right now that is trying to address that.
I’m also very pleased that our creative team was all female, and they were incredibly talented and I was very lucky to get to work with them. We had some great guys on set as well, and our editor, Matthew C Hart was a great asset to the project, but to tell this story with so many women was behind the camera very exciting to me.
Oh, and a big shout out to IndieGoGo and Fractured Atlas and all of our backers who helped us get through post production!
What are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I’m based in New York, and I’m developing a feature film about two sisters coming of age at 30 in Brooklyn via neuroscience and wedding planning with one of my producers from “The Rain Collector” and then I’m planning on developing “The Rain Collector” into a feature film in the UK. In terms of short form projects, there’s also a web series in the works about classical chamber music and film sets in New York. I also have a tiny single scene short film, “Waiting” that will be premiering online later this month. IsabellaWingDavey.com
The Producers:
Emily Leo/(Wigwam Films (http://www.wigwamfilms.com/) and Theodora Dunlap (http://www.parkpictures.com/page/features) are developing some amazing feature film projects in the UK and Emilia Reid is making short form content in the UK as both a Producer and Director.
The creative team:
Antonia Lowe, Neus Olle are both working in Europe on exciting feature films, commercials and shorts and Charlotte Espiner (Costume Design) has exciting theatre and film projects coming up as well.
More info:
Neus Ollé (DP) http://neusolle.com/
Antonia Lowe (Production Design) http://antonialowe.co.uk/
Charlotte Espiner (Costume Design) http://www.charlotteespiner.com/
Interview: February 2017
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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The Rain Collector
A young woman in Victorian England confounds ideas of what is appropriate or expected, and finds purpose and maybe even love through science. Inspired by true events, supported by the Alfred P Sloan Foundation.
Length:
12 minutes
Director:
Isabella Wing-Davey
Producer:
Theodora Dunlap, Emily Leo, Emilia Reid
Writer:
Isabella Wing-Davey
About the writer, director and producer:
ISABELLA WING-DAVEY (WRITER/DIRECTOR) is an award-winning British filmmaker, a Film Independent Fellow and a NYFF Artist Academy Fellow. THE RAIN COLLECTOR (2015) (Alfred P Sloan Foundation, HFPA) starring Celine Buckens and Hermione Norris played at festivals around the world including Leeds International Film Festival, London Short Film Festival (nominated: Best Woman Director), Dallas International Film Festival, IFFBoston, Fusion Film Festival (Audience Choice Award) and FLICKERS Rhode Island International Film Festival.
She holds an MFA from NYU’s Graduate Film Program and has also produced many award-winning short films (Frances Bodomo’s AFRONAUTS, Sundance, Berlinale, Rotterdam) and worked in development and production on projects for Showtime and Lionsgate with Cooper’s Town Productions. She splits her time between New York and London and has two feature films in development.
PRODUCERS:
THEODORA DUNLAP (PRODUCER) is a New York based film and television producer. Her film credits include ROBOT & FRANK (Sundance 2012), INFINITELY POLAR BEAR (Sundance 2014, Golden Globe nominated 2015), GOD’S POCKET (Sundance 2014), COP CAR (Sundance 2015), and OTHER PEOPLE (Sundance 2016), THE HERO (Sundance 2017). In 2016 she produced a Super Deluxe web series, BKPI. Dunlap has several properties in development for the screen and web including, THE BETTER HALF series, MIND YOUR BUSINESS, I LOVE MY SISTER, by Isabella Wing-Davey, the literary property THE REAL ALL AMERICANS.
EMILY LEO (PRODUCER) started her career as an acquisitions executive at Capitol Films before moving to Kudos / Shine as a development executive in 2008. She is BAFTA nominated producer and a co-founder of Wigwam Films. Recent projects: UNDER THE SHADOW (Sundance 2016, BAFTA-nominated), iBoy (Netflix).
EMILIA REID (PRODUCER) is a director and producer based in London. Her short films as a director and producer have played in festivals throughout the UK and internationally. Emilia is a self-taught filmmaker, having learnt on the job whilst assisting directors such as Simon Curtis and Mandie Fletcher and cultivating her style through music videos and short films over the last seven years.
Key cast:
Celine Buckens
Max Bennett
Hermione Norris
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists):
Film festival directors, distributors, journalists.
Funders:
Alfred P Sloan Foundation, Hollywood Foreign Press Association, IndieGoGo backers
Made in association with:
Wigwam Films, Powder Room Films
Where can I see it in the next month?
We've had an amazing festival run and We're thrilled to be playing at Athena Film Festival 2017 in New York as part of Shorts II (Feb 11th, 3pm and Feb 12th, 1.30pm) and I’ll be there for Q&As.
After that, we're excited to be embarking on short film distribution. Please check TheRainCollectorFilm.com for updates about where it can be seen, and then we’re planning to release it online later in 2017.