Ready, Set, Gone
Director Mia Maxwell captures an offbeat pas de deux in this collaboration with artist and choreographer Martyn Garside—who features in the film alongside fellow dancer Dores Andre. The concept and structure of the film explore the encoding, storage and retrieval process that we as humans go through to create a memory, says Garside. “This is a love letter to the past, it’s about acknowledging life as we grow."
Interview with Director Mia Gutierrez Maxwell and Choreographer/Writer/Producer Martyn Garside
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Martyn Garside: The initial motivation for the project was that my close friend and collaborator Dores Andre let me know that she would be coming to Edinburgh for a few days on a personal trip. We were principal dancers together with The San Francisco Ballet. She still is, but I left to pursue my career as a choreographer.
Our time together in San Francisco was special, so I wanted to document us being together again and create a piece to celebrate and commemorate this. I felt that making a film would be great and the idea grew from there.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Martyn Garside: Ready, Set, Gone is an improvised dance installation. We created the film as a record, as a love letter to the past. It’s about acknowledging our past lives as we grow. It is a subject that is relatable and moving. We would love viewers to watch the film and reflect on their own lives with us.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Martyn Garside: This particular project is a nod to my personal experiences and the memories I have created. The concept and three part structure explores the universal encoding, storage and retrieval process that we go through as humans to create memories.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
Mia Maxwell: There was never a script. Martyn brought the concept for us to share as collaborators. We were following his lead: his choreography, his feelings and his dialogue. The intention is for the film to have a very ‘present’ feel. We created a treatment with visual references we felt were relevant to the themes, but we wanted to work in the moment. It was important for us to improvise onset. We wanted to experiment with the camera and with the performances. For example, we decided to have Dores repeat Martyn’s dialogue in her native language: Spanish. She began by speaking in English but by the end of the day, we felt it was more organic for her to talk Spanish.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Mia Maxwell: The feedback received so far has been good. The Nowness team were the first audience the film had. The film is now part of their ‘Nowness Picks’ section which gave the film great exposure and reach.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Mia Maxwell: It’s only been a few days since the films release date and the results will come with some time. Hopefully the feedback will be positive and Martyn’s ideas will reach and connect with people.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
Mia Maxwell: We Are Moving Stories gives us the chance as filmmakers and artists to showcase our work to a large audience. It is nice to be able to show our films to people and also to let them into our process by responding to these questions.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Mia Maxwell: After being able to premiere the film on such a great platform as Nowness, we are currently seeking for film festival programmers and distributors in order to expand the film to its full potential.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Mia Maxwell: The aim of the film is not to entertain the audience, but to rather put them in an active observer position. We invite them to take part in the experience by provoking them. We want them to reflect on their own experiences and memories.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Mia Maxwell: The key questions I have been considering since the inception of this process is ‘how aware of the process of memory creation are we? How does memory and its different stages affect our lives as we grow?
Would you like to add anything else?
Mia Maxwell: We would like to thank We Are Moving Stories for supporting our project and offering such a wonderful platform for upcoming filmmakers.
We would also want to thank the rest of the team (Fraser Stephen, Cinematographer - http://www.fraserstephen.com, Stephen Horne, Editor/Colourist - https://www.howexcitingfilms.com) who made this film possible and to Creative Scotland & Nowness for believing in our work.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Martyn Garside: As an associate Artist for Dance Base Edinburgh I get the opportunity to research and develop my choreographic process further and will continue to create dance and art for live performance, installation and film. I split my time between performing, teaching, creating and working as a mental health recovery worker.
Please follow my instagram for more info and news: https://www.instagram.com/martyngarside/
Mia Maxwell: I have recently graduated from Edinburgh College of Art and I am looking for distribution for my graduation short film ‘Vincent’. The film is a quiet observation of the pain and confusion all human beings experience while losing someone they love deeply. It follows a few days in the life of an elderly blind man who finds himself stuck in a timeless landscape of grief after losing his beloved. Confronted with the arrangements of the funeral, his emotional reluctance conflicts with the sudden tangibility of loss: Vincent is forced to connect with the inevitable.
For more updates on the film: https://www.facebook.com/VincentShortFilm/ or www.miagmaxwell.com
Interview: October 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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Ready, Set, Gone.
Director Mia Maxwell captures an offbeat pas de deux in this collaboration with artist and choreographer Martyn Garside—who features in the film alongside fellow dancer Dores Andre.
The concept and structure of the film explore the encoding, storage and retrieval process that we as humans go through to create a memory, says Garside. “This is a love letter to the past, it’s about acknowledging life as we grow."
Length: 00:04:41
Director: Mia Gutierrez Maxwell
Producer: Martyn Garside
Writer/Concept: Martyn Garside
Choreography: Martyn Garside
Cinematography: Fraser Stephen
About the writer, director and producer:
Mia Gutierrez Maxwell/Director:
Originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Mia relocated to Edinburgh to further develop her practice as an artist, writer and director.
She has recently graduated from Edinburgh College of Art with a BA in Film & TV. While in Edinburgh, Mia has directed a series of music videos and short films as well as collaborating with local production companies Enterprise Screen, M2 and Shakehaus.
As a filmmaker, Mia is interested in human behaviour and social interaction. Her aim is to highlight issues we go through in our day-to-day life experience.
Martyn Garside:
Concept/Choreographer/Dancer: Martyn was born in Yorkshire. At the age of 11 Martyn started to train at the Royal Ballet School in London. Upon graduation he was offered a contract with the San Francisco Ballet where he remained for seven years dancing works by classical and modern Masters including Mark Marcus William Forsythe and George Balanchine .
After this time Martyn found himself back in the UK and Europe where he gained more experience working with contemporary choreographers such as Geotrg Reischl, Hiroaki Umeda, Jack Webb, Russell Maliphant and guesting with companies such as your Goteborg Dance company and Danish dance theatre amongst others.
Leaving established company life behind he's finding his way as an independent artist and mental health recovery worker.As an associate artist for Dance Base Edinburgh, Martyn feels curious delving further into his research and development process and the opportunity he gets to explore making new work and movement.
Performers: Martyn Garside, Dores Andre
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): Film Festival Directors, Distributors, Journalists.
Twitter: @Miagmaxwell
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/martyngarside/ & https://www.instagram.com/miameliamia/
Made in association with: Creative Scotland
Where will the film screen in the next month?
The premiere has been done and it is now available on Nowness here: https://www.nowness.com/picks/ready-set-gone-martyn-garside-mia-maxwell