Manchester International Film Festival / The Cannes Short Film Corner 2020 – Fargate
This short British action comedy is a story of two women on a mission - one to pay her overdraft, the other to stop a bank robbery. The adventure begins.
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer/Actor Sally Cancello
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I wanted to write a female-led comedy short set in my home city of Sheffield. I also wanted to write something that showed my style of comedy and was also a platform for older, northern female actors. It is close to my heart as it is about a working-class, northern family and the crazy dynamics that go on between them. In the film, Maureen assumes that her daughter is going to rob a bank after they have a miscommunication on the phone and enrols other family members to help find her. When the idea came to me, I thought it would make a great plot for a comedy and I very much related to the family dynamics in the story.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
My inspiration to write is always to create a story and characters in which people can see themselves. If they can experience joy and relief in knowing that we’re all the same, then that’s my ultimate goal. I think that the audience will be able to relate to having their own crazy family who you love to bits but who also drives you bonkers. I think that they’ll also enjoy the comedy of errors and chance confusions, which feature in this film. I also hope they’d have some laugh out loud moments and be able to draw other parallels with their own lives.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Coming from a family of six children and many cousins, I think that family is very important to me and is one of the main themes in this film. When you come from a big family, it’s easier for there to be crossed purposes and also a franticness to even getting the simplest jobs done, which can also be seen in the film. Love and togetherness are also strong themes, which come from my own family and are also a big part of northern culture.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
I worked on the script for about four months before applying for development/production funding from submitting it to the BFI NETWORK (who use National Lottery money to support shorts filmmakers). In addition to my own rewrites, I also received feedback from the BFI NETWORK Execs Alice Ramsey and Amy O'Hara on the script and edit, which was very helpful. Very little changed during the first days of filming but I did have to modify some blocking in quite an important scene due to lack of time (which fortunately turned out to be a much better choice than my original idea!). We then had a two-week break before our final filming, which turned out to be a great opportunity to think through what we’d already filmed. When we came back to filming, I decided to add a new character to create more tension in a later scene and Sara Shulman (one of our producers) suggested a different final scene, which I realised very last minute could also feature our new character.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
So far, we’ve only shown it at the Manchester International Film Festival, which was just before lockdown. The response was extremely positive and the audience found it very funny. People shared that they loved the characters, comedy, story and that they also thought it was very well shot.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Not really. I’m very happy that it’s been so well received but comedy is very subjective, so you can never know how an audience will find it. Having said this, I think that the themes in the film are universal and very relatable, so I hope that future audiences continue to enjoy it.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I hope that it will help to give the film a platform so that more people are aware of it and also to inspire other filmmakers who are also making female-led projects.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Anyone who is passionate about amplifying female-led films.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I hope that people really enjoy the film and that it ends up being a springboard for future projects.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Over the last few years, there have been important developments in the film industry. However, there is still a significant difference in the number of films directed by women. This needs to be addressed. Fargate was my first funded short film made by 95% local talent and most heads of department were women, which I believe contributed to the quality of the representation of the community and characters often not as visible in mainstream cinema. The diversity of the director is as important as the diversity of the story. This issue needs more attention so that more opportunities can be provided for women and minority directors to make films, share their voices and contribute to the growth of choice for audiences that love film.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I’m currently working on a BFI funded treatment for a comedy feature film and I’m also developing two comedy tv shows and my next short film.
Interview: May 2020
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. 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
Fargate
This short British action comedy is a story of two women on a mission - one to pay her overdraft, the other to stop a bank robbery. The adventure begins.
Length: 18:02
Director: Sally Cancello
Producer: Sally Cancello, Georgia Ball and Sara Shulman.
Writer: Sally Cancello
About the writer, director and producer:
SALLY CANCELLO is an award-winning actor, writer, director and producer based in Sheffield. She studied acting and theatre directing in London before progressing onto film. She started writing and filming her own comedy in 2014, going on to film ten comedy shorts/sketches over the next 18 months. Sally entered The Funny Women Awards with her fifth short film Time Again, which won Best Comedy Short. She continued to make comedy films on zero budget until she secured a production award from BFI NETWORK, using funds from the National Lottery for her current short film, Fargate. Sally has also produced 16 short films, a teaser for Warner Brothers, two radio shows for Women's radio and a comedy web series. Sally's main passion is comedy but she's also drawn to hard-hitting stories too.
GEORGIA BALL is an Independent Female Producer also is based in Yorkshire. Georgia has produced a multitude of short films which have received both national and international praise, including her previous BFI and Creative England iShort comedy film, Chance.
SARA SHULMAN has produced a variety of multi-award-winning and nominated short films, which have played at film festivals around the world. Sara is also the Founder and Editor of Comedy Blogedy, TEDxUCL Speaker on 'The Power of Funny' and is hugely passionate about supporting and developing new comedy writers, directors and performers.
Key cast: Gillian Waugh (Maureen Badger), Rita May (Ethel Badger), Sally Cancello (Kelsey Badger), Michael Forrest (Barry Badger), Sarah Breen (Kerry Badger) and Marvyn Dickinson (Postman).
Facebook: Fargate
Twitter: @FargateFilm
Instagram: @fargatefilm
Hashtags used: #Fargatefilm
Website: www.northernsoleproductions.co.uk/fargate
Other: IMDb
Made in association with: Northern Sole Productions
Funders: BFI NETWORK.