Greg Olliver By Tashi Khan
56th BFI London Film Festival
An Interview with Greg Olliver the director of the film Turned Towards the Sun
Concept, coverage & written By Tashi Khan
Help and assstance by Neeley Lara Gail
fabtashi20@hotmail.comwww.bfilondonfilmfestival.com
www.turnedtowardsthesun.com
Me & Our reN deZ vouS
My schedule in the London Film Festival (10th - 21stOctober 2012) started early in the morning with the entire press screenings one after the other. It was hard as we only have 20 to 30 minutes to catch up with fellow delegates over a cup of coffee or sit and write the reviews to get them out of the way. Time is short and the mind is buzzing for meetings with the directors, trying to arrange sit downs, the afternoon tea and also being available for other events. So we as delegates have to find a secluded spot to sit on the laptop to organise interviews, press talks and attend the Q&A's. However watching films is the priority and we have to get as many films as we can under our belts.
A lot of the time we are dashing between the various venues, BFI, Soho house, Curzon Soho, Hospital club, Odeon West end, Cineworld, Vue and ICA. The whole experience is a frenzy of bodies and thoughts that at times become woozy and you can become engrossed the bubble which is the Film Festival.
A fellow delegate mentioned the name of a documentary Turned towards the Sun; I wanted to have an insight into the director’s mind to establish the reasons behind the concept, also why directors choose these topics? So I rushed from BFI to the Hospital Club to see the film but unfortunately due to heavy traffic I missed the beginning of the film, which is a great shame, but what I did see was a pleasure to watch.
In my little spare time I rushed my request to the delegate centre and they luckily fixed a time for me to interview Greg Oliver. Before the interview, Juliet Dawson the PR of Greg Dawson very kindly sent me the link to watch the whole film which was a treat. Micky's sense of humour at the age of 96 was remarkable and the interview itself was a complete pleasure. Tashi Khn & Greg Olliver
I paced into the busy lobby of the Mayfair Hotel where the interview was taking place with the director and as I glanced around to find Juliet and to find a seat to perch myself, an American gentleman kindly got up and offered me his seat.
Maybe it was my sixth sense when I asked to the man passing ‘Are you Greg?’ He readily responded ‘Indeed I am’ and so we started to search for a calm, quiet corner to have a friendly chat. Shortly after Juliet rushed in breathless as she had intended to introduce us but had texted earlier saying that she will be delayed. She was amazed that we had found each other without her help. Nonetheless we started my questionnaire, the whole interview was very relaxed, light hearted, and Greg covered some great topics.
The Interview
Q-Why did you choose this topic?
A. Adventurous, anyone watching the film is likely to be having fun. ]
Q. How did you film?
A. I followed him on and off for two years, I met him when he was 96 years old.
Q-Why did you choose Micky Burn?.
A . I met one of the investors in the film in an airport, who told me about him and it sounded too good to be true so I went and met him.
Q - What was it about him that you liked?
A. He looked forward to getting old and he made getting old fun, which was a special quality about him. When I met him he was really compelling and now I am myself looking forward to getting old.
Q. Whose idea was it to film the other people?
.A. He had ideas of where he wanted to go and met friends he had not seen in a long time like the Duchess of Devonshire. It was my idea to take him to France and Germany.
Q. Was the film planned or more fly on the wall?
A. The film was a combination of planned and unplanned. He had a lot of fun telling his stories, he loved it.
Q-Why does he mention suicide.
A. He talks about suicide-he was just joking because he wanted to send an e-mail and could not, he was expressing the anger in a funny Mickey sort of way.
Q. Could you have asked him more about Guy Burgess?
A. He got pretty detailed about Guy Burgess he decided to say his piece and I got the most out of him I could. You could not get everything into an hour and half film. was happy to talk about anything.
Q- What is your next project.
.
A. I am also doing a film about blues guitarist Johnny Winter; I am looking for a distributor. Regarding Mickey Burn story, I can let you know about distribution later.
By Tashi Khan
Support By Neeley Lara Gail
Tashi, Juliet Dawson (PR) and the Dir-Greg Olliver in the Lobby of Mayfair Hotel
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