An Evening of Independent Film

A curation of short films made by independent filmmakers and friends of SCRT, exploring themes of nature, power and the future.

Films will be shown from 4 up-and-coming directors - Diego Martinez Chacon, Tom Ringsby, Edward Zorab and Cal Murphy Barton.

There are only 20 seats available, so make sure to RSVP here.

April 6th, 7-9 P.M
63 Redchurch Street,
Shoreditch, London.

Drinks kindly provided by 1800 tequila.

An Interview with -

Diego Martinez Chacon

The Future Dream - 24m 32s

Thanks for chatting with us Diego, how'd you first get into film-making?

I started through photography, by approaching the medium as a means of training my sensibilities in image-making, with the goal of moving that sensibility into moving image. This is my first film project, so I feel like I'm now trying to bridge that gap between the two mediums in my own work. When you see the film you can tell it's very photographic. 

And for those who don't know, how'd you first start with SCRT?

Found the brand through a job opening they posted, ended up working there for two years, and now really close friends.

Given that you usually work within the realms of photography and painting, what inspired this particular project?

The film was made much more like a painting than a film. I couldn't really relate to narrative and dialogue as part of the filmmaking process, or even to any set boundaries of ideas. It makes more sense to me to think of film as a medium for expressing a meditation or visual poem - like a raw artistic expression through sound and moving image. I did take a couple of things for certain during the process - Wagner's Vorspiel, which plays during Part I, for example - I knew the film would open with that song, years before I even shot the first image. I didn't plan or know much else about the film, I rather let it reveal itself over time and just become what it is. In that way, I'm at the mercy of its images almost as much as the audience. The images are like colours that were given to me at different points in time over a span of two and something years. Like a painting, the film slowly starts to reveal itself, starts to make sense within its own space, and eventually just becomes what it needs to be.

And future plans?

Getting a publishing house up and running, with the goal of producing books and other projects in fashion, art, sound and space, based in Barcelona with roots and outreach in Europe, London and New York for now. Would also like to start forming a larger scale film project soon. Now that this film is finished I feel like I'm ready to move on to a larger project with some new ideas and more depth of vision. 

An Interview with -

Tom Ringsby

Dragon Boys - 12m 20s

How'd you first get into film-making?

Saw Boogie Nights, went to film school, shot bands to get free gig tickets, now it’s my job and my hobby.

First experience of SCRT?

Got sucked in by a Kubrick t-shirt in the window.

What inspired this particular project?

I first met Prince, a founding member of the Dragon Boys, as my student at a summer-school in Ghana where I taught documentary filmmaking several years ago. We stayed in touch as Prince grew up and his passions for dance and acrobatics merged with fire breathing and other performance art forms he discovered online and through friends who added ballet, clowning and contortion to the mix. He kept sending me videos as their skills developed and their Dragon Family formed. Quite quickly they were being booked on cruise ships, hotels and circuses around the world where they would perform their unique routines. They are some of the few people from their neighbourhoods who have traveled outside the country, making them rockstars in the eyes of the local kids, many of whom they mentor as “Baby Dragons”.

After years of invitations from Prince I finally decided to return to Accra with a suitcase full of film stock, resulting in a three-week creative collaboration with Prince and the Dragon Boys as they welcomed me into their community and lifestyle. It was probably the most interesting three weeks for my life.

Tell us a little about the process of making the film?

The footage could’ve gone a million different directions, but it was by watching rough cuts of scenes as my composer Dicky at Migration Studios messed around with sounds that we really found the tone of the film. Sampling, tweaking and combining audio recordings of local instruments and voices to create this ethereal score that really heightened the visuals.

And future plans?

I wanna make a photo-book and merch and prints of the imagery we captured and try raise some money for the Dragons’ social work while spreading the word about their incredibly community and artistry. Also Prince and I are developing a longer-form hybrid documentary-scripted project we’re gonna seek funding for. 

While still doing less flammable projects in music, fashion and commercials with my team at Intergalactic Studios.

An Interview with -

Edward Zorab

Mycelium - 5m 35s

How did you get into film-making?

Like most, I started when I was much younger, when I first got my hands on a camera. Art school and film school were a big step in doubling down and assimilating into a community of other filmmakers, talents and creatives and now I’m lucky enough to call it my career.

How'd you find out about SCRT?

I’ve been a friend of the brand for a few years now, I directed an AW19 look book film for the iconic Bosch collection, back in SCRT’s old Brixton studio. Since then Adam and Chris have continued championing young artists and creatives like myself and it’s so cool to see a brand that shares so many of the same cultural inspirations as me, and wears them very outwardly, literally in SCRT’s case.

Anything in particular that inspired the project?

I read an article about how the planet’s mycological networks are beginning to be mapped for the first time ever in an effort to conserve them due to their vital relationship with the ecosystems they inhabit and my brain started firing straight away. These articles and mission statements by Jane Goodall were talking about mushroom networks like living cities - it really changed my perspective about what goes on just beneath the surface of the earth - which in turn morphed into paranoia and I started wondering what would happen if some mycological networks were evil when judged through a human morality lens.

How was the process of making the film?

It was shot between Ruislip woods and Richmond park over 1.5 days during November when the autumnal trees are at their most vibrant, impressive colour but equally you only have about 7 hours of useable light during a working day. A lot of it was shot in slow motion for a more ‘out of body’ effect and the lenses we used were super wide open and close for an intense visual experience. We used heavily manipulated whale song as a basis for the sound design as well as warped violins and distorted car ignitions.  

Any furure plans?

Mycelium is being developed into a feature-length film. It follows Eva, a troubled tech entrepreneur recovering from a prescription drug overdose, who opts to spend a week in nature attempting psilocybin treatment. When she arrives in the forest she’s meant to trek through, her grasp on reality takes a steady and relentless nose dive as she grapples with the past trauma that led her here and the malevolent mycological eco-system working against her in increasingly disturbing and sinister ways. 

An Interview with -

Cal Murphy Barton

The Man From Tormentor - 9m 14s

How did you get into film-making?

Career-schizophrenia.

How did you find out about SCRT?

Chris Narey! (Our Creative Director)

What inspired this particular project?

Daft ideas. But more authentically, John.

Tell us a little about the process of making the film?

It took a shamefully long time. I've just realised we shot it in February 2018 - over five years ago. Dread.

And future plans?

I'm labouring along with another years-consuming project. Tubridy Plumb (sound designer on TMFT) makes a begged-for return. Shout out Tubs!

Shout out Tubs