Choice Brits - Script Factory

Previous BAFTA winner applauds Choice Brits!

Asif Kapadia joined us on Sunday to introduce David Mackenzie's The Last Great Wilderness and described how he welcomed the screening series as a way of giving due credit to the British films eligible for awards this season.

Asif, double BAFTA winner himself for his debut feature The Warrior, had this to say:
 
Choice Brits: Asif Kapadia introduces The Last Great Wilderness
Sunday 16 November, 2003, Bafta, London WC1
 
"Hello. I think Choice Brits is a really good idea! Essentially, this is something that we didn’t have last year, and when you’ve got your own film out there, you’re up against these huge studio films with a big cast and an amazing amount of money helping to promote them. We might not be getting the DVDs and the tapes this year, but essentially you’re still getting all that stuff. If you haven’t got the money, you’re really trying to battle against these movies. Really, the films should stand for themselves, but you’ve got to get a chance to see them.
 
I went to a screening last week of Touching the Void and Danny Boyle was there, and to hear him speak, it did actually make an impression on me, to hear someone out there supporting another movie from the British film industry and saying “you should be out there watching these films, and most importantly voting for them”.
 
I think it’s a very positive time right now for the British film industry, I think there’s a lot of really talented filmmakers coming through. A lot of people whom I know from when I was making shorts – David [MacKenzie] is one of these people. We travelled around together for quite a few years actually with our short films, including sharing a flat together in Portugal at some point – so this is amazing to see David’s first film up here. I can’t think of many people who have got their first and their second films made in the same year and to have them both up for the BAFTAs - and David’s managed to do that. He’s already shot his third film, so I think I need to learn from him in terms of being prolific!
 
I saw this film the other day, and it’s a very good start. We’ve got a really talented director here, and he’s created a world of his own, he’s made a very cinematic film, up in Scotland, shot on digital, but it’s a really powerful story, co-written by David himself, and his brother who’s also the star of the movie, and Michael Tait. I really enjoyed it and I think you will too.
I just think that, apart from the film itself, and the director and the cast, something I’ve noticed is that the people behind the scenes sometimes get missed, the composers or the editors or the cinematographers. Whenever I see a shortlist for the films being nominated for an award, I often see the same studio movies being represented in every category; I think it’s really important that the people behind the scenes also get their dues. If someone’s done a great job, it might not look as expensive as other movies, but if it’s right for the movie then it’s doing the job that it’s meant to do.
 
Anyway that’s it, I hope you enjoy it. I think it’s a great idea, well done to the Film Council, BAFTA and The Script Factory for doing this and I hope it carries on! "
 
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