The fantasy of Santa Claus is horribly exposed on Christmas Eve.
Written, Directed and Produced by Alasdair Melrose
Starring Rose Muirhead, Alison Brougham, Mike Duran, Alasdair Melrose, Simon Anthony and Agnese
DONA & VIXEN was an Official Selection at our first annual People’s Film Festival screening as part of our Late Night Grindhouse and nominated for Best Cinematography, Best First Time Filmmaker, and Best Production Design.
READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH THE FILMMAKER
TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR FILMMAKING BACKGROUND:
I trained as an actor and learnt pretty quickly that unless fate makes your dinner you have to get on with things yourself. The first place to start is writing. I used to think acting was a deadly bug. Now I know writing is more contagious. Still, there are worse things to catch…
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE INSPIRATION BEHIND YOUR FILM?:
I’m not sure what inspired the film. I wrote it after spending an evening writing something else only for Dona & Vixen to pop out at the end. I think I have a lot of reservations around the ‘western’ commercial Christmas we celebrate and the messages it gives to young people. Possibly there? Who knows…
WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO BRING THIS FILM TO LIFE AND WHAT OBSTACLES DID YOU OVERCOME ALONG THE WAY?:
Making this film was like doing a three-year film degree in three days. Never have I learnt so much in such a short space of time. It was brilliant. The biggest obstacle however was the absence of our caterer on the first day of filming. Trying to crack out a chilli for a 15-man crew whilst making a movie was no easy task. Needless to say, the movie came out better than the chilli…
DID YOU HAVE ANY CREATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR CREATING QUALITY CONTENT ON A MINIMAL BUDGET?:
When writing, always work with what you know. You either go big and make the biggest budget script imaginable and let someone else worry about how to make it or you go small and think about what you have access to as a filmmaker. If you are the writer, you manage the budget in the script.
WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE PART OF THE FILMMAKING PROCESS?:
“ACTION!” (and editing… and production design…)
DO THINK THE SHORT FILM IS A GOOD SPRINGBOARD INTO FEATURE FILMMAKING, OR IS YOUR END GOAL TO CONTINUE MAKING SHORT FILM?:
It’s the best place to start to find out if you really want to make movies. And it’s the only thing that’s going to tell you if you have what it takes.
ANY FILM RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE CAN WATCH TO KEEP US BUSY WHILE SOCIAL DISTANCING:
Just one for the season as we all need some cheer;
“And the Grinch raised his glass, and led the Whos in a toast
To kindness and love, the things we need most!”
Have a safe and Merry Christmas.
Interested in getting your work selected as Short of the Week?