Written, directed & PRODUCED by GILLIAN HARKER
An embittered, young woman discovers she has the power to exact revenge on her ex-boyfreind who has the audacity to move on with another woman.
ABOUT THE FILM
JINX was created for the 2020 Straight 8 competition and placed Top 25. It also won Best Celuloid at Film Only Festival, was an official section at Tweetfest 2020, and was selected by Shiny Network for the New Directors Programme 2021.
ABOUT THE FILMmaker
Gillian is an award-winning writer and director, recognised by Shiny Network as one of the ‘best new directing talents worldwide’. She is a member of Directors UK and specialises in bold, character-driven storytelling.
Her latest short film, Strip the Peacock Bare- starring Abigail Hardingham, Jess Douglas-Welch, Andre Flynn and Simon Phillips- is currently in post-production. Her previous short film, Tackling, premiered at the BAFTA-qualifying Aesthetica Film Festival in 2022. As a writer, she reached the quarter-finals of the Outstanding Screenplays TV Pilot Competition (2024) with her debut pilot script, 'Blooming Elle.'
Gillian’s debut short, Cross, starring Ryan Hayes, won multiple awards, including Best Male Actor at the BIFA-qualifying Little Wing Film Festival 2019 and the Audience Award at the 20th Keswick Film Festival 2020.
Her Straight 8 films Jinx and Day 60 were selected for the 2020 and 2021 competitions by a judging panel that included Academy Award-winners Asif Kapadia and Robbie Ryan. Her 2021 film Feast screened at several UK festivals, including BIFA-qualifying Little Wing and Kino: The People’s Festival, and was nominated for Best English Short Film at the British Short Film Awards 2021.
READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH GILLIAN
Welcome Gill!
You’re no stranger to Kino. A few of your shorts have been Official Selections during the early years of our festival, we’ve featured Cross as a previous Short of the Week, and you’ve been programming for KLSFF the past three years.
How has your experience as a film programmer informed your own filmmaking?
My experience as a film programmer has definitely informed my filmmaking, though the influence is sometimes more instinctive which I find harder to articulate. After three years programming at Kino, I’d say I've developed a much sharper sense of what doesn’t work in a film and a real appreciation for not wasting a single second of screen time. The opening has to be strong and decisive, of course, but it also needs a distinct tone, whatever the genre. How to achieve that is the challenge every filmmaker wishes they had a blueprint for. Whether I'm able to harness that understanding and apply it to my own filmmaking remains to be seen! No film is ever perfect.
Programming has also reinforced something I've felt almost allergic to: films that lean too heavily on style over substance. I want every creative choice- the aesthetic, the costumes, the production design, etc...- to feel rooted in the world of the story, not just a “let’s make it a bit Wes Anderson here”. Finding your own distinct voice is hard, and trusting it without being swayed by what looks “cool” is even harder. When I made my latest short, Strip the Peacock Bare, I was really conscious of staying anchored in the roots of the story when making stylistic decisions. Part of the fun for me is always asking why: Why do they wear this and not that? Why does the scene take place here and not somewhere else? Why this choice over that one?
I’d also hope my experience as a programmer will make rejection a little easier to swallow, because I’ve genuinely seen how often we have to make really tough decisions. We’ve rejected films that one (or more) of us have absolutely loved, for reasons completely beyond the filmmaker’s control. Having said that, I don't feel like rejection is ever palatable!
You’ve also been quite heavily involved with the Straight 8 community, and Jinx was created specifically for their competition. Can you tell us a bit about the competition?
I love the Straight 8 competition and I love talking about it. I’ve recommended it to so many people, especially emerging filmmakers, I feel like I should be on commission! In a nutshell, you shoot on a single roll of Super 8, which gives you around 2.5 to 3 minutes. Only in-camera editing is allowed, and there’s zero post-production. The sound and score have to be created separately and then synced at the lab, so nailing the timing is everything. It’s really challenging. But so, so fun! It's a wonderful community of filmmakers and I've been so incredibly inspired by many of the Straight 8 films I've seen.
sounds quite challenging. How did you find the process, and any tips & tricks for filmmakers looking to try Straight 8?
I absolutely loved making Jinx. Hard to believe it was over five years ago now. It was my first time doing Straight 8 and also my first time working on celluloid, and the process ended up teaching me a huge amount, especially about “show, don’t tell.” Because syncing dialogue is so difficult in Straight 8, I decided early on to make it a silent film, which pushed me to think in a much more purely visual way. With only one roll of Super 8, every frame had to matter and every moment had to move the story forward. Oddly enough, those limitations were incredibly energising.
Acting in it myself added another layer. I felt that in past projects I had been a bit vague with my character intentions, but Straight 8 leaves no room for that- there’s no rescuing a performance in the edit. I had to be very precise about what the character wanted in every single take. And honestly, I loved the chance to lean into something a bit heightened; Super 8 can really embrace slightly over-the-top performances.
Because you only get one take per shot, rehearsal became a crucial part of the process. I adore rehearsing with actors anyway- it’s where the magic happens- but for Straight 8 it’s basically essential. That would be my number one tip to someone looking to make a Straight 8 film. Rehearse!
To help with the musical score sync, I also shot and edited a rough proxy version on my phone, which acted as both a storyboard and a pacing guide. It was incredibly useful, and I’d definitely recommend that to anyone attempting Straight 8 for the first time. My 1st AD was really dilligent with helping me keep the pacing accurate for each shot. The whole process is challenging, but if you embrace the constraints, it becomes really fun.
What’s the inspiration behind Jinx? Would the themes & characters you explore in Jinx have manifested themselves in a digital short had you not done the Straight 8 competition or is there something specific to this story that you felt needed to be told via an 8mm format?
One of my favourite short stories is Thomas Hardy’s 'The Withered Arm'. The ostrasized protagonist learns her ex-lover, and father to her illegitimate child, has just got married to a beautiful, younger woman. Her curiosity and jealously of the new bride quickly becomes a dark obsession and the story takes a gory, supernatural turn with devastating consequences. It's incredible. The seeds of Jinx came from a really and truly dreadful short script I had written based, very loosely, on this brilliant Hardy story, but in a contemporary setting. I soon abandoned that version but the themes of jealousy- particularly between women- loneliness and obsession present in 'The Withered Arm' was something I wanted to keep exploring. I also loved the supernatural element in the original story.
I did feel Super 8 was naturally suited to a tale with gothic undertones. Its texture and moodiness complement that world beautifully. And, as I mentioned before, Super 8 also lends itself to slightly heightened performances reminiscent of the silent era, which fit the tone of the film perfectly.
The idea for the doll came from exploring and researching folk magic and witchcraft in Old England. 'Poppets' were dolls made to represent a person, for casting spells on that person- sometimes love spells, but often harmful, vengeful spells. I quite liked the idea of exploring the reasons for wanting to use one of these dolls on someone, and it was particularly fascinating to think about its use for revenge. I wish I had a more scholarly answer as to why I was interested in exploring themes of revenge and jealously at that time, but I had just come out of a long-term relationship so I thought maybe it would be best to channel my heartbreak in a healthy, creative way!! I also wanted to find the dark humour in it all, and hopefully that translates in the final film.
The characters actually did manifest themselves more becasue of the 8mm and competition restraints. Everything had to come down to the aesthetic. My mood board for this film was an eclectic mix of visuals. I was really drawn to the work of Edvard Munch too, not just The Scream, but his other works which all depict mental illness, self-loathing, isolation and loneliness in such vividly harrowing, heart-breaking ways. The raw, devastation leaps off the canvas and I wanted to capture some of that in my film. I was really struck by the iconic images of Heath Ledger as The Joker with the smeared red lips, which I echoed for the first moment of possession. I hoped to evoke from that a sense of madness, unbalance and the thirst for violence the protagonist has. For the choreography and movement visuals, we looked at moments from The Exorcist, and images of contortionists to try to evoke the feeling of violence being inflicted on Maddy's character, and the fear and pain she would be in having been possessed.
As a short film programmer, what pieces of feedback do you find yourself giving to filmmakers most consistently? How can filmmakers looking to make moves in the short film space avoid common mistakes?
I don’t really know if I give advice. I think most filmmaker can sense what works and what doesn’t when they watch something but it’s much harder to apply to our own work. I would say that the opening few moments in a short film really do matter. If other programmers are like me, they’ll be watching your short on their laptop with a bunch of other films waiting to get seen. I would definitely watch lots of short films, not just features. Watch some early short films from filmmakers that you are inspired by. I think it’s important to watch the early stuff because in most cases you can see the spark but without the finesse which can perhaps be intimidating to grassroots filmmakers.
You’ve recently wrapped your next short, the ambitious period drama Strip the Peacock Bare. How did production go & can you give us a sneak peak?
I’m really excited to get Strip the Peacock out there. It’s an idea that’s been brewing for about a decade but lay dormant for many years. Production went (mostly) really well. There were really stressful moments at the time, but I look back now and think how much luck was on our side. In terms of a sneak peak, I can't share anything just yet other than a still from the film, but what I will say is that the actors are astonishing. I think we have something really unique to show people. I'm a little apprehensive to talk about it becasue I don't want to 'jinx' anything!!
Recommendations to add to our watchlist? Give us 1 short, 1 Hollywood feature, & 1 indie feature.
This is tough, but as we're talking about a film I made on film, I thought I would recommend films also shot on film.
1 Short:
I’d definitely recommend browsing the Straight 8 website as they’ve got a great selection of past films. One of my favourites is Crumbs, which you can find there. It’s a perfect example of how inventive filmmakers can get within the Straight 8 constraints.
1 Hollywood Feature:
Since it’s currently in cinemas, I’d suggest One Battle After Another. It’s bold, beautifully crafted and dizzyingly exciting. It's definitely worth seeing on the big screen.1 Indie:
Bait by Mark Jenkin. I adore this British indie, shot on 16mm. It’s a brilliant example of a filmmaker with a truly distinct voice- someone who isn’t swayed by trends or what’s considered “marketable,” and instead commits completely to the aesthetic and storytelling style that serves the film. I also think its trajectory is incredibly inspiring for grassroots filmmakers.
