The debut feature, TO NOWHERE (2020), of Sian Astor-Lewis is one of the best films I've seen this year, and she's here to talk about it. It's available now for streaming on Amazon, Tubi, and Apple.

The story of how she directed such a moody, original, character-driven film is an extraordinary one. The sets and vision are big, bold, and she's here to talk about it.

In this episode, we discuss:

• how she got a start in filmmaking;
• what it's like when the distance between what you dreamed about and what you're doing (making your first feature) close to zero;
• how you create characters that come across as amazingly authentic;
• the importance of casting in character study filmmaking;
• how she made the universe of TO NOWHERE so large even with a lower budget;
• ** the problems with trusting the wrong producer in indie films (this happens more often than we know) **
• what it's like being a female director;
• the environment in the UK for an indie filmmaker;
• and what's next for this character-driven filmmaker.

Sian's Indie Film Highlight: FEMME (2023) dir. by Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping; LA CHIMERA (2024) dir. by Alice Rohrwacher

Links:

Watch TO NOWHERE (2020) Now On Amazon

TO NOWHERE Website

Follow Sian Astor-Lewis on Instagram

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