28 March 2024 The Irish Film & Television Network
     
IFTA Q&A Series: Antonia Campbell-Hughes on Directing
02 May 2023 : Luke Shanahan
Antonia Campbell-Hughes
To mark the 20th anniversary of the IFTA awards, we are showcasing Irish talent who are blazing a trail across our industry, working in front of and behind the camera.

Hosted in association with IFTA, this Q&A Series connects with Irish talent who represent a range of disciplines across our industry. 

We find out what they look out for in the projects they take on, what their approach is to filmmaking and collaboration; what inspires them; and what recent work in the industry they most admire.

Antonia Campbell-Hughes is nominated for Best Director of a Film for It Is In Us All. While this is Campbell-Hughes’ first feature in the director’s chair, she is no stranger to filmmaking having directed short films such as Acre Fall Between and Q4L (Quest For Love), as well as a segment as part of The Uncertain Kingdom anthology. She has acted in films such as The Lotus Eaters, The Other Side of Sleep, Kelly + Victor, The Canal, Never Grow Old, Black Medicine, and Cordelia, the latter of which she also co-wrote. 

IFTN: IFTA celebrates 20 years this year. How does this significant milestone reflect the growth and strengthening of the Irish film industry over the past two decades?

ANTONIA: “We’ve seen such enormous change in the past two decades, by way of access. But what is actually quite evident in this particular anniversary, is the traditional and ‘homegrown’ aspect of the work being generated. Irish voices telling Irish stories are being recognised in international film platforms and awards.”

IFTN: What was your approach to making this film, and where did you take inspiration from during the process?

ANTONIA: “The boundaries and rules set in place by this particular funding scheme, very much dictated the film I set out to make. I wrote an Irish-set story about an outsider observing those living within this Irish ground. The process of connecting with the land of your heritage; this was my story.”

“The budget influenced the script I wrote, and then following that, the pandemic coloured marginally how I would shoot. But actually the visual approach and sparsely populated story was always a driving aspect of the world.”

“Most of what I write is a way by which to communicate and show an experience of a world.  Making films allows a fully textured sensory communication. I parallel the subject raised or conversation I wish to incite, with a suitable narrative framework, from which to hang everything else. I never really reference other films, more so photographers and artists.”

“I had been spending a lot of time visiting Donegal, on my own journey of connecting with a place that I was born, but did not know.”

IFTN: Tell me about your experience on set, and your favourite moment during production?

ANTONIA: “The set experience was very different to any I'd experienced previously, and I've been on many many sets. This was due to the pandemic and the level 5 lockdown.” 

“There was quite an ‘in the trenches’ approach. Continuing with committed drive, across all departments, but always ready for the looming possibility of being potentially shut down. People had to be separated, self-driving from location to location. But that concentrated aloneness served well for the story.” 

“On a daily basis, I was conscious to be so grateful to be allowed to proceed.” 

IFTN: How do you approach working with actors, and what advice would you give to aspiring directors on this front?

ANTONIA: “I know that all directors are different, and actors are different. Actors have different needs and wants. I suppose I have had the privilege to observe and participate for nearly 18 years, from the side of being an actor. I very much feel like a filmmaker. I deliver a story through visuals, and feel that each component communicates as much as the words from a character's mouth.”

“But actors are extraordinarily giving, by definition of the job. I feel it's my responsibility to pick up on whether an actor needs a lot of guidance and reassurance, or if they prefer a more orderly and simple instruction.”

IFTN: What was your first role as a director (feature/short), and how has your style changed over the years?

ANTONIA: “The first auteur piece was a short, Quest For Love (Q4L), that coincidentally Piers McGrail shot also. I feel it is very much in a similar vein to my feature. I made another short for The Uncertain Kingdom (BFI), which was a conscious experiment in visual and sensory energy shift. Again this was very much dictated by the brief, the amount of time to execute, and budget.”

“I see shorts as an essential process for learning and self improvement. Building skill sets, camera technical language, steering a ship, working with others, and mainly being confident and certain. If the filmmaker is not clear on what they are doing, how can other departments respect them?”  

IFTN: What filmmaker or director’s work has influenced or inspired you the most? 

ANTONIA: “I maintain that I learnt by experience. I feel great freedom in my work, which comes from a very true place. I do not feel creatively influenced by anyone else’s work. But on the flip side of that, every experience educates and shapes us as individuals.”

“I very much believe in having a full experience of life. The individuals specifically who I have gone on pivotal journeys with, mainly as an actor, I feel that these early moments very much informed how one can be as a filmmaker.”

“Irish auteurs Rebecca Daly & Ivan Kavanagh, they have both touched me deeply and without question have had a huge impact on my life, and my work. I have been lucky enough to work with some wonderful filmmakers. Jane Campion, and Michael Balhaus on his last work. I admire Campion’s creation of the world of the film, which stretches through all departments, and Ballhaus’ grace and ease on set. His lens is handsome with poetry.” 

IFTN: What other Irish filmmakers have you been most impressed by recently?

ANTONIA: “I admire bravery, singular voices and the different paths that can take people on. Seeing what varying ways our work can play out. Vivienne Dick has been such an uncontested film artist for so long. And Martin MacDonagh, his work is so uniquely his own, and recognisable as being that, which I admire enormously.”

“Niall O’Brien has created such an interesting body of work in commercials, art, and fashion, his touch is so instantly evident in everything he does. His ability to document and harness the vitality and life of social groupings. I have been a huge fan of Neil Jordan my whole life. I am so looking forward to seeing what he does next.”

IFTN: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given in your career?

ANTONIA: “‘I don't believe you’. It was a note given early on, as an actor. But I have always felt it applies across the board. Being honest and with complete utter conviction, for me, is the only way. ‘Artsploitation’, as the genius Mark O’Halloran words it, can be sniffed out a mile away.”

The 20th anniversary of the IFTA Awards Ceremony will take place on Sunday, May 7th.





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