Independent & Gravity Road Talk BAFTA

Cast your minds back to the chagne-fuelled memories of November’s shots Awards 2013 and those of you who joined us at 8 Northumberland for the ceremony to celebrate the latest winners will remember Gravity Road picking up Branded Short Film of the Year for its Room 8 submission.

Having been created for – and winning – Bombay Sapphire’s filmmaking competition prior to the event, the piece has been no stranger to success but Sunday’s BAFTA event would prove to be the ultimate triumph, as the film won the prize in the short film category with the director, Independent’s James W. Griffiths picking up the award (above).

A real mind-opener, the film plays on the imagination without limits and stretches logic beyond belief in a small, confined setting. Here, Gravity Road’s co-founder Mark Boyd and Griffiths take time out to tell us about going behind bars for the premium gin brand, the importance of funded filmmaking competitions and who they’d secretly like to spy on if they could.

How important do you feel competitions like Bombay Sapphire’s are for the filmmaking community?

MB: Incredibly important, for the film community and beyond. The Imagination Series has inspired new people who were not previously involved in the film industry. Within the industry, this is new money, big ambition, with complete freedom for those doing the imagining.

JWG: In this day and age filmmakers have to take advantage of any funding opportunity they can. Of course there are the traditional routes such as the BFI schemes but there is only a certain amount of money to go around. There are a growing number of competitions like Bombay Sapphire’s, some more worthwhile than others.

Competitions that put the creativity and decision making directly in the hands of the directors and don’t ask for the product to be advertised are of course very beneficial to the filmmaker because you end up with a film that is your own vision and a legitimate piece of storytelling. Competitions which ask you to advertise a product and tell you to make it with your own money, to me, seem like a waste of time. Luckily, this competition was the former.

When you first came up with the idea for Room 8, how much did you believe you had something great on your hands?

MB: James came up with the idea for Room 8 based on the dialogue of Academy Award-winner Geoffrey Fletcher. This is James' film. When the team devised the project the intention was to see five very different films from Geoffrey’s original dialogue. These were judged at the Tribeca Film Festival.  We saw lots of amazing scripts. All of the five final films produced last year stood out but Room 8 shone.

JWG: For me, I never know if I’ve got anything good on my hands, I’m my own worst critic! At the same time, when you’ve written a script that seems to just work perfectly on the page, you do get a good feeling about it.

And tell us about the experience of being involved in Sunday night’s ceremony…

MB: [I was]so excited for James and spent lots of time surreptitiously nicking the limited edition table mats.

JWG: It was an incredible experience. Going up on stage to collect a BAFTA is something I’ve wanted to do since I was about 10 years old. It is something I will remember for a very long time, although I’ve already forgotten most of the night time celebrations…

Would you offer any tips to potential attendees/winners of the future having now been through the proceedings?

MB: Look to the next films in Bombay Sapphire’s Imagination Series.

JWG: I think for anyone starting out in the industry, the idea of going up on stage in front of hundreds of the film industry’s elite – including legends like Martin Scorsese – can be a little nerve racking. For me, the best advice is to block it all out of your mind, chat about something else with the person next to you… and maybe partake in the free chagne beforehand.

The film also won the shots Award for Branded Short of the Year back in November. Why do you think it’s been so well-received?

MB: Watch it. Engaging. Profound. Meaningful.

JWG: If I knew I’d bottle it and sell it! I think it may be a number of things. In screenings people always respond to the twist at the end when the drawer full of matchboxes is revealed – it’s a moment of realisation. Look at the classic twist movies; The Sixth Sense, The Usual Suspects etc. audiences like to be taken on a ride and fooled. I think its short run time and the fact that it ends in a satisfactory way are also factors.

How do you think the demand for good branded content has changed in today’s world and what are your thoughts on the future of the medium?

MB: This is not new. Artistic patronage has always been important. I think as our entertainment and advertising business models change there will be more opportunities to work together, which is lucky as we set up two years ago as content specialists. Bombay Sapphire are super smart and sophisticated. They get it. They encouraged, they added value where they could and they didn’t interfere. 

For the right brands this works. It is very different from advertising. But I think where interests can be aligned, this can be very successful. This win is important: it shows branded content can and should aim higher. Lots of branded content is a bit shit.

Now you’ve won a BAFTA, where does Gravity Road go from here and what’s next?

MB: James’ film won on the back of the work of Sophie Venner, Geoffrey Fletcher, Bacardi & Bombay Sapphire marketing, Independent and Colin Barr. The next series of Imagination Series films is in production. Our ambition is to create more work that people want to spend time with.

And if you could lift the lid on any room in the world to see what was going on, where/what would you choose and why?

MB: Rebecca Wade’s legal team, because I am nosey and gossipy.

JWG: I think if I could look into the military operations room at the White House to see what kind of things they get up to would be fascinating or maybe I’ve just been watching too much Homeland.