Scratch Me: Directing Actors
Francis Lee discusses how to bring a character to life

Date: 28 Oct 2020
Time: 18:00
Location: Online

Scratch Me presents: Directing Actors; an online in conversation event with writer and director Francis Lee. Join us from 6pm on Wednesday, 28 October for the final event in a series all about character development.

Francis will talk about working with performers to bring a character to life and how to find the right balance between the director’s vision, the actor’s instincts and the writer’s intentions when telling a collaborative story. He'll draw on his recent experiences filming the much-anticipated Ammonite with Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan, as well as the process behind God's Own Country - his celebrated debut feature which garnered a slew of award wins and nominations for both Francis' direction and the cast's performances.

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Event info

Every event in our Scratch Me programme is free to attend. Sessions are held via Zoom webinar - you don't need a live webcam or microphone to participate, just a reliable internet connection.

There will be the opportunity to ask Francis questions during the session. You can use Zoom's Q&A feature to ask a question on the day or submit them in advance to: bfinetwork@filmhubnorth.org.uk.

This event will feature a BSL interpreter.

Francis Lee

Francis is a filmmaker from West Yorkshire. His debut feature film, God’s Own Country was developed and funded by BFI and Creative England and premiered at Sundance 2017, where he won Best Director. God’s Own Country went on to theatrical distribution worldwide winning awards including Best Film, Best Debut Screenwriter, Best Actor and Best Sound at the British Independent Film Awards 2017, and was nominated for the BAFTA for Outstanding British Film 2017. God’s Own Country was the most successful British debut film, both critically and commercially, in 2017.

Following the success of God’s Own Country, Francis' second feature film, Ammonite, starring Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan, funded by BBC Films and BFI, was selected in Official Competition at Cannes 2020, Telluride Film Festival 2020 and premiered at Toronto International Film Festival 2020 before its worldwide release in 2020/21. 

Scratch Me is a Film Hub North and BFI NETWORK project delivered in partnership with Screen Yorkshire and SIGN (Screen Industries Growth Network).