Samm Haillay

Samm Haillay is the producer of Better Things, one of the movies that will probably make a big impact at this year’s Alba Festival. He has worked with director Duane Hopkins for years. They met in Newcastle, where both were attending film school: “We found a common interest in films we liked and disliked, mainly in grammar. I was on the writing course but when Duane showed me his sketchbooks from his fine art courses I realised that he could visually articulate how I was thinking and I wanted to ensure that he got to direct. I was producing before I knew it.”

The duo worked on several critically-acclaimed shorts, including Love Me or Leave Me Alone and Field. Alongside Better Things, these movies all deal with the lives of people (especially youngsters) living in rural England. Samm states that cinema, mainly the British scene, tends to ignore this area: “Both Duane and I grew up in rural areas and we had never really seen this world on the cinema screen. It is an under-used area in drama. We felt it would be interesting to take themes that are usually only seen in urban environments in cinema and relocate them, as they happen in rural areas too.”

The difficulty in obtaining financing for independent, art-house movies is a well-known problem for Samm. He had a hard time funding Better Things; in the end there were 7 different financiers for the project. Nevertheless, Samm thinks that the efforts are justified because there is an audience, at least in the UK, that is very keen on seeing this type of films: “ There is definitely an audience for this type of filmmaking and the steady interest in the UK has shown this.(…) Moreover, I feel it is very important that more ‘cultural’ films are able to sit alongside the entertainment movies (…) I want to ensure that cultural creative filmmaking remains alive in the UK however and with directors such as Steve McQueen, Duane Hopkins, Andrea Arnold, Daniel Elliott and Alicia Duffy active there is a very good chance that we will be able to prosper.”

Success will definitely come for indie filmmakers, if the right mixture of talent and entrepreneurial skills is found: “Primarily it’s about the talent that you work with. If the film is executed to the highest standard then it will find an audience, even if it’s not a mainstream one. However on top of this you have to think about how you position it, which festival will you premiere at, who will review it and for which magazine/newspaper, how will you get screens and how will you get the DVD out there?"

Samm became interested in cinema from an early age, when he used to watch his father’s movie collection, and was “fascinated by how sound and image juxtaposed could question the human condition in a way that other art forms could not”. Later on, he came across influential filmmakers, such as the likes of Nicolas Roeg and Stanley Kubrick. Still, rather than moving into directing, Samm wants to exclusively focus on teaching at a British film school and producing for the time being, as he thinks that “I know there are people who can do this better than me so if I believe in their talent I should try and ensure that they have the time and space they need to execute their ideas and offer a world-view. I’m always looking for new talent to work with and find creative ways of making films”.

Mark Racz