Before diving into the interview, here’s a brief summary of our enlightening conversation on writing and filmmaking with Anthony. Anthony shares his journey from aspiring writer to accomplished filmmaker, revealing the intricacies of storytelling across different mediums. He discusses the creative process, the importance of authentic narratives, and how personal experiences shape his work. Anthony also delves into the creative process, offering insights on how storytelling techniques in writing can translate to the screen, and vice versa. Anthony also discusses the evolving landscape of filmmaking, the impact of technology, and the importance of staying authentic to one’s vision. This discussion is a must-read for aspiring writers and filmmakers alike, providing a wealth of practical advice and inspiration. Read the conversation we had with him below.
Anthony: It’s great to be here. Is the weather always this good in Nigeria?Can we just wiggle into the shade of that sun-umbrella. Great! And how about ordering us both an espresso-martini. All these drinks, they are going on your expense account, aren’t they?
Libretto: Can you talk about your journey as both a writer and a filmmaker, and how you discovered your passion for both mediums?
Anthony: Well, I’ve been writing stories since I was about 10 years old. My first story – at least that I can remember, written at Junior School – was about a treasure hunt. At Secondary School, I was lucky enough to have a teacher, Mrs David, in my last three years who let me write what I wanted. Film reviews, odd stories, articles on the yeti, you name it. I would say she instilled in me a passion for writing or at least gave me a space in which it could happen. The film journey is a longer one as I was a working-class boy and film seemed like a dream. However, I did have a relative who was an actor (Ken Colley) and he’d drop by the house every now and again. And then, later, after having left school and worked as an office clerk for three years, I decided I really had to pack that in (it was soul-destroying) and find out what I really wanted to do. So, I spent a couple of months in France (Paris and Biarritz) and Spain (Madrid and a little coastal town called La Calla), read a lot, and tried to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. Well, film seemed to be it, but I needed to go to college and get some more exams as I’m terrible at exams and was severely lacking in that department.
Libretto: How do you balance the creative aspects of storytelling in both your writing and documentary filmmaking?
Anthony: I’m not really sure what you mean by this question. For me the story comes first. So, the focus, the drive, is on that. I treat documentary films like I treat any other project which has to be written. I write a full, a very full, manuscript. Sometimes too full as the funders can ‘see’ the film before them and maybe they don’t like it! I’d also say that the dichotomy of splitting short stories into fiction on the one hand and documentary films into fact on the other is a false dichotomy. I would say there is a lot of fiction in documentary films.
Libretto: Are there specific themes or subjects you find more compelling to explore in writing versus filmmaking?
Anthony: Well, film-making is very much me being pulled towards a subject that interests me. Or maybe some event that is going to take place. I’m pulled towards the arts and towards madness, so these have been subjects of my documentary films. My own writing, well, I’m often writing dysfunctional romances, friends betraying one another, cheerful things like that! I write lit fiction and crime fiction mostly, though I do seem to have written too many short stories about robots and cyborgs recently (they never get published).
Libretto: How do you approach research differently when writing a book compared to making a documentary?
Anthony: Well, first off, though I have written novels, I’ve never been lucky enough to have one published. They are different processes, really. With a doc film you have to find the idea ‘out there.’ Write it up in some way (outline, treatment or full script), you will have to go out and meet people and then write that stuff up. If it is about a film-maker you’ll have to check out that film-maker’s work. If it is about a composer, ditto. Writing a book is more about the story, and the drive and I don’t want to get too bogged down with research, not while I’m writing anyway. I tend to write creatively in the morning, so maybe the research will take place in the afternoon. But sometimes you just look something up and you’re are away down a rabbit hole and all your creative time that day gets lost.
Libretto: You are, by all accounts, a veteran writer. How did the writing journey start for you and which writers were your biggest influence in the early days of your career?
Anthony: Early on my writing influences might well have been Kafka, Borges, Nietzsche (more for the kick up the backside he administers in his writings), Artaud, Nerval. I’m drawn to the surreal as I find life rather surreal and I’m also, as previously mentioned, drawn towards madness. I daren’t tell you how many of my friends are nuts, both with diagnoses and without. Just last summer, a good friend of mine met up with me in the local park to tell me that I hated him and that he was finishing our relationship. Well, that was maybe my last ‘sane’ friend. Enjoy them while they’re young, your friendships!
Libretto: How do you handle the ethical considerations that come with storytelling in both writing and filmmaking?
Anthony: In doc film-making, I very much allow my subject to do the telling of their story. I did a 5-part TV series about somebody suffering from paranoid schizophrenia (actually, one of my very best friends). I did try and stop him from ‘exposing’ himself sometimes, i.e. dumbing himself down (he rather came under the influence of the anchor person, a TV celebrity), so we had some discussion on that. I think I lost every single one of them. But, I tried!
In my fiction, I don’t trouble so much with ethics because it is the story that counts. With crime fiction, I find there is more freedom because you don’t have to stop up and say: Oh, shit, is this politically correct? (and stuff like that).
Libretto: Have you ever faced challenges in adapting your written work into a documentary or vice versa?
Anthony: Well, when you make a doc film, then you cannot control everything, so you are constantly going ‘off script.’ It is not a problem just part of the process. I have also made some short fiction films, one of which was an adaptation of a short story. It kind of wrote itself as a script, really. So, there were no problems there.
Libretto: Do you find yourself using different narrative techniques in your writing versus your filmmaking? If so, what are they?
Anthony: Well, there is a whole language of film (low angle, high angle, panning, tracking, etc). I use that language. Also, I’m not my own cameraman, so he (it is always a he for some reason) brings his ideas with him. Same with the editor (which is sometimes a she). The editor has sometimes reconstructed the structure of a film or created something out of nothing (i.e. there was a sequence which was just one long dull discussion and the editor found a way to show the conflict by having somebody opening and closing a window; that seq. is pure genius and had absolutely nothing to do with me).
Libretto: What role do you think storytelling plays in shaping public perception and understanding of complex issues?
Anthony: Everybody has their own story to tell. Their side of an issue. If you can interest the public in your story and that story involves complex issues (a lot of my friends are gay or black and have suffered homophobia or racial prejudice or both; I also have a relative who is trans; I’ve already mentioned madness) then you have a chance of connecting with the public. Some, however, are just too closed, but I guess they would avoid stories/films that deal with issues they don’t like or approve of. I’m not really a missionary type, so I don’t set out to ‘shape public perception.’ I have a lot of Buddhist friends – I am a bloody Buddhist! – and they often look at art through the lens of Buddhism and that ‘reduces’ the art. It is as though they are nodding and saying: this fits in well with our philosophy therefore it is good art. I don’t think that is what art is all about. Of course, I know there is political art (I’m soon going to exhibition by Al Weiwei). I’d say that that TV series I did, well, that did have an effect on my friend in making him quite well known for a while. So, people would come up to him and ask him how he was doing, etc. But whether that is an actual ‘deeper’ understanding or simply someone wanting to get to connect with a minor celebrity, I don’t know!
Libretto: How do you approach character development in your writing versus your documentary subjects?
Anthony: I have no control over ‘my’ documentary characters. They do what they want. Sometimes I have difficult getting them to re-enact stories they have told me, even if I do think that shows development. In my own work, I’m not much of a believer in character development. It’s seems too Hollywood to me. Oh, this guy has a stutter at the beginning of the film and – lo and behold – after numerous heroic acts, he no longer stutters! The End. Cut to audience drying copious tears using extra-large sized polka-dotted handkerchiefs. That doesn’t mean that I don’t think that people can improve. I’ve seen it with my own eyes, esp. with some Buddhist friends, though I’ve also seen development go ‘backwards’ with some Buddhist friends! If only things were like those join-the-dot drawings we did as a kid!
Libretto: Have you noticed any differences in audience reception between your written works and your documentaries?
Anthony: With doc films (and short fiction films) then if you sit with an audience, you see how they re-act to the film. You can read a review. That TV series, mentioned earlier, was named as ‘TV of the Year’ by one of the big daily papers here in Denmark (where I live). With my writing, it’s like, well, some of my friends on Facebook or Twitter might read the story and make a comment. Otherwise, it is all a bit vague, really. I’d say that part of the process of making a film is watching it with an audience afterwards. With writing, it is like you are immediately onto the next story. In fact, part of the difficulty with writing is making space to get stuff out!
Libretto: How do you navigate the balance between creative expression and factual accuracy in your work?
Anthony: With doc film it is quite straightforward unless, for some reason, you have some elaborate set-up. I did bump into a production manager once who told me that on some project he’d worked on some poet was not filmed in his own house (‘a pigsty’), but in a palatial house (‘belonged to the Danish ambassador’). This was in Turkey. It gave you the impression that this poet was SO successful, that’d he’d made a crap ton of money. It was all false! I certainly avoid that kind of stuff! Jesus! Terrible!
Libretto: Can you share any tips for aspiring writers and documentary filmmakers?
Anthony: To be honest I hate these kind of questions because everybody is different. It’s like those Seven Habits of the Seven Most Famous Novelists in the World: Follow these Tried and Tested Rules and You Too Can Become Numero Uno! In my own case, I didn’t intend to become a doc film-maker, it just kind of happened. I got a kind of scholarship to the National TV in Portugal to work on a doc project. One doc project led to another. When I came to Denmark, I found that I was trying to get some funding for a project I’d started in Portugal. Okay, I do have a tip for aspiring writers! Get stuff out of the house! Get it sent off. Say you’re open to feedback. When your stuff gets rejected, go through it one more time, then out of the house with it again. Keep a kind of record of your acceptances contra your rejections so you’ll know what your ‘acceptance ratio’ is (if you are a member of Duotrope, they’ll do it for you). This you can refer to, so that instead of being downhearted (okay, you can’t really avoid this, esp. if it is one of your best stories) then you can say: Okay, I need to send out 100 stories in order to have one accepted OR I need to send out 25 stories in order to have one story accepted. We want to write but we got to send out!
Libretto: What are some common misconceptions about your work or the industries you operate in?
Anthony: Common misconception: There’s money in them there hills! There ain’t no money, honey! The best thing about being a poet, if you are a poet, is that you are never affected by the economic cycle. You’re always poor.
Libretto: Can you discuss a project that you are currently working on and what excites you about it?
Anthony: I’m editing a detective novel. What they call a cozy detective novel. This is going to be it. This is going to be the one that makes me a million. Oh, hang on a minute …
Libretto: Which filmmaker would you consider as having the most influence on modern cinema and why?
Anthony: I don’t really think along those lines. There are just so many good film-makers out there (my favourites include Buñuel, Pasolini, Fellini, Antonioni, The Coen Brothers, Orson Welles, Billy Wilder, von Sternberg, early Scorsese, a crap ton of Japanese directors …). There are just so many individual voices and it is that which I find good. That there are some who stand out from the Hollywood machine (and that machine sucks up and spits out so many directors who were once promising but are now just making superhero movies).
Libretto: Can you recommend one book every writer or aspiring writer ought to read and the one film every filmmaker or cinophile have to watch?
Anthony: I’m not an ought-to person. I’m not a list person. What I love and have loved is not going to be what you will love! And thank goodness for that!
Anthony Kane Evans has had around fifty short stories published in various UK, US, Canadian and Australian literary journals, e-zines, and anthologies. Journals include London Magazine (UK), Orbis Quarterly International Literary Journal (UK), The Tusculum Review (US), and The Antigonish Review (Canada).
