EXCLUSIVE:Burnt Milk, a film project from British-Jamaican filmmakerJoseph Douglas Elmhirst, has been acquired by theCriterionChannel.
The film is available to watch on the streamer starting today.
It serves as a reminder to keep pursuing projects that can resonate.Burnt Milkcontinues to inspire me.
Elmhirst has directed two other film projects that have also straddled both film and art spaces.
His second project,Like A Baptism, was released through Nowness.
And I said maybe both, Elmhirst said.
Im slowly realizing its just about communication.
And thats been really thrilling.
Scroll down to read an interview with Elmhirst.
you could see a trailer for the film above.
DEADLINE: Joseph, tell me about yourself.
Youre based in Brooklyn?
How did you get started in this game?
Its been an incredible learning experience.
DEADLINE: Youre British-Jamaican right?
ELMHIRST:Yeah, my mother lives in Jamaica.
Her parents immigrated during the Windrush period, and shes lived there for several years.
DEADLINE: How did the commission for Venice come about?
I believe it was about six weeks from the date of the commission to the date it screened.
DEADLINE: Damn, thats fast and surprising.
ELMHIRST:Yeah, we shot it in four days, so it was quick.
It taught me a lot about how I want to work.
Im at my strongest when Im instinctual, so it was an incredible experience.
DEADLINE: So where did you shoot?
Were those London sequences shot in the UK?
ELMHIRST:No, that was such a challenge.
Luckily, a filmmaker called Anthony Jamari Thomas had recommended his grandmothers apartment.
DEADLINE: So where did you find condensed milk in New York?
We used caramel because the texture of burnt milk is more like caramel.
And my sister designed and attached what looked like a condensed milk label.
Thats the luck of being related to a great producer.
DEADLINE: The film has such a rich visual look.
What did you shoot on?
ELMHIRST:The whole thing was shot on 16 millimeter Kodak.
We shot the black and white scenes in black and white, and then the color scenes in color.
It was also such a thrilling experience to photograph Jamaica in that way.
The island environment is so associated with saturation and bright colors.
Draining all of that out was exciting to me, and I felt revealed a deeper psychological truth.
DEADLINE: And Criterion.
How did this acqusition come about?
I know Ashley Clark and those dudes are often circling interesting work.
I think that email is actually for tech support.
Surprisingly, a few months later, I got a response and an incredible critique from Ashley.
He loved it and decided to support it.
DEADLINE: Moving forward, do you see yourself existing more in the film or art world?
ELMHIRST:Im slowly realizing its just about communication.
And thats been really thrilling.
But Im working on more things right now that I imagine are more suited to the film space.
DEADLINE: What are you working on now?
ELMHIRST:Im working on a documentary alongside my first narrative feature.
DEADLINE: Tell me about the current film scene in Jamaica.
ELMHIRST:Its such a rich history.
And there are so many stories that havent been told.
Its not a question of talent or stories.
But there are so many great storytellers and artists in Jamaica.
