Recent examples include Charlotte WellsAftersunand Georgia OakleysBlue Jean.
Set against a landscape dominated by an algorithm-driven gig economy, designed to keep us apart.
Watch on Deadline
On Fallingmarks Carreiras feature film debut.
Laura Carreira’s ‘On Falling’Sixteen Films
Jack Thomas-OBrien, now a lead producer at the company, produced the pic alongside the Portuguese-based BRO Cinema.
Backers include BBC Film, BFI, and Screen Scotland.
Vincent MaravalsGoodfellasis handling sales.
Laura Carreira. Photo by: Sylwia Kowalczyk.
This process has taken us four years.
TIFF runs from September 6 15.
DEADLINE: Laura, youre from Portugal?
How did you end up here making this film?
LAURA CARREIRA:I ask myself that every day.
Yes, Im from Portugal.
I studied cinema in Lisbon.
So one of my teachers said I should check out this film directing course at Edinburgh College of Art.
I was 18 when I moved to Scotland, so it was quite a specific time in my life.
And, at some point, I just never left.
DEADLINE: How did you two meet?
JACK THOMAS-OBRIEN:We met on Zoom.
Laura actually reached out on Twitter.
That makes our talent-spotting process look chaotic but sometimes it is, but it works.
Although this isnt a sign for everyone to reach out to me on Twitter.
Laura had already been in touch with BBC Film.
I was also talking with BBC Film about a couple of things, so coincidentally heard about Laura.
She had just finished making her shortThe Shift, which was debuting at Venice.
I said, Ok, I did that yesterday.
So it all worked out.
DEADLINE: Laura, when you reached out did you already have the idea forOn Falling?
CARREIRA:Yeah, I had a first draft.
THOMAS-OBRIEN:A really good first draft.
CARREIRA:So I finished my short during the pandemic.
Laura, where does your political background come from?
I was excited about the idea of getting my first job and being financially independent.
And then I got my first job and that quickly changed.
It made the future look a lot scarier.
I dont think it has to be that way.
And that shock was compounded by the controlling dynamics in the workplace.
I really struggled with that.
Film is a really good medium to try and interrogate this perspective a little more.
My parents are also quite left-wing, so they definitely influenced how I see the world.
DEADLINE: Where did the title On Falling come from?
CARREIRA:I really struggled with the title.
We had a few different ones that I hated.
And then a friend of mine suggestedOn Falling.
He had sort of described the film when he read the script as a constant descent.
And I could see that.
This character is almost losing solid ground and trying to stand back up again.
THOMAS-OBRIEN:The name also captured a little bit of ambiguity as well.
It sort of changes expectations as to whats gonna come up.
So that was kind of how it came about.
Its about much more than just working in a warehouse.
THOMAS-OBRIEN:I dont really think about that, to be honest.
Its up to the director.
I think its worth removing the context of Ken Loach.
Hes an incredible, political filmmaker who has been great to work with.
Weve had an amazing time.
Im not against telling a really didactic story that is on the nose about its politics.
But thats not necessarily the film Laura wanted to make withOn Falling.
DEADLINE: Jack, its pretty tough out there for a first-time British producer.
How was this process for you?
Was it more difficult than you expected?
THOMAS-OBRIEN:Its difficult to sum that up because this process has taken us four years.
That feels slow but for lots of other people thats quite fast.
Weve had a really strong working relationship and we talk about everything.
Thats how you have to navigate things.
My philosophy is the director does the directing, and the producer does the producing.
If you keep in your own lanes and communicate well, it avoids a lot of difficult things.
DEADLINE: How long did you shoot and how was that process?
CARREIRA:We shot for five weeks and we used an Arri.
I would give a lot of credit to Karl Kurten, our DoP.
He worked on my two shorts and we tried to be very mindful about the visual choices we made.
We made a sort of visual treatment to help guide us.
DEADLINE: Joana Santos, your main actress, shes fantastic.
Where did you find her?
There was just something in her expression.
DEADLINE: Goodfellas is selling the film.
What would be the ideal destination for this film for you both?
CARREIRA:Personally, as a film fan, Id love to have it in cinemas.
I love going to the cinema and Id love people to see this in a collective way.
But obviously, Id also love as many people as possible to see the film.
I think with this you want the impact of the big screen.
This is a small film about an intimate subject but it should also feel like a big experience.
And I think thats why wed want it to be in cinemas.
