The director’s cut
With over 15,000 recorded knife crimes a year, London has a terrifying problem. Directors Will and Carly tell us how the film No More Knives LDN set out to tackle the issue.
Cresta Can you tell us a little about Will and Carly Film, how you two met and how you split the co-director role?
Carly We both studied art at university. I used to paint, make films and practice photography so I’ve always had an interest in filmmaking. After uni, I started working as an agency Art Buyer so I put a lot of my own work on hold while I made other people’s ideas. Shortly after meeting Will, we were approached by a friend to make a music video which was a big learning curve. It was a night shoot, involving kids, a dog, fireworks, more fireworks and shooting with no permits – in no way was that challenging, ha!
Will Straight after graduating I got into advertising as a creative, so I’ve been writing scripts and making ads for a number of years now but always from the relative safety of a video village surrounded by copious amounts of jelly babies and fizzy pop. I guess I’ve always been fascinated by the role of the director and how they take a few words on a sheet of paper and shape them into this tangible thing that makes you feel. We are pretty equally involved in all aspects and tend to swap hats quite a lot. I may be slightly more technically focused whereas Carly is great working with cast and drawing out their emotions.
With No More Knives, how did this project come about? Did the charity come to you, or did you have an idea and go to Lives not Knives?
Will The idea came about in the summer of 2018. We were horrified with how often the newspapers were reporting on London stabbings and how it had become routine to read about violent deaths on our daily commute. That was a real tipping point for us, so we set the wheels in motion to try and create something in response to what was going on.
Carly We had always discussed doing charity and pro bono work so we decided to put our creative heads to good use and went from there. We wrote a treatment, spoke to a few different charities which felt like a good fit and LNK (Lives not Knives ) came out on top. We felt they would be the perfect partner considering the work and campaigning they do, along with the extent of their network and ability to reach young Londoners.
Maya Sourie is key to the film. Did her 'slam' poem exist before the film or was it written as part of the process?
We discovered Maya through a poem she penned for The Prince’s Trust advert 'Youth Can Do It’, directed by Andrea Arnold. It’s powerful, honest and inspirational and instantly we knew she’d be a perfect fit for this. She has this incredible ability to speak on a level that resonates with young people, choosing her words so thoughtfully and elegantly that you feel compelled to listen. At only 16 years old she is a mega-talent.
The poem was written by Maya specifically for the film. We approached her at the treatment stage and gave her a simple brief: “If you could talk to someone caught up in the violence, what would you say?” We also provided her with a broad selection of facts, figures and news articles to draw inspiration from. We’d meet up on a weekly basis at a coffee shop in Dalston, east London, and brainstorm and discuss things we had read and people we’d met. When Maya came back with a first draft of the poem, it was pretty much bang on the mark. A little bit of tweaking here and there and it was good to go.
Maya Sourie was just 16 when she wrote the ‘slam’ poem for No More Knives LDN
Presumably there was little or no budget, did everyone on the crew give their time and services free?
It was almost entirely self-funded, with a total budget of somewhere between £2000 and £4000. We shared the treatment and discussed the project with all of our collaborators and literally everyone was like ‘sign me up’. Knife crime was such a pressing issue at the time and everyone saw that, there was just a real sense of camaraderie and getting behind it. All of the cast had been affected in some way by knife crime too, so again everyone understood the urgency of the film and the need to bring it to light.
We spent a long time casting the net, hearing people’s stories and finding a place for them within the film. We couldn’t have made it without all of the amazing folk that were involved. A massive shout out has to go to all the post-production teams: without their involvement, this film wouldn’t have been possible. We are also super grateful to Cinelab for developing our 16mm film for free.
Have you ever personally been affected by knife crime? And do you have any clear thoughts on how a city like London combats this kind of problem?
I have been witness to two knife-related incidents, one of which involved someone being stabbed in the neck, which was a harrowing experience that I’ll never forget. I also had knives pulled on me when I was a kid, but it seems like nowadays kids actually use them. From doing extensive research and through speaking to our cast (many of which have lost friends and family to a knife) it does sadly seem to be an issue that disproportionately affects young men. There are things that can be done (and I think this is the answer to many social problems) and that is education, emotional support and funding for young people. If you can provide this from a young age, I believe that a lot fewer kids would get caught up in knife crime. With more and more youth centres closing however, the problem is likely to get worse.
Have you been working on any interesting projects during London's various lockdowns?
We have written a couple of short film scripts, that we are trying to find funding for, and we have a really exciting music promo in the pipeline. We're looking for a producer to partner with on this so if there’s anyone out there into their Vogue, this is going to be a shade throwing, duck walking, extravaganza!
Finally, is there a question you would have liked us to ask?
Blue pill or red pill?
No More Knives LDN won Silver, Bronze and Shortlist recognition for directors Will and Carly at the 2020 Cresta Awards
