Face to Face with... Albiston & Sutherland

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Production company The Sweetshop had two of its directors premiering films at last week's Sundance Film Festival.

Alexander Moors' Blue Caprice played as part od the festival's NEXT category, a digital series designed to highlight work with an innovative, forward-thinking approach to storytelling. But here we talk to directing duo Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland about their film Shopping an excerpt from which can be seen above.

Set in 1981 New Zealand, Shopping tells the story of two teenage brothers torn apart after a charismatic career criminal seduces one of them into a life of crime.  Circumstances come to a head when one is forced to choose between family and friends or risk devastating consequences.

Below, the pair talk to us about the film and their experiences at Sundance and if you click here you can see a short video diary from the star of Shopping, Kevin Paulo, looking at his time in Park City, Utah for the Sundance event.

Where did the idea for Shopping come from and how long did you have the concept and story before making it?

Louis: The idea came from an experience I had growing up on the Kapiti Coast just out of Wellington NZ when I was coerced into a shoplifting gang in the 80s. Its one of those classic moments in life where you have to choose the right or wrong path. Fortunately for me I decided to chuck it in after a few goes as I was pretty crap at it. Mark and I started working the idea over for the film in 2007 when we were in competition in Cannes with our first short film Run so it has taken us six years with the support of the New Zealand Film Commission to complete.

You’ve made commercials and shorts before but how different was the process of directing a feature film?

Louis: Feature film making is not really that different from our shorts actually, just an elongated version where you have to time your process a bit better to build well through the six week production window. It's quite different to commercials in that we are the sole driving force creatively. There is no agency or clients in the mix, just the two of us and our crew and cast. The buck stops with you. Otherwise it's all a much of a muchness and all about quality story telling, which I think is the aim in all mediums. 

What was the toughest part of the feature process?

Mark: Each part has its own challenges but I think production was the toughest. You're acutely aware that you have only one go at it as you shoot out one scene to the next. Of course there is the little voice in your head that a multitude of things could go wrong, weather etc, but it's more the challenge of keeping up the concentration required to ensure you're getting what you need for the scene to work and that it feels right emotionally. You have to be quite bloody minded to get things across the line and then if things aren't working, which luckily is a rarity, you then have to be able to shift your idea quickly and effectively and somehow make it better.

How do the two of you work as a directing duo?

Mark: We both do everything together as much as possible. We have our 'the toys we like to play with most' I guess you could say, but the real richness is when Louis and I are both bouncing ideas and thoughts in the same room. That's pretty much how it works best. We just do everything together. It sounds like it would take more time but actually we shot an amazingly low film ratio for Shopping and had next to no overtime so its actually proving quite effective. I think by collaborating we are finding better ways of doing things.

What does being premiered at Sundance mean to you, and to the film?

Louis: Sundance is a great platform to launch from. You're in the same room with most of the American film industry so it's a good position to find connects for our future projects whilst trying to seed Shopping into the American market. Also there are some great initiatives offered by the Sundance Festival to alumini such as their writing lab which we'll be looking into.

People in New Zealand also pay a lot of attention to the A-list festivals so its a positive way of introducing the film to the New Zealand public before we take it back home. In New Zealand people get the funding from the New Zealand Film Commission which is heavily funded by the tax payer so essentially it's everyones film so they kind of have a vested interest in how it goes off-shore. Here's hoping!

Was this your first time at Sundance, and what did you make of it?

Mark: Our first time in Sundance was in 2010 when we won best International Short with The Six Dollar Fifty Man. Sundance is cool. It's not as high brow as some of the others preferring to use local volunteers to assist as Sundance staff which gives it a real down-to-earth feel and personable tone.  

What does selection to the festival mean to you and the film?

Louis: It's just great to be up there with the next wave of filmmakers from the world. It's also affirming that our little tale from the Kapiti coast, which we really have a personal affinity with, works not only in Sundance but around the world. We had people coming up to us after screenings shaking hands and thanking us for our offering; we guess in concentrating on our uniqueness we built something very universal.

Do you plan to continue working across both commercials and features?

Mark: Yes, we're both writing scripts at the moment for our next two features. Working together on commercials is a case by case scenario. Sometimes only one of us will make it to set and oversee a project but we are always both feeding into every project and offering up our thoughts so every spot gets the full Mark and Louis treatment! Actually we will be sharing Shopping with screenings for the leading agencies in LA and London soon. We're really keen to take the time to do a meet and greet between the Sundance and Berlin festivals and share a few stories over a beer. We think everyone who comes along will really enjoy this little beast of a film. 

What are your hopes for the film after Sundance and did the festival throw up any unforeseen opportunities?

Louis: Well, we hope it does well at the Berlinale following Sundance and then we can build a strong profile and connection with our the public back in New Zealand. We love taking our work around the world and getting strong responses internationally but there is something quite moving when you share your work with fellow Kiwis because they can relate to it in a far more personal way. If we can get a chuckle or a tear out of them then we know we've done something right.

Mark: We learnt a lot about how the film industry works internationally, as in potential funding streams and pre-sales where people wanted to connect with us. It's really enlightening and can inform how we shape our business model for our next film. Even from a marketing angle it was interesting where some very successful international projects were shaping their own unique marketing approaches before the film was even in pre-production.

This was great and has altered the way we see working with our future film projects. In Australasia, and even LA, there are tried and true ways of promoting your work and getting your films onto the shelf but with our work it's more boutique so needs to be treated as such and not mass marketed.

This really suits us as we've felt this instinctively [so it's] good to be able to point to these other models and show 'it works' as we build an organic approach into our own local market. Very, very affirming. Thank you Sundance. Bring on the Berlinale!