Bird's Eye View

The Park: An Interview with Destiny Ekaragha

Destiny Ekaragha on set

Destiny Ekaragha is a rising star of the British film scene and we are very pleased to be screening the third short film she has written and directed, The Park, as part of our UK shorts programme at the festival.

The film is a coming of age tale which sharply observes teenage relationships with humor and empathy.

BEV’s Zoe Kandyla got some time with Destiny.

ZK: What was the inspiration behind the idea for The Park? Is it something that you would like to develop into a feature?

DE: I’ve always been fascinated by the friendships that are had by men. You can have a couple of guys that are the best of friends, but because they don’t tend to talk about their feelings, there’s a whole side to them that the other doesn’t know about. I think that this leads them to talk about things that hover on the surface like sex and maybe sports. The need to always appear macho and strong disables them from delving a little deeper. I’ve never really understood that. Women talk about everything! Young men are even worse when it comes to talking about their emotions so I wanted to make a film that reflected this. As for whether I’d develop it into a feature, well, I’m not sure. I wouldn’t mind though.

ZK: The Park is the third film you’ve written and directed. Did you find it easier to deal with shooting crises?

DE: No, is the short answer. The two films before The Park were a lot easier to make in terms of logistics. The Park had a few more locations and more actors so it was a completely different experience to the ones that I had had previously. However, I had a fantastic crew, fantastic producers (Tamana Bleasdale and Joy Harrison) and the best actors that you could ever ask for. Ultimately this made a harder shoot a lot of fun.

The three main characters in a moment of silence

ZK: What was the most memorable experience from the development and/or shooting of the film?

DE: The most memorable moment was probably when the three main actors (Amron Adams, Jack Dingley and Brandon Henry) had a debate about whether Arsenal was better than Manchester United during rehearsals. That had me in stitches. Also, working with Julia Ford was an honour. She’s a phenomenal actress.

ZK: Do you think there is an inequality towards women in the film industry? What has been your experience in relation to this?

DE: I think that the statistics speak for themselves. However there hasn’t been any inequality or prejudices towards me. Not that I know of any way. My advice to any woman out there wanting to get into the industry would be to keep buggering on! I look to people like Kathryn Bigelow. She’s a female and she’s kicking ass!

ZK: What was your earliest exposure to film and how did it affect or inspire you?

DE: My earliest film watching experience is of me watching Nightmare On Elm Street aged about five. It scared the life out of me but it was the most fun that I’d ever had in my life (in all my five years). I loved the magical aspect of it and the escapism. When it comes to inspiration, Kevin Smith’s Clerks, Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing, Quentin Tarrantino’s Pulp Fiction and Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused comes to mind. However, one of my all time films is The Breakfast Club by John Hughes. He really knew how to write teenage stories without dumbing them down. He was a fantastic Writer/Director, may he Rest In Peace. I always wanted to make a film based on one location in homage to The Breakfast Club and did so with Tight Jeans, my first short film. He’s still a massive inspiration.

ZK: Tell us a bit about the projects that are currently in development? Any plans for a feature film?

I just directed a 30 minute film for Channel 4 as part of their Coming Up scheme. It’s called The Future Wags of Great Britain and it was written by a fantastic writer called Abby Ajayi. It should be on Channel 4 later in the year so look out for it. Also, I’m currently writing a feature film so watch this space …

We look forward to seeing Destiny for the screening of her film in the festival.  The UK Shorts programme will be shown at BFI Studio, March 7, 4.15pm & ICA Cinema 1, March 8, 8.30pm