An Interview With Filmmaker Aella Jordan-Edge
Short of the Month: 'Misnomer'
Hi, Aella. It’s a pleasure to chat with you, and thank you for letting us showcase your film Misnomer under our Short of the Month programme. To start us off, could you tell me a little bit about yourself, your background, and where you currently are in life and in your career?
What a question! So, I am currently in the process of making the jump - from shorts to features and TV drama. I was represented as a music video director professionally for four years, made music videos, and directed short films on the side. Then I got accepted into NFTS. I studied Directing Fiction for my Мaster’s and spent two years making short films at the school. My grad film recently won Best Student Film at the British Short Film Awards. I'd obviously made a few short films before I got into NFTS, and Misnomer was actually my application film. It got me into the school, which was brilliant. What I love about Misnomer is that I made it before I had any formal training in film, so, it was really just about directing through instinct. After NFTS, I won a funding scheme for my next short, which is a comedy drama, Truckload. We won the Empower Fund, set up by Primetime, which was about supporting a female or non-binary filmmaking team. We shot it in August, and we’ve spent the past year editing, scoring, and finishing it. We’re now doing the final delivery next week. We just signed off on our credits this morning and we’re about to announce a really exciting premiere, so stay tuned! So, that’s kind of where I’m at right now. I’m looking for an agent and developing my first feature idea with a writer in Berlin at the moment. Truckload also absolutely has legs to be a feature or a TV show, so we’re in development for that too. So, yeah, it’s all super exciting.
Your background is in theatre and literature, and you’ve also had a play at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. When it comes to storytelling, what do you think the main differences are between directing for theatre and directing for film? And why do you find yourself seemingly more drawn to the film medium?
I haven’t directed theatre properly since Edinburgh in 2013, which was a long time ago. But I guess with theatre, it’s more about the actors running with it and giving it to the audience. But for me, with film, it really is about being able to point to the audience and say, “Listen here, look here, this is important.” Look, it’s a close-up: she’s taking this packing penis off the nightstand (in the case of Misnomer). This is important. Now she’s feeling awkward. Look at her eyes. That is important. And you can’t do that so much in theatre. In theatre, it’s more about evoking the audience's imagination. And I do think that the best films still evoke imagination because hopefully the audience are thinking about what’s not on screen and about what people are feeling. I mostly direct stuff from female perspectives, and I don’t think those stories are being shown enough. I feel very strongly that I can contribute to that. Film, I think, is better for that. It puts the audience, the viewers, in a woman’s mind, and you see and feel what she’s thinking. You can’t really do that in so many other mediums in the same way.
You mentioned you went to NFTS and graduated last year with an MA degree in Directing Fiction. I find that directing choices are often instinctive and linked to the artist making the film. So, how does one learn directing? How do they teach the craft?
I particularly love Misnomer because I was a bit naive when I made it. I hadn’t been taught how to make a film. I had obviously been teaching myself by cutting my teeth as a director on music videos, and I’d made a couple of short films beforehand. I’m a very “learn-by-doing” person, and I learn by making mistakes. You have to give yourself the grace to do that. When it comes to NFTS, it’s quite individual what everyone gets out of it. It’s very interesting because I was already quite strong working with actors, and I had an instinctual sense of dialogue and what I liked. So what I personally got out of NFTS was by working with film stock - I learnt to imagine the edit sequence ahead of time and plan accordingly. I started planning my shots really carefully and thought more about how every shot and every frame would make the audience feel, and whether that was reflecting the character’s wants and needs. Of course, when you get to the cutting room everything often becomes a different beast, but that planning has hopefully made for a strong foundation.
You spoke a little about how work often explores female and LGBTQ+ characters. Why do you feel it’s important to spotlight those stories at the moment, and do you personally feel filmmakers have a responsibility to say something through their work?
I think it’s important to spotlight these stories, full stop. It’s 100% important now - obviously, with the current political climate and everything that’s going on - but I also think it’s always important. Growing up when I was a kid, the films we were watching were like Goodfellas, The Godfather - these were the most iconic pieces of cinema. Absolutely fantastic films, and I would never have a word against those films. But I didn’t see myself in them. However, in contrast, when I started watching, for example, Fish Tank by Andrea Arnold - I thought to myself, “I could do that.” It was a real moment for me seeing that film. It was also like, “Oh, films don’t just have to be about guns and car chases. Films can also be about what a young girl is feeling.” And maybe not everyone wants to see my films, but they have the right to exist. I think it’s important that we tell different stories. And I don’t know whether film has a responsibility. It’s more like films are for everyone, and they should be by everyone. It’s like painting - painting doesn’t have a responsibility. Everyone should have access to and be able to express themselves in this medium if they so desire.
Tell me a little more about Misnomer - the film we’ve chosen to showcase in our programme this month. I found the perspective to be really unique. Why did you decide to build the narrative as you did?
I was in a relationship with a woman for two and a half years and by the time we were breaking up he was transitioning. Unfortunately my partner’s friends were more up to date with the changes that were happening than I was. It really highlighted the communication breakdown that was going on between us. I had a dinner with my partner, where the friends were saying “he” and the new name, and I was still saying “she” and the old name. Now, I think there’s more understanding about it, but at the time - I hadn’t seen much of this explored in film. Sometimes, it’s the person you’re closest to that it’s hardest to say stuff to. And sometimes if you really love someone, you have to let them go. That felt both very specific, but also universal.
Right now, you’re in post for Truckload - a short supported by the Primetime Empower Fund at Cannes 2024, starring a stellar cast of Jodie Whittaker, Joe Dempsie, Adam Ali, Cathy Tyson, Lara McDonnell, and newcomer Evie Jones, who is also the screenwriter. This project feels like a significant step up. Was your directing process different at all?
So at NFTS, it was all very prescriptive. It was about planning the shots, imagining the edit, and knowing exactly what we were doing - timing everything to get it right in one or two takes because we were shooting on film. This was different. I had six main cast members, quite big names. And at one point, there were scenes with four of them at once. There was also a lot going on in the script, and it’s comedy - I’d never done comedy before - so there were a lot of challenges. We decided to shoot digitally for obvious financial reasons, but also because I really wanted it to be cast-led. With comedy, it’s so important for the actors to feel like they can improvise, be natural, and try new things. I didn’t want to be telling them, “No, we only have one take” or “We can only do this one shot I’ve planned” - which is what you have to do sometimes if you’re shooting on film. My DoP Essi and I still made a shot plan, but we knew that, on the day, we were going to throw it out if the actors offered something new. Also, with Evie, the main actor and writer, and also my childhood friend - because the film is based on her true experiences, we needed the freedom to be flexible and adapt in the moment.
You’ve been able to consistently make short films for a few years now. Any advice for filmmakers struggling to get more projects off the ground?
I made four short films at film school, so going there helped me. That’s a big part of it. You know, applying for funding is good, but it’s like trying to win the lottery. I wouldn’t rely on it. My advice - though it’s not what people want to hear - is just go out and make it. Just get it done. Don’t let perfection be the enemy of progress. Just go and do it - even if it fails. Even if a scene doesn’t work, go and reshoot it, or learn from your mistake. No one has to see it. It can just live on your Vimeo with a private link, and then you can make the next one. I learned by doing, and that’s really helped me - giving myself grace to fail. There are things I don’t like about certain films I’ve made, and that’s okay. I know it’s annoying advice, but it’s the only way to start. Once you’ve made a film, you can show it to the next person. They might like something about it, and then you can level up each time and get more professional, get higher production value. But it’s the making that is important, not having a “perfect film”, whatever that is. I don’t think that exists!
You mentioned there is a feature in the works?
Yes, we’re working on it now! I just need someone to believe in me and give me the money!
During those years of doing music videos, doing theatre, and then all the shorts, did you crave making a feature? Was that an active end goal, or were you more focused on building your craft?
I was building my craft, 100%. You’re always insecure, though. I mean, you’re not a director if your heart’s not on the line every time you do it, and it’s normal if that often makes you a little insecure. And I’d like to also add, I think people sometimes don’t realise how sexist the industry still is. I still find that women are sometimes seen as if we should be in a more submissive role. Or my opinions aren’t trusted enough. And culturally there’s an issue as well - I can relate to male characters and typically male topics or stories just as much as I can to women’s, but men maybe are less interested in seeing from a female perspective or LGBTQ+ stories. And it’s like - no! Actually, absolutely everyone should be seeing these stories. It’s about opening up the idea of what we think cinema is and trying to open up people’s minds. That’s also why, with Misnomer, I didn’t want it to feel as if this film was only for LGBTQ+ people. This film is for everyone. And I hope the people who have limited experience with things like a new name or changing pronouns might realise: we’re all human. We’re all dealing with similar things.