Greenshaw old boy Jack Spring, 30, directs Merry Christmas Aubrey Flint, in cinemas 6 November with John Bradley, Richard E. Grant and Jim Broadbent.
A director who grew up on the Sutton and Carshalton border has a Christmas film in cinemas across the country next month. Jack Spring, 30, directed Merry Christmas Aubrey Flint, which opens nationwide on Friday 6 November through Signature Entertainment.
The cast is led by John Bradley, with Richard E. Grant, Celia Imrie, Sophia Di Martino, Adjoa Andoh and Jim Broadbent. It is his third feature. He shot his first at 19.
He went to Rushy Meadow and then Greenshaw, and he credits a teacher at Greenshaw with starting it all. We put five questions to him in writing; his answers are below.
“Without that department I wouldn’t have a career”
“I grew up not far from Carshalton College, right on the Sutton / Carshalton border,” he said. “I had a great time growing up in Sutton.
“One of my teachers at Greenshaw, Mr Butcher, was pretty instrumental in my filmmaking career. He let me muck around editing my short films at lunch and after hours, and he encouraged me to start getting them into film festivals.”
He added: “I’ve heard they’ve since shut the media department to focus on the STEM subjects. Shame, as without that department I wouldn’t have a career in film making.”
A first feature at 19, on £150,000
He went to York University to study Film and TV and left after a year.
“I was teaching myself more by making short films every weekend and grew frustrated by the fact no one else on the course bothered to make films (and had a bit of a snooty attitude toward me because I did make films), and the fact the staff were all very academic and didn’t really have much of a background themselves in film making, despite it being a film & TV course,” he said.
“I didn’t know anyone in the film industry and didn’t know anyone with money to invest in films. I luckily got taught everything I know on that side of it by Scott Elliott and Sid Sidowsyj who were making a movie in York at the time. They taught me how to raise cash and I was away. Raised £150k and shot my first movie aged 19.”
His earlier credits include Three Day Millionaire and Destination: Dewsbury, according to Radio Times.
What the film is about
“Merry Christmas Aubrey Flint is, on the surface, about a man who has completely withdrawn from the world being forced back into it,” he said. “Aubrey is a reclusive model-soldier painter who hates Christmas, and after getting himself into trouble he’s sentenced to community service at a retirement home.
“He ends up reluctantly directing the residents in a production of A Christmas Carol, which becomes their attempt to save the home, and, without him really realising it, his way of confronting a lot of things he’s been avoiding in his own life.
“It’s a Christmas comedy, but underneath that it’s really about loneliness, friendship, ageing and the importance of community. I think it’s the most heartwarming Christmas film for a while. Usually Christmas films rely on tinsel and popular Christmas songs to generate this artificial sort of Christmas spirit, but ours really does make you feel. It’ll get you from the inside out.”
The film is written by Chris Boyle-McQuarry. Radio Times, which launched the trailer on 30 September, lists Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Adrian Rawlins, Karl Pilkington and Alex Macqueen in the cast too.
How Richard E. Grant and Jim Broadbent said yes
“With Richard and Jim, it was ultimately about getting the material in front of them in the right way,” he said. “Once the script and the package had reached the point where people could understand exactly what kind of film we were trying to make, we approached them and were incredibly lucky that they responded to it.
“Richard brings exactly the sort of wit, warmth and presence the film needed, and Jim voices Dickens, which gives the whole thing this wonderful sense of tradition and gravitas. Having actors of that calibre say yes also helped enormously in showing everyone else that we were serious about making a proper British Christmas film rather than something disposable.”
A screening in Sutton?
He has been talking to Omniplex Sutton about a local screening and question and answer session around the release. Nothing is fixed yet. “The distributor are in touch with Omniplex and I’ll let you know if / when we have a date,” he said. We will add the date and booking details here when he does.
His advice to young film-makers in Sutton
“My route is quite novel but for me it was learning the business side of the industry which meant I could self generate opportunities. Without learning the boring money stuff I wouldn’t have got the breaks I have,” he said.
“The other important thing is that you need to understand you’re always learning and improving. Your first short film isn’t going to win an Oscar. It’s not supposed to, it’s your training ground. Took me 100 shorts and 3 features to make something good (Aubrey, finally!). It’s okay taking your time to learn.”
What it means for you
Merry Christmas Aubrey Flint is in cinemas from Friday 6 November. You can watch the trailer on Radio Times. Jack Spring’s production company is Shush Films.
For more on what is happening in the borough, see What’s On in Sutton.
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