PLEASE TELL US A LITTLE MORE ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR WORK AND HOW WE CAME TO BE AT THIS MOMENT?

I became a photographer, and by extension of that a filmmaker, almost entirely by accident.

I'd chased ambitions of playing in bands, something I had some success with in my twenties despite a terrible singing voice and little musical ability, or writing novels and impossibly beautiful poetry. Instead I took a few photographs using a Zenit SLR of a girlfriend one evening and with something resembling reluctance realised that I seemed to have an aptitude for the format. The initial works were banal, naive even, but this isn't entirely a shock considering my surprise admission to the photographer's club. As time progressed I began to bring more of myself into the work, my earlier aspirations as a writer no doubt helping me to develop the narrative framework that many of my photographs work within. I drew upon other interests and influences, various filmmakers and artists, writers even, and to these I added a dose of my enthusiasm for Japanese erotica.

The transition to film was brought about as I sought other ways to express my concerns, to explore different mediums and to challenge myself creatively. Short film was naturally appealing as not only did this allow me to expand upon the storytelling element of my work but also evolve the possibilities of a visual style which I had been refining for several years at that stage.

To date I have directed over twenty short films and a handful of music videos with my particular brand of despondent erotica seemingly having found for itself something of a home, albeit a small one, within a fairly niche audience. I have seen my work shown in Rome, New York, Hong Kong, Barcelona, Munich and several other locations and I have had the great pleasure of having a screening and Question and Answer event in my own country shut down by the British Council due to the perceived provocative nature of what I do.

WHY THIS FILM?

This film (Sometimes, My Body Betrays Me) is a metaphorical romp through a whirlwind of emotions I faced at the time of its construction, due to several terrible life changing decisions and a somewhat bruised heart. The inclusion of my ex-partner as the performer and the shooting of the film in the house we had previously shared together was an exhilarating twist of the knife for me. Thematically it deals with the lack of control we have of our own bodies and the machinations of our own minds as they scheme and plot towards our inevitable downfall. As with much of my output, there is a certain dark humour, a little uneasy sexuality and a dash of pseudo-intellectualism. Tessa Kuragi learnt her French lines phonetically. The film had been intended to include spoken English but as the film was commissioned for a Parisian film festival we decided, literally the night before, to ask friends to help with the translation and do things the hard way. Which of course made the process more difficult, but both myself and my still occasional muse do like to challenge ourselves.

WHAT KIND OF BUDGET?

About £50, which included alcohol and whatever cigarettes I smoked whilst editing. I even prepared the meal that the film’s protagonist vomits over, so my credentials as a gourmand cannot be brought into question.

WHY WORK ON THE BODY?

The body and the exploration of my own desires have become a canvas and now the platform I use to explore an increasingly diverse set of subjects that are making up my current body of work. I have the same fascinations for the libido as everybody else, though perhaps pushed to a greater degree . A false importance perhaps, but to me at least, a great importance.

NEXT VIDEO PROJECT?

I have just finished a new short film "Fucking Doesn’t Help" which I believe will be premiering in Vienna in November of this year. This has been shot with French performer and visual artist LouLou Re LouLou and features my usual nihilistic worldview on the topic of lustful distraction, a quick detour into the value (or otherwise) of literature and several hundred cigarettes. A new project is also under production currently, a companion piece of sorts to my earlier "Performance & Appreciation" short film, upon which a large portion is being shot using a VHS camcorder and a 1950's German Reel to Reel tape recorder.

NEXT PHOTO PROJECT?

The photographs these days are little more than auditions for potential film projects. I find the processes involved in the creation of a short film far more satisfying than those involved in a series of photographs and whilst I am still shooting stills it's not currently my priority.

A WISH, A DESIRE?

The ability to sleep for more than three hours at a time without the use of illicit substances would be really fucking nice.