Director/Cinematographer Maximilian Newcombe
Written by Kerry Bruce
ProduceD BY Dominic Varney & Mia Nuttgens
It's the end of Ava and George's third date... and they've gone home together. Sexual tension is high. Things are getting steamy. But they're a bit rusty, a bit out of sync. Will it be a night of magic or will it all prove too hot to handle?
ABOUT THE FILM
10 Hot Steps To Be Adventurous In Bed was an Official Selection at the London Lift- Off Film Festival and received an Honourable Mention at Margate Film Festival.
ABOUT THE FILMmaker
Maximilian Newcombe is an Essex-based filmmaker and camera operator who has worked on projects for a huge number of businesses big and small, and has shot a number of award-winning short films in a wide variety of different genres.
Kerry Bruce is a Scottish Traveller and writer with a passion for comedy and storytelling. She studied at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and was a member of the Royal Court Writers Group. Her stage work has been performed at venues such as the Southwark Playhouse and the Wee Red Bar. Kerry's screenwriting credits include the short film Money Dance by AnyThink Films, and she has also contribute to the Cake Theatre podcast.
Dominic Varney is a London-based songwriter and actor. He studied at The University of Manchester before graduating from The Royal Central School of Speech & Drama in 2019. This year Dominic graduated as a composer from the course, Book, Music & Lyrics, and recently showcased his 2nd year work on a musical adaptation of Miss Congeniality at Crazy Coqs in London. He has also starred in award winning short films, and won Best Acting Duo for his performance in Light Fantastic at the Independent Shorts Awards (2021). He also has extensive experience working in Theatre In Education.
Mia Nuttgens is an actor, voiceover artist and filmmaker from South London. She studied Drama & English Literature at the University of Manchester and the MA in Classical Acting from the Central School of Speech and Drama. After graduating she co-produced 3 seasons of the CAKE podcast, working with over 40 female creatives internationally, and has worked on numerous short films including ‘La Noche de Anoche’ which she filmed in Barcelona last year. She performed the lead of Mistress Ford at the Cambridge Shakespeare Festival this summer and is currently working on an international theatrical production of Tom Sawyer, touring France and the French Islands.
READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH PRODUCER/ACTORS MIA & DOMINIC
Welcome to our Short of the Week series. Tell us a bit about yourself and your filmmaking background.
We are Mia Nuttgens and Dominic Varney, the Producers and Actors in 10 Hot Steps To Be Adventurous In Bed. We met studying Drama at the University of Manchester and performed in numerous shows together, including An Evening With The Voices In Annie's Head at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2017. We then both separately studied on the MA Acting course at the Central School of Speech and Drama and have since been performing in theatre and film, training and creating our own work.
Dominic has co-written Chosen, a pop-rock comedy musical about Sue, an IT Support Technician in her 60s, who wakes from a coma to discover half the world has been zombified. He is currently touring Chosen as part of the Rewrites showcase in partnership with The Lowry, Birmingham Hippodrome, MAST Mayflower Studios and Norwich Theatre.
Mia has just finished work as the lead Layla in Barcelona-based short ‘La Noche De Anoche’ and is currently performing in an international production of Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer, touring France and the French Islands.
10 Hot Steps To Be Adventurous In Bed is very special to us as it is the first short either of us have ever produced.
Tell us about the genesis of 10 Hot Steps To Be Adventurous In Bed and your motivation for making this film.
We originally performed 10 Hot Steps To Be Adventurous In Bed as part of a theatrical writing showcase at the Southwark Theatre in partnership with the Central School of Speech and Drama MA Writing course. We loved the script, created by our brilliant writer Kerry Bruce, and thought it would make a wonderful short film especially to showcase ourselves as actors. We then asked Kerry to adapt it for screen.
What were some of the main obstacles you experienced when making 10 Hot Steps To Be Adventurous In Bed and how did you overcome them?
The primary obstacle was sourcing the location. Originally the script was set at a bus stop so we producers, with our DoP/Director Maximillian Newcombe, took a lot of time scouting potential shoot locations in our local area. We reached out to Lambeth Council and TFL to secure permission to use the location and whilst Lambeth Council gave us permission to film, TFL refused to allow us to film anything with swearing or sexual content at a bus stop- unfortunately something we could not compromise for this film! Ultimately we decided to move the film to an indoors location which, whilst allowing for much more favourable shooting conditions, created a more intimate feel and also raised the stakes for the characters to already be back at George’s house.
Tell us about the journey of getting your film to audiences and some of the festival circuit highlights.
We had our screening in the heart of Lambeth at Dogstar in Brixton, which felt right as from our extensive location scouting we felt this film was very much rooted in Lambeth. We also took the opportunity to showcase other work from the creators involved in this project so hosting a mini film festival surrounded by our friends, family and collaborators was a really special moment.
What advice or hacks would you give to other short filmmakers?
Work with people and projects you trust and can have fun with! Our industry has so many talented people who are full of expertise, advice and enthusiasm, all of which we found invaluable in making our debut short.
Any film recommendations that we should add to our watchlist?
In terms of romantic comedies or dramas that inspired us…Harry Wootliff’s Only You is a gorgeous romance starring Josh O’Connor and Laia Costa. Before Sunrise and About Time are romantic staples!! And Ned Caderni’s short film Light Fantastic is amazing; ignore the fact that Dom is in it and that Ned edited 10 Hot Steps.
