WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY MATTHIAS Fuchez
PRODUCED by KATIE ORGAN
The story of a depressed young woman who bluntly reflects on her life and the world for her social media page, as she goes through what she’s decided will be the last day of her existence.
ABOUT THE FILM
No Filter was an Official Selection at our 2023 festival where is was nominated for Best Screenplay. It was nominated for Best Short Film and Best Actress at the Monkey Bread Tree Film Awards. It screened at Poppy Jasper International Film Festival, Go Mental! Film Festival in Berlin, Festival Mental in Portugal and Tilt Shift Film Festival in Philidelphia. Disappear Here Film Festival in Ireland, and Peekskill Film Festival in New York. It was also a Semi-Finalist at the Academy Award qualifying Flicker’s Rhode Island International Film Festival.
ABOUT THE FILMmaker
Matthias works in film PR, previously for Universal Pictures, now for an agency that works with all the major film studios. His first short film, The Muse, won a variety of awards at film festivals all around the world, encouraging him to continue writing and directing. He has since written and directed 2 more award-winning short films. After advice from industry professionals on which project to advance with, Russian Moon (which was in competition for our 2023 Film Fund) will be his most ambitious and exciting yet. His artistic background gives him the rare opportunity to share the full potential of his story-telling ability; not only by writing and directing but also by composing the music and score.
Katie is a film Producer based in London who has worked at Universal Pictures in London for several years, concurrently producing short films. Her first short, Lily Meets Charlie was picked for the official selection at the BAFTA qualifying Underwire Festival, and has just reached 2 million views online. Katie has since produced 3 award-winning short films with Matthias under their joint production company, One Of Nine Ltd.
READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH MATTHIAS & KATIE
Welcome to our Short of the Week series. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your filmmaking background?
Matthias: I am French, I am 34 years old and I have been living in London for the last 13 years. I made my first short film on a road trip to Spain and Portugal with 2 Spanish actor friends (my housemates at the time) with one small camera, one go pro and one iPhone, and a mic I use to record songs with. I was writing the script (about 2 friends going on the exact same road trip twice for two different reasons) as we were driving, and we shot scenes everytime we found a beautiful location. I then came back, wrote and recorded the score and edited the film. I completely fell in love with the whole experience, and just couldn’t wait to make another one. That’s when I met Katie, and together we started One Of Nine Ltd, a creative British film company that prides itself on producing high-end impactful shorts, working with rising talent and nurturing exciting voices. Our first short film, which we shot in Paris, was called The Muse. and our second one is No Filter.
Katie: I am also 34 years old and a Film Producer based in London. I developed my passion for filmmaking whilst studying Film & Media at school. I didn’t go to University but instead sought out an internship at Pathe Productions, which led to 3 fantastic years learning the ropes of how films are made whilst I worked there as a Receptionist and Office Assistant. After a few years, I branched into the freelance world of production working on films such as The BFG and Trespass Against Us. Finally, I transitioned back in-house and now work at Universal Pictures in London where I have worked for several years, concurrently producing short films. My first short, Lily Meets Charlie was picked for the official selection at the BAFTA qualifying Underwire Festival, and has just reached 2 million views online. I have since produced 3 award-winning short films with Matthias under our joint production company, One Of Nine Ltd, most recently, No Filter was part of the BIFA qualifying – Kino Film Festival, which marked the film’s 10th festival selection.
Tell us about the genesis of No Filter and how the project came about?
Matthias: 13 years ago, right before I moved to London, I lost one of my close friends due to suicide, and this has had a really big impact on my life and the way I see the world. Though the idea of making a film about something really deep and profound was always on my mind, I didn’t want to start making this very personal film without having any experience in the field. So we did The Muse first, and were about to shoot a new short film. As we started working on the production of our second short film; an intense musical drama/thriller, the pandemic began. I then lost my job, and lost my flat, and was just left with one option: going back to my mum’s, in Tours, France, at 30 years old. As this time was incredibly difficult for millions of people around the world, it was also difficult for me. But I tried really hard to stay positive, and so thought it was now time for me to put all my doubts, and questions, and thoughts about the world in a screenplay, which eventually became No Filter.
What were some of the main obstacles you experienced when making of No Filter and how did you overcome them?
Matthias: The hardest thing for me was to continue working on the side at my day job. I work in film PR and it can get really busy and sometimes have to do crazy hours, or even work on weekends. Making No Filter was one of the most amazing experiences of my life, but the week before the shoot was one of the craziest weeks of my life, and I think I might have slept 15 hours that whole week.
Tell us about the journey of getting your film to audiences.
Katie: I believe that storytelling should not only entertain but also inform and create change. Mental health challenges and suicide have been exacerbated by the pandemic, yet the topic remains taboo and is not discussed enough. Film has the potential to normalise these conversations and reach a wide audience. This is why, in pre-production, we decided to get two charities on board - Papyrus and Chasing The Stigma - to put their rubber stamp on the film. Having their approval gave it added credibility when reaching out for funding and then eventually, now it's released, reaching a wider platform of viewers. My first short film was accepted into the Underwire Film Festival which was a BAFTA qualifying festival, this allowed us to submit the film to Omeleto, one of YouTube’s biggest platforms for short films, this is the reason it's just passed 2 million views. So, we knew this was the same route we wanted to go down with No Filter, so when we were selected for the Kino London Short Film Festival, as a BIFA qualifying festival, we were ecstatic because well, these big named festivals give us more opportunities to put it out to a wider audience.
You used a festival strategist - how was that experience?
Katie: It was a fantastic experience right from the beginning, we used Festival Formula and felt instantly supported. They believed in the project and its ability to do well at festivals which gave us a huge confidence boost. 30% of the festivals No Filter was selected for were from Festival Formula recommendations, Kino being one of them. I’m constantly seeing what they’re up to touring festivals worldwide, through their Instagram page, they seem to really know their stuff, but also, they are such lovely people, the experience was an absolute pleasure. I’d definitely recommend them to anyone needing help with a festival plan and/or submissions. We did the submissions ourselves because we were limited on funds but they offer this too which is great as sending films to multiple festivals and keeping on top of deadlines is very time consuming!
What advice or hacks would you give to other short filmmakers?
Matthias: We are very far from being in a position in which we can give advice as we still have so much to learn, but I guess it is all about forcing yourself to do as much as possible; to try and push your luck. Most evenings, weekends, and holidays become work days, but when the work is the passion; it helps! Working on projects that are not yours is also a good way to grow your circle, and will help make more connections.
What do you think is the biggest challenge short filmmakers face trying to break into the industry?
Katie: Well, in terms of getting a short film off the ground, there is the money hurdle. We’ve found that sponsorship from companies (start-ups, mainly) has been the most successful for us. Although film funding schemes are great, in my opinion, unless you have something very unique, it's very tough to get money through them. Some (not all) also tend to want projects that are already partially funded or have a team attached with previous credits. In my opinion they don't cater too well to filmmakers in their early careers.
Then, once the film is made, I think a big challenge is getting it seen, yes film festivals are great but ultimately, we want those sweets views clocking up online, this is very hard when there are so many fantastic films already out there, this is why this platform, Kino Short of the Week - is a great opportunity for filmmakers to have their stuff seen. There should be more platforms like this! Saying all this however, my advice though would be to not let this put you off - just make something - even if nothing comes from it, you’ll have the best experience of your life. There is nothing like the feeling when you shout ‘wrap’ on the last day of shoot. That sense of achievement… wow.
You're releasing the film in time for Mental Health Awareness Week. How do you think film (or art in general) can contribute to the wider public conversation about mental health, and what specifically is the message of No Filter?
Matthias: I think hearing about it more and more helps drive the conversation and increase awareness, and any means may it be art or media plays an important part. One of the messages of No Filter is that when we get lost in the really big questions and suffer from the heavy weight of life, it is important to remember that all the little things which we think are meaningless, actually have a massive importance. This is what Alex (No Filter’s lead character) realises whilst going through what she thinks will be the last day of her life.
And deep inside, on a very personal level, I wish that if my friend had seen this film, it could have inspired him to talk to us more, or would have pushed us all to be less superficial, and open up more, and share more, about what is real, and what we always keep for ourselves, when we shouldn’t. And who knows what would have happened.
I hope this little short film might change the story of many groups of friends.
Any film recommendations that we should add to our watchlist?
Matthias: the last film that I absolutely loved was ‘Swan Song’ by Benjamin Cleary. I thought it was such a beautiful film, and it was made in such a clever way. I like to be inspired by a film that uses smart writing to save money on production. And the music…just pierced my heart. Also great to know that it was the director’s first feature film, and that before that, he only did short films, including one which won the Oscar for best short film…
Katie: Well, as we’re talking about short films, I’ll start with that, sadly, I didn’t get to see all of the films at the Kino London Short Film Festival but from the two days I attended, two of my favorite shorts were A Mind Full, and Harold & Mary, two very different genres but both stuck with me for different reasons. And, feature film… one of the films I enjoyed the most recently was Triangle of Sadness. I laughed (a lot), I felt uncomfortable, happy and also sick, it was a rollercoaster of joy.