Olivia tries to dissuade her husband from firing their children's au pair, but how far is she willing to go to get what she wants?
Starring Sharon Young, James Anderson, Pía Laborde-Noguez, Eleanor Chicken, Emile Schranz.
Written & Directed by Tom Tennet
READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH THE FILMMAKER
TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR FILMMAKING BACKGROUND:
I'm a director/actor/writer based in London. I studied History and Spanish at University, and after graduating got my start in the 'industry' as an assistant in an SFX department and then an Art department on some period dramas. I then did the rounds as a freelance runner in commercial production companies, moving up to production assistant before producing a few music videos and one big commercial. I've always wanted to direct though, and I found that because I was a competent producer (competent being a generous description), I was very much nudged down that path. It wasn't what I wanted to do, so I realigned myself with directing. 'Control' is what I consider to be my second 'proper' short film... meaning it's not a prolonged comedy sketch.
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE INSPIRATION BEHIND YOUR FILM?:
To be honest, there are loads of different places this film came from. Some of my best friends are a same sex couple and they had their first kid a few years ago, and I often wondered if people looked at me when I was with them and assumed I was the father... it sort of became a joke (that only I found funny) about me not realising my wife was having an affair with the nanny. At the same time, I was reading a book where a similar situation to what happens in 'Control' is rather casually referred to in one paragraph, which gave a bit more of a story to my joke. Finally, I had au pairs growing up, and my parents separated when I was around the same age as the eldest child in 'Control,' so there was a mood I wanted to emulate from that. The script was an amalgamation of all of those things. As for the film, I've always been a big fan of contained family dramas, films by directors like Joanna Hogg or Asghar Farhadi. So, I wanted 'Control' to be something quiet and disturbing - a peek behind the curtains of a seemingly perfect family unit to reveal the broiling tensions underneath.
WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO BRING THIS FILM TO LIFE AND WHAT OBSTACLES DID YOU OVERCOME ALONG THE WAY?:
It was an exhausting but hugely rewarding experience to bring 'Control' to life. I produced the film myself, so the majority of challenges relate to that. I think the biggest obstacle in that sense is always allowing yourself the time to pay attention to the things you actually want to pay attention to. I found that I spent nearly all of my time and energy on producing, which meant that by the time I actually got to the directing, it all felt very rushed and distracted. That said, the moments I did get to focus on directing were brilliant, and I was so lucky to be working with such great cast and crew.
ANY ADVICE YOU WOULD GIVE SHORT FILMMAKERS ABOUT GETTING THEIR FILM SEEN BY AUDIENCES (FESTIVALS, ONLINE, PLATFORMS, ETC.)?:
This is the question I have for every filmmaker, and everyone seems to have the same response, which is along the lines of, "I've got no idea." It's one of the most frustrating aspects of it all, and I'm grateful 'Control' had some very minor success at festivals and then got accepted by Omeleto, where it's received a decent amount of views. I think with my next short film, I'll aim to do an online release first and then see about festivals. My experience is that when I'm trying to get a short into festivals, I'm wasting a lot of money and energy on that, when I could be putting all of it towards making the next one. Essentially, I'd rather make more films than have the ones I do make get into festivals. I think that's a good attitude to have and I think I'd encourage other filmmakers to look at things the same way... that's a brand new outlook for me though, so I could be proven very wrong very quickly.
WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE PART OF THE FILMMAKING PROCESS?:
I love working with actors. There's something about the relationship that I find particularly interesting, rewarding, and challenging. I got very lucky to have Sharon, James, and Pía on board for 'Control' and they were all such a pleasure to work with.
ANY FILM RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE CAN WATCH TO KEEP US BUSY WHILE SOCIAL DISTANCING?:
I've just got on the Team Deakins podcast bandwagon, and so have been going back through Deakins' and Villeneuve's work together. On that same thread, Villeneuve's 'Incendies' is tough but amazing. For something bold, bright and brilliant, just go for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse... My favourite film is 'Festen' by Thomas Vinterberg, so if you haven't seen it, I guess that would always be my go-to recommendation.
Interested in getting your work selected as Short of the Week?