SFW 2016 Café Cinéaste: The Screenwriter

BRYONY SALISBURY

The stage door in Southampton played host to The Hampshire Picture Co.’s masterclass: Café Cinéaste: The Screenwriter. Head of Film at Southampton Solent University Darren Kerr, who acted at interviewer for the evening, introduced Caroline Sax and we were promptly shown an impressive showreel from the 40 plus feature films that Caroline has worked as a script supervisor, included titles such as UNDERWORLD (Len Wiseman 2003), SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE (John Madden 1998) and RESIDENT EVIL (Paul WS Anderson 2002). We also had the opportunity to see a clip from Caroline’s directorial debut and short film THE FISHMONGER’S DAUGHTER (1998) that was picked up by Sundance Film Festival, confirming her talent. 

The intimate setting allowed for a talk that covered an eclectic range of topics starting with personal anecdotes from her time as Stanley Kubrick’s neighbour, being on the set of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968) where she remembered thinking she “was in fairyland”, to honest and frank advice for people interested in going into film as a career. Caroline also briefly spoke on her personal experience as a woman in industry in light of the painfully low statistics surrounding women’s roles in the US and UK film industries.

The evening concluded with a short Q&A in which she admitted that she is always learning and advised people interested in the film industry to go to as many masterclasses and guest talks as possible. This masterclass was a unique and valuable opportunity for all to hear from someone who is currently in industry with a wealth of knowledge.

Café Cineaste took place on Tuesday 8 November as part of Southampton Film Week 2016.