Interviewed for OGA Chain magazine 2019

Lottie Graham V 2011 is currently living in Vancouver, working on an animation film about plastic pollution and the environment.  It’s a subject lose to her heart and she is excited to see how it will all turn out. “It’s a long process,” she explains, “there are possibilities of it remaining as a short film or being developed into a children’s TV series. A process like this can take a number of years or it can be green-lit in the next month.  It all depends on the support we gain and collaboration with other production companies.”

It’s been a long journey for Lottie to get to where she is now. She finally has her own independent production label called I90 West  Productions and the script to her first feature film, entitled Scarlet, went through to the final stages of the Sundance Film Festival  Development Lab application process. At the time, she did not have a ‘proof ’ (or short film) to go with the script to showcase the visual potential of the film, so this year, Lottie directed the short film to accompany her feature. The short will also act as a film in its own right and begin touring international film festivals next year. 

Lottie directed her film on location in Arizona, USA, alongside a female cinematographer. “There was pressure to do a good job and lead successfully but I had a team that were as passionate about the whole project as I was and who were all hugely talented in their fields, which made it a dream to work on set with them.

When I was at St. Swithun’s I loved my time there. I remember in my last year I was studious but painfully shy. However there was this brilliant teacher, Miss Oliver, who encouraged me to speak in class. It was just a tiny push, but that was all I needed and I haven’t looked back since. It really was great being part of a group of girls who supported each other.”

When she was at school Lottie loved the idea of becoming a film director but there were so few female directors that it seemed an almost impossible dream. She decided to focus on screenwriting instead and went to study English Literature at university.

This was quickly followed by a graduate course in film making in Los Angeles and an internship with a US production company.  Back in the UK, Lottie worked for another production company in London to gain more experience and started saving some money.  “It was a great experience being an assistant to the producer but commuting for two and a half hours to work was exhausting. I made the huge decision to spend a year at home, writing and working on my portfolio whilst walking dogs and working in a coffee shop.  As a result, my animation film idea attracted an investor which led to me setting up my company and starting Scarlet.

It’s such a competitive industry. You have to work hard and prove yourself to be an asset and indispensable within a crew.” Lottie, however, has never given up on her dream and has kept on pushing forward. In the future she would love to direct feature films so in the meantime she is continuing to work hard whilst actively encouraging other young women who want to break into the film industry.