Iggy London – Area Boy

By: Lisa Steinberg

Q) Please tell us the premise for your film Area Boy.

A) Area Boy follows Eli, an aimless teenager, who has moved to the outer edges of a provincial town with his mother. As he settles in, he tries to escape the bleakness of life while navigating questions of self-identity, as he balances his time between his delinquent friends and the church community. Torn between two worlds, Eli must find himself and embrace who he truly is. The film stars Joshua Cameron as Eli, Malcolm Kamulete as Kevin and Jolade Obasola as Marlene.

Q) Where did the concept for this film come from?

A) The film is loosely inspired by my experiences in the midlands and north England whilst I was studying there. There was something incredibly beautiful yet sad about some of the places and people that I visited; so much so that I wanted to investigate this further.

Ultimately, the film is about pretending. The battle between the religious world and the secular world. Eli is stuck between those two paths and ultimately has to make a decision with himself as to who he wants to be and why.

But to a certain degree, the film is trying to suggest something to our audience as well. We all pretend; hide a little bit of ourselves to make our lives a little easier to deal with. It was such an interesting theme to explore because the more that I delved into it with the cast and crew, the more I understood how relatable and wide ranging this film could be. The act of being someone that you’re not echoes through how we move through society, and it was important that this film spoke powerfully to that notion.

Q) The acting in this is quite moving. How involved were you with the casting of the movie?

A) Casting is probably one of the most important parts of making a film for me. We auditioned lots of people for the role of Eli; some of them actors, some of them non-actors. We wanted to make sure we had our main protagonist first before moving on to the other characters.

As a result to taking our time, we were able to work with such an incredible cast. Working with Joshua Camera, who played Eli, was great. He was able to provide such a sensibility to the character that wasn’t so obvious in the script. Malcolm Kamulete is also an incredible actor.

Q) Eli sitting in that church is so powerful. The emotions on his face in almost every scene is striking. What kind of advice or insight did you offer Joshua Cameron while filming to get those magical moments?

A) We were together closely. One of the biggest things that I wanted to come through was having an internal battle with oneself. Not needing to show all the motions in one scene. We mapped out what Eli would be feeling in each scene and question his intentions. Most of the time, Eli is incredibly deep in thought, so it was also important that other actors felt like they knew how to react to that. We spent a lot of time with Joshua and the rest of the cast on what the story means, and I think that gave them to tools to have the freedom to experiment with their characters whilst also being true the script.

Q) The movie is quite powerful. Were there any scenes that challenged you to shoot?

A) There weren’t any specific scenes which I think were particularly challenging, but in general there was challenge with time.

Area Boy was shot in film. I think the main desire in making this film was creating something distinctive. It goes without saying but 16mm film provides a level of nostalgia that I thought was very interesting, specifically because Eli seems to be stuck in time and this physical restriction paired well with 16mm film that felt quite timeless. From a production perspective, we shot the short film in four days and so it was important for there to be a level of focus. With a limited amount of film rolls, it added to the attention that everyone had on set – rarely being idle and dedicated to making the best film.

Q) Which scene(s) in Area Boy are you really quite proud of what you captured?

A) Some of my favorite moments from the film are the super quiet moments when we feel like we are in Eli’s head. For example, the opening scene when he’s sitting at the back of the car and listening to music completely in his own world. We later see Eli lifting weights or at the bar with his mates, very much physically present but not mentally present.

But as simple as it is, I’m really proud of the scene where Eli and Malcolm are having a heart to heart in the little hideout. What they speak about is really the crux of the story.

Q) What do you hope lingers with audiences that have the opportunity to watch this film?

A) I am extremely passionate about telling this film because at the heart of it lies a very strong desire to challenge the idea of holy or not holy; wrong or right. I want to create worlds which hold a mirror to the society we live in and capture an essence of film that allows you to remove yourself from your own subject position to another’s – to create empathy through storytelling. To do this, I seek to tell the stories that feel real, capturing life as it happens rather than exaggerated ideas of reality.

Q) As this is a short film, are there any thoughts or plans to maybe make this into a full-length movie?

A) I would love to make it into a full-length film. The short film is set over a period of weeks in Eli’s life; however, I’d be interested in seeing how this would work in a full-length film. I’d love to develop the idea further and see what other themes and characters could be included.

Q) What are the other projects that you have been busy working on?

A) I don’t really know. It would have been nice to have it all figured out by now! But all I know is that I want to continue making striking and thought-provoking films. Films that are polarising, films that leave people wanting to talk about them. That you don’t just forget once the credits have rolled.

Q) What would you like to say to fans and supporters of the incredible work you bring to our screens?

Just a massive thank you to anyone who has followed the journey of Area Boy or any of my previous work! I’m super grateful. But I’d also like to emphasise how much it take a village – from the producers to the casing directors, to the agents, to the location managers, to the production runners. I can’t thank enough the wonderful people around me that work tirelessly to make this all happen. Can’t wait to share more amazing films with you all!