EXIT was inspired by a newspaper story about the suicide of a young woman working in London’s sex industry, and was a film I made when I was sixteen years old on the cheapest, most basic standard (regular not super) 8mm equipment. I had to dub the sound later, there was no true sync. The music was composed and performed by my best friend at the British equivalent of a high school, Paul Kendall, and his experimental jazz band, Strophie. Paul has gone on to produce extraordinary music and is now based in Paris. Please check out his MySpace page: profile.myspace.com My biggest challenge was persuading my school friend, Sue Wilson, to play the young woman. I think she gives an excellent performance, and I like her reading at the end, of lines taken from Lewis Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland. The film was enough to get me a job directing a documentary for BBC TV while still at a British grammar school (the equivalent of a US high school). I am surprised now by how the dark theme and tone of EXIT foreshadow my novel and film, The War Zone.
Video Rating: 4 / 5