As we enter the fall season, we’re excited to highlight ‘Hungry Like The Wolf‘, a gripping and raw exploration of excess and self-destruction in the music industry. Directed by Kieran Dee, this powerful short film has not only won Film of the Month but also snagged Actor of the Month, Editor of the Month, and the Audience Award in the month of August. We had had the opportunity to speak with Kieran about the inspiration behind the film, the challenges faced during production, and the dynamic relationship between its two central characters, Cam and Adam.
How has Hungry Like The Wolf been received so far?
KD: We’ve had some brilliant responses and our premier at the CURZON soho was really special. To me it feels like a piece that’s best enjoyed big. Big screen. Big sound. Thanks to our brilliant cinematographer Ben Leggett when you watch it big those rare breaths and quiet moments sit even deeper. We’ve been fortunate to have some lovely responses from other festivals and publications too.
How did this story come about?
KD: The story came from our two excellent writers Alan Hall and Gabe Thomson. Partly drawn from personal experience and woven into a different setting their writing was so honest and truthful that it made my job very easy. I was involved in early drafts of the script which were bubbling with Alan and Gabes natural storytelling ability. We workshopped the script a lot focusing on the key relationship in the piece and through improvisations found new things out about our central figures.
What interested you in focusing on musicians and their respective spirals?
KD: Many people that achieve success early on in life can struggle beyond that first success. It can happen to child actors, sports people, now I feel like we see it with influencers. This story could have been about success in any industry but there’s something about musicians being on such a pedestal that was interesting to us as a team. To be creative while under pressure can be so draining that it can lead to people going down the spiral our two protagonists go down.
How was it developing the dynamic between Adam and Cam?
KD: When directing anything my favourite part is getting inside the relationships. This is such a male friendship to me. Bravado, laughter, insecurity… on a loop. To play with these things is intriguing but can make your actors vulnerable. To be able to collaborate with two such competent and giving performers on issues like this was a pleasure.
What prompted you to use a voice-over narration for a chunk of the narrative?
KD: This was an idea that came from an early script development from the writers Alan and Gabriel. We had this funny, charming monologue that gave us such a beautiful intro to the film, but to have Cam delivering it in one long shot wouldn’t have fit the fast paced nature of the script or the characters lives. Using the voice over gives us such a great opportunity to juxtapose the jokey, laddy exterior with shots of their crumbling interiors.
The editing plays a huge role in capturing the frantic nature of the characters’ lives. Can you tell us about your collaboration with the editor and how you achieved this effect?
KD: As a debut director, there were occasions where people held my hand (metaphorically) through the process. Our editor Max Reynolds was absolutely one of those people. On our first phone call he understood what we were trying to achieve and the way we wanted to do it. If I went back to Max with something for the fifth or sixth time he never tired of my notes or my questions, even if I was giving them to him with barely any phone signal in north Wales.
The score is great and fits the high-energy spiral of the story. Were there multiple options for the score, or was it quick and easy to settle on?
KD: We were so fortunate to have great sound designers that were able to master this piece. I knew Dom Gowland, a long term collaborator of mine would understand the brief and Jake Ziegler got exactly what we were going for. We wanted to emulate the party scene that had been the formative backdrop of the writers and the protagonists respectively. We were ecstatic when Mark Ruff Ryder the UK Garage icon allowed us to use his track “Joy” that felt like the perfect tune to set the scene with pure bombastic revelry and similarly Sleepless had such sentimental value to us; we were equally pleased when Excision gave us the green light to use the track by Ben Sage.
What was the experience like during the shoot and post-production process? Were there any significant challenges you encountered along the way?
KD: In short… It was great. There are too many names to mention, but without so many of them pulling more than their weight we wouldn’t have made the piece of art that we did. I cant thank Louanna Billie Carron enough for (whilst hobbling through a MMA knee injury?!) Showing me the ropes. She even let me say ‘cut’ a couple of times !
What’s in the future? Anything you’re currently working on?
I’m looking forward to my next directing role and until then I’m working with Grace Millie to cook up Moon Loaf theatres new project… watch this space.
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