After watching the brilliant Life After Flash I’ve been fortunate enough to catch up with the documentary’s director and owner of Spare Change Films, Lisa Downs.
Flash, The Navigator, dark chocolate on a sofa and Dirty Dancing are all on the menu…so let’s have a chat!
Thank You for taking the time to talk about your career, Life After Flash and future projects…lets begin with you and your career. What got you interested in the film industry? Have you any tips for anyone reading who are considering a career in the industry too? So I actually wanted to be an actor way back when, from as early as I can remember. I was obsessed with all the award shows, I had my Oscar dress designed (it was a big puffy princess dress with pearl drop earrings like The Little Mermaid had), and I would interview myself about the roles I was doing – all in third person of course. Then as I got older, my parents kept telling me if I wanted to become an actor, they would support it but suggested I get a second career, so I thought “well what is the next best thing for a second career?” and so I chose to do a BA in Television Production at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga (country Australia) so I could at least write and direct what I acted in. During this time not only did I realise that I wasn’t great at acting anyway, but that I really loved directing and telling stories, and the whole magic of filmmaking, and so that’s how it began. As far as tips go – just get on set. be on set as much as you can. I wish I had worked on sets more – you really get a sense of learning all the roles and the atmosphere, and the reality of filming. It’s very long hours and lots of prep. Also it’s who you know, so be kind to everyone you meet, absorb it all, never be late, and slowly you will start to get jobs from recommendations and it will snowball from there.
What for you is your current highlight of your career? To be honest my career has two parts to it – working for other people on their productions, and working for myself on my own ideas and being in control. Certainly I find more fulfilment in creating my own ideas and making them happen, but that element of my career is relatively new. I directed my first documentary when i was 19 – it was a short about the Tibetan Children’s Village in Dharamsala, India – I interviewed Jetsun Pema, who is the sister of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. That was an incredible experience because it was my first documentary, my first real tangible project, and my first time in India! That was certainly one of the highlights, but then I had so many in the making of Life After Flash, that there are a few more to add to that list now.
You created the production company Spare Change Films. Can you tell me the story behind that? So I created Spare Change Films when I first went “freelance” to have my own company to create my projects under. I always wanted my own production company, and i wanted one with a bit more to it – so the concept of Spare Change is that with every project, some of the budget, the “spare change” goes towards a charity.With my Tibetan documentary (“Lost Children Of Tibet”) my family sponsored a child from the village and saw her graduate high school. For Life After Flash I raised money for Brian May’s Mercury Phoenix Trust charity supporting AIDS awareness, as well as raised money for MediCinema which put on movie nights for terminally ill children. I’ll also donate money to Topol’s Jordan River Village charity – so I’m quite proud of that.
This year saw the international release of Life After Flash and I have to say I thought it was amazing and as much as I don’t need an excuse to watch Flash Gordon it certainly made me want to watch it again! I’d say it was a must watch for Flash Gordon fans and for people who are interested in behind the scenes of movies. How much of a challenge was it making this documentary? Thank you! I was quite nervous about how Flash Gordon fans would respond. Film critics are one thing, I can handle people saying “oh the grade wasn’t quite right” or “the sound levels weren’t perfect” (it’s independent after all!) but to have a Flash Gordon fan say it didn’t do the movie justice, I would have been heartbroken! How much of a challenge? Ha, well, let’s just say it was the equivalent of 4 years running up Everest with a boulder strapped to your legs. It wasn’t easy at all! It was my first feature documentary, and to be honest I didn’t really know how to do it, I just did it and learnt on the way. My first crowdfunding campaign failed, I had to re-pitch the idea to Sam and hope he still had trust in me. I raised just enough money to get me over to the states, and lucky had some incredible people helping me along the way, allowing me to stay on couches, buying me hard drives because I didn’t have the space, I ended up editing it because I couldn’t afford an editor….just hurdle after hurdle. But I knew that I wanted to make it so bad that you just keep going. I had never distributed a film, or made DVDs and BluRays, but again, you just learn because you have to. But it was rewarding for sure, and all those experiences out weight the tough times. And it was because of all those experiences and what I learnt that it was one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done, and I’m so proud of the film, It’s not perfect by any means, but it’s finished and out and the fans love it so couldn’t ask for more!
Lisa and Queen guitarist Brian May behind the scenes of Life After Flash
Was there anything left on the cutting room floor? Or you were unable to film? Ah so much was left! The first edit was about 5 hours long – all of the cast interviews were at least an hour each, and yes there were whole sections I cut. The DVD and Blu-Ray of my own release (from http://www.lifeafterflash.com) have about 160 minutes of special features across both because I wanted people to still see more, but didn’t want it to impact the film itself There was a sequence I had cut from a charity dinner in Rochdale – part of Dale Con – which I really wanted to keep in, but that was the last thing to be cut – but it’s on the special features so at least I know it’s not totally lost. There wasn’t anything I wasn’t “allowed” to film really. Mexico we had to be careful filming, and I guess out and about we didn’t entirely have permits for everything! But it’s always really hard, especially when you are the director and so close to everything, to choose what to take out!
Did anyone refuse to participate? Certainly there are people from the original cast I would have loved to have been in the film, but you can’t expect everyone to say yes. Everyone who did end up in the film did so because they wanted to support the doc, and wanted to support Sam, and gave their time and they were just fabulous, so I don’t think we are missing anything. You’ll notice a few of the names not in it – I will say Ornella Muti’s team were so kind and she actually did agree, I just couldn’t afford her stylist! And she has every right to ask for a stylist, I just couldn’t accommodate. The others well, like I said, you can’t expect everyone to say yes!
Behind the scenes of Life After The Navigator
The next “Life After” is Life After The Navigator. Got to admit I’m really hyped for this one (as is my wife, Flight of the Navigator is one of her favourite movies!) and I’m looking forward to the release. When will it be out? Are there plans to release it the same way as Life After Flash? I’m very excited about Navigator too! We are aiming for release end of this year, early next year. I’m not sure how we will release it yet. Flash was really a test in how it could work, so we will tweak certain aspects and then see what works best for this one.
With there being 2 documentaries in the “Life After” series (as to speak) are there plans for more? This would be an interesting collection to own. There are plans for more! I’ve actually started filming for two more, and have a wish list for others, but they are a secret for now 🙂
Great to hear there are at least 2 more on the way and I hoping they are movies from the 80s as they are some of the best ones for me as a kid. Speaking of the best, what do you consider the best and worst movies of all time? Wow! big question. Since making two features now, I could never say a movie was terrible because I appreciate everything that goes into making a film. I would hate it someone said Life After Flash was the worst film of all time, because I put everything I had into it. Sure there are films that I don’t connect with – I’m not a zombie fan, I really don’t like zombie movies. As far as best films, for me it’s films that stay with you, that you can keep watching over and over. I certainly appreciate films that considered “the best” – ones that change cinema as we know it – Alien, Citizen Kane, Avatar, Gone With The Wind – classics are classics for a reason. But personally for me it’s the films that helped me through my teenage years, that have a soundtrack that takes me straight back to how I was feeling when I first watched it – films like Neverending Story, Dream A Little Dream, Dirty Dancing – many people wouldn’t consider them “great” films, but they are films that will always stay with me and always take me on a journey.
Interesting point about worst movie and some great choices for best movies too! So when you finish working with your film projects, how do you relax and unwind? To be honest my days are so busy and I’m working on so many things, I don’t really stop! But if I do, it’s normally a movie on the couch in my pyjamas with some dark chocolate and a takeaway with my boyfriend Ash (also my producer) and our two dogs, have a bath and an early night! I’m a morning person, I get up at about 5am every day, so I don’t stay up too late.
Lisa, thanks again for your time and I really look forward to seeing Life After The Navigator when it gets released very soon!
Life After Flash is rated 15 and is available one Blu-Ray, DVD and VOD. Purchase it on their official website https://www.lifeafterflash.com/
Life After The Navigator is still in production currently but for more details go the official website https://www.lifeafterthenavigator.com/