Director Mhairi Calvey on the set of "Gaslight."
We had the awesome opportunity to speak with director and actress Mhairi Calvey about her film Gaslight. Check out the interview below.
Hi, Mhairi! Thank you for granting the interview. Congrats on your new film Gaslight. You’re directing and starring in the short film! Tell us what inspired the script.
Thank you for interviewing me regarding my debut short Gaslight. I was inspired to write the script based on events from my own life experiences and experiences of people I know. I wanted to make people more aware of domestic abuse and the different types of abuse
Did you have to do any specific research for the film and your role?
I spoke to victims of domestic abuse at a group therapy session. What I learned was that just because it isn’t physical doesn’t mean it isn’t domestic abuse. It can come in many forms such as financial abuse, emotional abuse, verbal abuse and lots of survivors told me one of the worst forms of abuse they received was gaslighting. This is when the abuser makes you think you are crazy by denying things they may have said or done. It’s the most common. An example would be if someone cheated on you and if you asked them about it and they denied it that’s a form of gaslighting. I read loads of information on the types of personalities that abuse. I spoke to therapists and found out that mainly people who suffer from narcissistic or sociopathic personality disorder are the people who mainly abuse. One of the key things I learned is that often the abuser would start off treating them well then, the abuse would happen very slowly to break down the confidence of the victim and then cut them off from friends and family. The stress is very serious and will hugely impact the victim’s health, physically and mentally. There is so much research available and I recommend people look into it as it could save your life.
Editor’s Note: If you feel unsafe in your life, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline | Call 24/7 (USA).
Gaslight is your first short film as a director, producer, and writer. This had to be one amazing experience. What was it like?
I was very nervous, part of this experience was to help me recover from my own life experiences and gain my confidence back. I think I was most nervous about having the cast saying the lines I had written. Writing can be such a personal thing in general but with something like, this it was even more so. It was one of my best life experiences in the industry. I had such an incredible cast and crew plus loads of people helped by giving us locations, camera kit and make up. It was amazing to see it all come together. I would love to direct again.
Is it a challenge to direct and star in the film?
It was very challenging to direct and act. The whole way through a scene you are thinking of notes to give to the other actor and what shots you need to get next. I have so much respect for anyone who acts and directs a feature. Since nobody is checking your performance you kind of have to hope you get it right. You need to have two heads.
You have an amazing cast. How did you match the talent to their roles?
I was incredibly lucky with the cast I got. I knew what I was looking for in each actor and I literally got my dream cast. Emma Spurgin Hussey who starred in Poldark joined the cast. She was fantastic, she has a great look and this role was completely against her normal type cast. She blew the crew away with her performance. Tim Henley played her abusive husband and they had to do a fight scene in a bathroom. We didn’t have long to shoot it because it was at the end of the day but the two of them were incredible. I then had Simon Pearce and Suzanne Kendall. Both actors I had worked with before and I knew they could deliver a brilliant performance. They are both great at playing high emotions and working quickly so I felt so lucky to have them both. Simon Pengelly played my boyfriend in the film. I wanted to give his character a twist, he is usually always a villain or tough guy but he’s also an incredible actor, so I actually had him playing the victim and me playing the abuser. It’s important to highlight that men get abused too. Luckily, I have worked with so many actors that when I wrote this I knew who would be perfect for the parts and made sure I filmed on the dates they were free. They made my job so easy.
Tell us about a typical day on the set.
We would start at 8:00 in the morning and wrap at 8:00 in the evening. When we arrived, the kit was set up and we began filming very quickly. We had to film a 20-minute script in 3 days over 3 locations acting as 4 different places. It was very hectic and full on. I don’t think I slept at all for the whole weekend. I would run the scenes with the actors and block it then I would get Paul the DP to watch so he could then set up the lights and cameras. We managed to get lots of coverage, but everyone worked very hard and only stopped for a 15 minute lunch break before starting again.
What is going to surprise people about the film?
I think the main element of surprise is the different forms of abuse. The story follows three couples and each of the couples are dealing with different forms of abuse from physical, emotional and mental. I also show a man being emotionally abused. It was important to me to show the signs of abuse so they are interlinked throughout the film.
Without giving anything away, what’s your favorite line of dialogue from the film and why?
My favorite bits were what happened around the dialogue. It wasn’t what was said but how it was said. Some of the lines were written nicely but are manipulative. They are the moments that sold the performances.
When looking at the current production, what is resonating with you the most and why?
What resonated with me the most was the scenes involving emotional and verbal abuse. Based on personal experience I found those really emotional to film. I would have struggled to act those parts and re-live them as the victim which is why I cast myself as an abuser instead. I think the thing that really hit me is how long people can live with abuse because they don’t recognize the behavior as abusive.
In your opinion, what scene in the film is going to blow people away and why?
This is hard to say because all the cast did such a great job but I think the scene where the audience realize that it’s actually the man that is being abused and gaslit by his girlfriend is the one that will surprise people. Often men are abused but are too afraid to speak out about it and sometimes abuser can look like the victim. Abusive people will always turn the behavior back into the victim as a way of controlling the victim from speaking out about it. It’s a very frightening situation to be in.
What did you enjoy most about your character and role?
I gave myself the smallest role because as well as directing, I was producing and doing the effects make up. I wanted to take the chance to learn more about behind the camera. I often get cast as victims in films, so it was a nice challenge to play someone manipulative and nasty. I also learnt what it was like to be in the head of someone like that which has helped me recover.
Do you have anything else you would like to share about the film?
The main reason I wanted to do this was because I think it’s so important for people to learn about domestic abuse and learn the red flags to watch out for. I think the more we are educated in it then we have a chance of stopping abuse. I want people to watch this film and learn to recognize the signs so they can escape an abusive person or spot the signs early enough that they don’t get into a relationship with one.
Do you have anything else you would like to share about your career?
My next project will be much different. I’m producing and playing the lead role in a zombie movie called Hobbes House. I’ve been lucky to go from producing my first short in January to producing my first feature film in February. This year is off to a great start.
Thank you for chatting with us about your career. I hope we can catch up in the future for another interview.
My social media links:
Twitter: @MhairiCalveyAct
Instagram: @mhairicalveyofficial
Facebook: Mhairi Calvey
IMDB: imdb.me/mhairicalvey
Featured Image Credit: Gaslight still.
Editor’s Note: Resources for Those Working With Victims and Survivors of Domestic Violence.
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