Taras Demian Groves was born April 4th, 1989, London. Taras started directing music videos for local artists at 16 and made his first zero budget feature at 19. A writer and director hailed as one of the most cost efficient filmmakers out there for his work with minimal budgets, he is known for The Profesional (2015) which won Best Horror/Suspense Feature in Marbella alongside Ridley Scott’s produced short Zero, as well as Nowhere (2016), a touching tale of homelessness in London. (IMDB)
We caught up with Taras to discuss his latest projects.
Could you share your background with us (e.g. born, raised, training)?
Sure! I was born and raised in London in your typical working class home, and currently live just outside of Vancouver. I’m half English and half Ukrainian – my mum’s side are Ukrainian, hence the unusual name! I actually didn’t go to film school! I graduated from Brunel University with a degree in Psychology! I lived at home but got all the grants I could, plus saved up anything I earned at work, so that I could buy film equipment and make my own films. I made my own film school that way I guess! I find having done psychology it helps with the building of characters and worlds. I love honing in on the little things about a person, those idiosyncrasies, peeling that mask off as we learn about them.
How did you make the journey to film?
I’ve just loved film for as long as I can remember. The timelessness of it. How it stays with you. Those moments distilled. There’s something magical, almost indefinable about it. I did Media Studies at school which was great fun, but after that being young I wasn’t really sure where to go next. I took a year out after sixth to make a film with my friends. The film was complete rubbish (haha), but I loved every second of the process! I tried to apply to one film school but was rejected, so did a Television course instead. I guess I was a little less confident and assertive. The people were lovely on the course but I just felt I wasn’t learning enough. About structure, genre, how to evoke emotion and tell a story. It was more about how to get an entry level job in the industry, which was fair enough but I wanted more. So I thought sod it I’ll do it myself! I dropped out and did Psychology instead. It meant I didn’t have to go in as much, I just passed it from home. That way I had more time to dedicate myself to learning film. I then made a zero budget feature film called The Profesional, misspelled on purpose, about a hitman as he undertakes one hit. Very psychological. Essentially a character study of a psychopath. I learnt a lot and we had a decent festival run culminating in “Best Suspense/Horror Feature Film” at the I Filmmaker International Film Festival in Marbella, Spain. A Ridley Scott produced short called “Zero” won the same category but for short film. Made for over twenty grand apparently! I was fortunate enough to win “Best Screenplay” at the Los Angeles Urban Film Festival too which was a rush. Being a huge Tarantino fan I was inspired by his “I didn’t go to film school, I went to films” saying. I mean he was working in Blockbuster till he was 29. I just try to absorb as much information as I can. That’s what I love about filmmaking, you’re in this perpetual state of learning. Every day I need to learn something. I’m obsessed. I read as many scripts as I can to learn about structure. I watch films without the sound on so I can see how the director’s lens and shot choice dictates the story and influences the audience subconsciously. That’s why I love Hitchcock actually. His films really are told purely by the visuals first and foremost. A film can look great and cinematic but be empty. You need the images on screen to show more. To reveal the character’s state of mind; their fears, obstacles and dreams. Sorry I’ve digressed a little!
What a powerful film for your short film directorial debut. Tell us why you chose to tell this story.
Homelessness has always been something that’s strangely fascinated me. Human capabilities are always an important theme that runs deep in my work. The extremities, acts of love and self sacrifice compared to acts of hate and cruelty, it’s a wide spectrum. Homelessness is kind of in the middle of that. It’s hard to get your head around. How can a person survive when they have nowhere to turn? No guarantee of where the next meal is going to come from? Whether they’ll be able to sleep tonight or whether it’s going to rain? I’d pass a homeless person on the street and want to know why they were there. What was their story? How were they going to get through the day? We’re all guilty, myself included, in pottering on in our lives, getting hung up on those first world problems of ours. Ah I’m going to be late for coffee. What there’s no wifi? (Haha) It’s important to try and keep perspective. A big thing I’ve found for the most part is I don’t really like how the homeless are portrayed on screen. It’s usually as being “crazy” or addicted to something. I wanted to try and change that. To make a film that really gave the homeless a voice, to try and reveal their humanity. We’re all people after all. We all make mistakes. I’m lucky that if I lost my job and couldn’t pay my bills tomorrow, I could go live with my parents. Others aren’t that lucky. Before filming myself and the lead actor Adam Dada set out to try and do as much research as we possibly could, to ensure the film was true to the reality of things. We met as many homeless people in and around London as we could, talked to them, tried to learn what it actually felt like. A typical day in their lives. We just kind of hung out with them. Got to know a few really well. I even got Adam to be “homeless” in character on the street most weekends, to help him prepare for the role. He would set up at different locations, Oxford Street, Baker Street, and I’d watch from afar to see how people reacted to him. Whether they’d even notice him. (Any money he received we gave to a homeless person in actual need at the end of the day). It was an incredible experience – though I definitely had the easier end of that deal! I learnt the world seems a lot different when you’re down on that level and you mostly see the lower halves of people just passing you by. There’s not much eye contact. There’s this strange exile thing going on. This isolation and separation from the rest of society. From humanity.
You filmed in London on a limited budget. What were your challenges?
Wow! Where do I start? Making a 30 minute film on £1500 anytime can be difficult; I’ve seen 12 minute shorts set in one location made for £20,000 and more! So to do it all in the centre of London was pretty intense and an experience for sure. I admit, I didn’t make it easy on myself as there were a lot of scenes across different locations, so timing was a big challenge and sorting the shooting schedule. A lot of time was spent simply traversing through central London, which can take its toll. We’d start the day catching a sunrise on primrose hill then move down to Great Portland Street for a dialogue scene, before hitting up Leicester Square for some montage stuff. All the while trying to be open and catching things on the go if an opportunity came up. There were definitely some achy legs at the end of each day! It’s incredibly expensive to shoot in London too if you want to go near any landmarks or parks really, so we did our diligence and got permits where we could, especially for some underground scenes, but a lot of the time we’d have to go full guerrilla and be a little cheeky. The only time we were cleared off was on the Southbank by the Thames, our first day where the two leads meet and there’s dialogue! We had checked beforehand that it was OK and were given the go ahead as long as we didn’t exceed a certain number of people. So we had everyone we could, the make up artists etc on board as we all prepped. Slated the first take and a security guard appears! Apparently the stretch of land we had chosen was privately owned and we didn’t have permission! So we had to clear off. That was disheartening but we bounced back! Surprisingly enough, one of my biggest concerns was the general public maybe getting in the way or causing an issue, I’ve experienced that on previous films, but everyone in London is in such a rush no one seemed to even notice us! It helps to have a skeleton crew sometimes!
You had a fundraising campaign for the film, where you donated proceeds to the homeless. Tell us about the experience?
It was a very humbling experience. I’d never done a fundraising campaign before, but I knew from the start we wanted it to do more then just fund the film. We figured that part of every single contribution would go straight back to helping the homeless. Depending on the amount donated part of that would go to buying a hot drink, a meal, even clothes or a place to sleep for the night. That way even if the film flopped at least we’d have made some small difference (haha)! We delivered on all those contributions ourselves, mainly me and Adam. Venturing out to see who we could find and help. It was heartbreaking to be honest. The warmth and gratitude we received for something as simple as a hot coffee on a cold day. We did this all over the winter and let me tell you it was absolutely freezing. Yet every single homeless person we met throughout the entire journey was nothing but loving and kind, full of life and humanity. We met so many people yet it never ceased to amaze us. It never felt like enough, I mean it wasn’t! It was emotionally exhausting. I’d lie in bed later in the night, hear the wind pounding outside, and me and Adam would text each other to say I can’t believe Sid or Gary or whoever it was we’d met that day was still out there in that. I’ll never forget it. It stays with me everyday.
What are your hopes for the film?
My biggest hope for the film is to change people’s perspectives on the homeless. It was one of the key reasons we did this. I wanted to create homeless characters that would stand up on screen. To give the homeless a voice and show their humanity. The emotional toll it takes to live everyday on the street. Alone and isolated from society for the most part. I kind of think of it like, when you watch Jaws, you can’t help think of the first attack scene when you’re next in the sea, or when you see Psycho, that iconic murder scene runs through your mind maybe when you’re in a bathroom and see the shower curtain closed. I want that same effect on my audience next time they pass a homeless person on the street. Who knows what that change could bring. As from a filmmaking perspective, I guess I hope we just have as good a festival run as we can and that it opens up doors for future projects. I feel like I must be one of the most cost efficient filmmakers out there! I’ve never had a budget over £1500, I hope we’ve shown what we can do with so little. I feel I could make a great film with a tenth of the budget of some – so here’s hoping that opportunity comes along one day (haha)! I just have to keep working for it.
If you could do it all over, is there anything you would change?
Err I guess lots of things but I try not to dwell on them! The whole experience was incredible; both from a filming side of things and on a human side, meeting who we met and that included the cast and crew. They all worked for free on their own time. Such an inspiring group of people to always be around. A real family. I think maybe I would have waited and tried to get a bigger budget. Really capture every scene, every moment how I wanted. Our budget was far away from that. But you live and learn. I’m glad we still did it when we could. But I now know whatever my next project is I’m going to wait to make sure we get enough funding to really give a fair account of ourselves and fully realise the vision set out at the beginning. Hopefully I won’t be waiting forever!
The film is starting to make the festival rounds. How has it been received, thus far?
Really well so far thankfully. The main thing I always hear back is how emotional it’s made someone feel. How they’ve cried! I mean I don’t like making people cry but it shows it’s kind of effective at least! It’s always an incredibly difficult thing putting your work out there to be judged after spending so much time creating it. I think every festival we’re getting into we’re the lowest of the low budgets! But despite that, and being so early in our festival round, so far so good! We’ve been screened in Marbella, Spain at the I Filmmaker International Film Festival alongside some awesome films. I got to go there with the lead actor Adam, and we met some great people. An Oscar shortlisted short film Graffiti was screened too, really beautiful, the caliber of films really was magnificent and inspiring again. Somehow we managed to be nominated for a few awards too! Best Drama Short Film and Best Actor for Adam, and we won “Best Sound” which was a trip! We’re getting screened next month in Amsterdam which is cool! I can’t go but my producer, Adam Honey is. I’m jealous!
You’re in preproduction on two projects, which you’re currently raising funds for. Could you tell us about “Flight of the Dodo” and “Parasite?”
I’ve learnt from my past films and experiences. I’ve promised myself to make a short film with an actual decent sized budget this time, even if I have to take out a credit card or loan – or it kills me! I feel like I’m at the stage where it’s time for me to take things up a level and experience everything on a grander scale working wise, I need those tools a bigger budget will hopefully bring to realise those dreams. Flight of the Dodo is a little short film I co-wrote with my friend Jonathan Harris. It’s a beautiful, touching tale about a young boy who dreams of flying. Only about 6 or 7 minutes long. Minimal dialogue with a sweeping score. Almost like a ballet. It’s a tragedy really that almost turns into a dark comedy not to spoil anything. The main theme being follow your dreams and push yourself to your limits… even if they lead you to a rooftop! Parasite on the other hand is a Sci-fi/Horror esq short film about a mysterious stranger from far away who finds himself stranded in a small town nestled among the mountains. Think Nightcrawler meets Under the Skin. Very atmospheric with lots of foreshadowing and long tracking shots as we delve into this eerie world and peel back the layers of it, trying to figure out what’s going on. One of those where every audience member will have their own interpretation which his always exciting to hear! I love those kind of movies. I’ve been lucky enough to have a few people who seem to love both scripts and want to be involved, some exciting producers, so we’re all exploring different funding options with a hope to shoot one or both of them here in beautiful British Columbia later in the year! Be great to hit the festivals next year with them then move onto a feature!
Could you share any inspiring words, for those seeking to make their directorial debut?
I don’t know about inspiring but just go out there and do it! It’s a cliché but life really is too short. Instead of talking about it forever you learn so much more by just doing. Tell that story that’s been resonating inside you with whatever means you have at your disposal. Share it with the world!
If there was anything in this world you could do, at this very moment, what would it be?
To be directing Bryan Cranston alongside Ryan Gosling and Millie Bobby Brown on my own feature film, a revenge film set in the apocalypse. I’m working on the script at the moment! If any of them ever read this, give me a call (haha)!
Connect with Taras:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nowherethemovie/
Website: http://www.nowherethemovie.co.uk/
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