For NDH11 (April 2016) we were thrilled to have as our guests directors Amit Gupta & Rebecca Johnson.

Amit Gupta is a writer and director for theatre, film and television. His first feature, RESISTANCE, starring Andrea Riseborough and Michael Sheen, was nominated for three BAFTAs, his second feature, JADOO, premiered at Berlin 2013 and was released theatrically in the UK in September that year. He recently completed his latest feature, ONE CRAZY THING, which is being released theatrically this year, and he will be directing a feature adaptation of Virginia Woolf's 'Night and Day' which will shoot in 2016. 

Rebecca Johnson's debut feature as writer/director HONEYTRAP premiered at the London Film Festival 2014, and was released in the UK in May to widespread critical acclaim. HONEYTRAP had its US premiere at SXSW in 2015. Rebecca's 2009 multi award-winning short TOP GIRL, played at more than thirty festivals including Berlin, Rotterdam and Clermont Ferrand. Rebecca is currently developing a female-led historical action film, a $10million female-led action thriller and a US-set TV project. 
HONEYTRAP trailer: http://goo.gl/AgcsPE

Listen to the session:
(Content breakdown with tc's below)

Audio contents:
00.01 - Amit on playwriting & how he got started
00.05 - Rebecca's career start & working method
00.11 - Top Girl short - festivals & reaction
00.14 - Honeytrap
00.16 - Amit - getting to first feature
00.21 - Finding your voice
00.24 - Having the next project lined up
00.25 - Resistance
00.34 - Writing the script
00.37 - Honeytrap trailer
00.40 - Handling violence
00.43 - Responsibility to actual events
00.47 - Shooting Resistance as WWII story
00.49 - Sex scenes in Honeytrap
00.51 - Reactions to Honeytrap & after
00.54 - US agents, meetings & projects
00.56 - Amit - projects in development
00.59 - Microbudget features - Amit on next films
01.01 - One Crazy Thing trailer
01.04 - Overthinking your next move
01.05 - Will you do another microbudget?
01.07 - Amit: going out and doing it
01.09 - Whats the most important thing you've learned?
01.12 - Amit - just do it
01.13 - Going with your gut feeling
01.14 - Amit practical tips on shooting & editing

Full guest bios

Amit Gupta is a writer and director for theatre, film and television. His first feature, RESISTANCE, starring Andrea Riseborough and Michael Sheen, was nominated for three BAFTAs, Best First Feature by Writers’ Guild of Great Britain and the CineVision Award at Munich. His second feature, JADOO,  a drama comedy adapted from his own BBC Radio 4 play, premiered in Official Selection at the Berlin Film Festival 2013 and has played in over 35 international festivals. It was released theatrically in the UK in September 2013.

Amit is a former winner of the Royal Court Theatre Young Writers’ Competition. His stage plays include OPTION which premiered at London’s Tricycle Theatre and CAMPAIGN, part of the Olivier Award nominated and Liberty Human Rights Award winning THE GREAT GAME, which toured the US in 2010/11.

He recently completed his latest feature, ONE CRAZY THING, which is being released theatrically in the US later this year and in the UK in 2016. He will be directing a feature adaptation of Virginia Woolf's 'Night and Day' which will shoot in 2016. 

Resistance trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-vuNkBV6jM
'Loaded with tension, masterfully performed' **** Time Out

One Crazy Thing trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6tcWKTlKxU

Rebecca Johnson's debut feature as writer/director HONEYTRAP premiered at the London Film Festival 2014, where she was nominated for the Best British Newcomer Award. It was released in the UK in May to widespread critical acclaim. HONEYTRAP had its US premiere at SXSW in 2015. Rebecca's 2009 multi award-winning short TOP GIRL, played at more than thirty festivals including Berlin, Rotterdam and Clermont Ferrand, and both films came out of more than a decade making films with young people in her local community of Brixton. Rebecca is currently developing a female-led historical action film and a US-set TV project. She is also attached to UNDERNEATH, a $10million female-led action thriller, set on a diamond trawler off the coast of South Africa.

Links:
HONEYTRAP trailer: http://goo.gl/AgcsPE
HONEYTRAP Guardian Review – Film of the Week: http://goo.gl/5jaadR
On BBC News: https://vimeo.com/110561060