This month, HEMELnews spoke to local filmmaker Louie Anderson on the success of his debut short film.
Hemel Hempstead-based Louie began his career as an electrician with the hopes of one day entering the film and TV industry. But it wasn’t until he met Gareth Crockford, a veteran of the industry, in 2018 that his career took off.
Louie has gone on to work with Disney+, Apple TV, and Netflix. The pair recently collaborated on a short film about Gareth’s relationship with his late father and the struggles he faced during his upbringing.
Louie said: “It was quite a lot of pressure! We went to shoot it at his dad’s flat in Cornwall; we had four days to shoot it and I had never been to the location before. But the result is amazing!”
The film has been entered into more than 20 film festivals and has had a great response from audiences.
Louie admits that changing careers was quite nerve-wracking: “It was hard to take the first few steps; it was very daunting! How do you start making a film?
“My advice to people looking to do the same would be to use the resources that you have and make what you can with it. I was always worried about not having the better kit when I should have been making stuff with the time and equipment I had.”
Louie and Gareth are now working on their second film, Dorothy, a horror/thriller about a couple looking to buy a home, which was shot in Hemel. Louie and Gareth are in the process of securing funding from the British Film Institute for distribution and marketing, but will self-fund if this falls through.
Louie said: “At the end of the day, I’m just a local guy from Hemel. But it’s really cool!”
Pictured: (L-R) Gareth Crockford, actor and voice-over star Rupert Farley who features in the film, and Louie Anderson
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