00:00:00: Hi Kirk Jones, I'm happy to speak now with you about your fantastic film.

00:00:05: It's already a little while ago that i could see it was at a lot of festival after premiering at TIFF first.

00:00:11: how does it feel?

00:00:12: To have like almost a year passed since you premiered this film and haven't go off like that and be so successful in touch So many people?

00:00:20: yeah

00:00:21: seems like long time.

00:00:22: we started in september last year In toronto And i've really been non-stop promoting the film for about nine months.

00:00:29: So Germany is my last stop at the moment, and then I think have Italy later on in a year.

00:00:34: It's been amazing!

00:00:35: Amazing especially Europe and the UK.

00:00:37: The reaction has been incredible.

00:00:38: Did you get any special feedback from the Tourette community about that film?

00:00:43: Because it deals with John Davidson who suffers from Tourettes and Heschmann an advocate for illness...

00:00:48: I think everyone was making this film.

00:00:50: were there.

00:00:51: number one because of John Davidson.

00:00:52: they wanted to honour his amazing story but Number two To make the Tourets Community proud.

00:00:58: The reactions that we've had from the community so far have been incredible.

00:01:02: I've had wonderful stories, a story about a prison officer who watched the film and realized it.

00:01:08: one of his most difficult inmates had a level of Tourette's And he got him help and significantly improved his life.

00:01:16: Then her mother wrote to me.

00:01:18: She said Her son went through football practice every week.

00:01:21: He was always nervous and very anxious.

00:01:23: One week she said Are you nervous?

00:01:25: No not this week because friends have seen, I swear.

00:01:29: And they will understand a bit more about my condition.

00:01:31: so for me it's been really rewarding experience to travel with this film and see that its helping people on educating people as well.

00:01:40: Your film

00:01:40: especially shows John's childhood and youth and Tourette was very little understood in fact very little known.

00:01:47: many people assumed his tics were voluntarily.

00:01:50: How much did you know?

00:01:52: About Tourettes personally when he started working on the story about John and his work.

00:01:58: I

00:01:58: first heard about John in nineteen eighty-nine, i don't think i knew very much about Tourette's then.

00:02:04: you know it was no different to most people...I thought that Tourettes were a condition where people shout and swear..and actually now i know that its sooo much more complex than that!

00:02:14: First of all only about fifteen percent are people who have Touretts' Swear & Shout ...and thats the Touretes that John has.

00:02:21: ..that is called Coprolalia.

00:02:22: ..about eighty five per cent twitching of the head or the neck, arms or blinking.

00:02:29: Some are internal so you never actually realize that people have got Tourette's.

00:02:33: So my knowledge was really limited and what I hoped was That if we get to make this film because You Never Really Know when you start working on a project If it is going to be made But if We Got To Make It i knew that it could help People's understanding Of Tourettes.

00:02:47: I Knew it Could Be A Really entertaining Film but then it could Help People Understand Those Who Have Touretts.

00:02:55: much wider community of neurodiverse people who have autism or OCD, or ADHD.

00:03:02: Or high anxiety, or Tourette's... Who would be able to relate to this film and lots of letters from people saying thank you for highlighting a neuro-diverse condition because it is so rarely seen in the cinema?

00:03:14: How close

00:03:15: was the collaboration with John?

00:03:17: And how much did both develop your character?

00:03:20: I just sat there listening to John Davidson days and just kept talking to him.

00:03:26: And I said, let's talk about anything that you can think of in your life?

00:03:30: It doesn't have be an order.

00:03:32: maybe some things will be irrelevant.

00:03:34: it doesn't matter.

00:03:34: Just Talk Talk Talk!

00:03:35: And i had a iPhone and I kept recording everything...I went away put huge document together.

00:03:42: That was about two hundred pages long but it has everything John told me With regards the collaboration.

00:03:49: I made John an associate producer almost on day one because I wanted him to feel that he had a voice, That he was able to speak and comment on the film.

00:03:59: But i agreed to send in The script as i wrote it every twenty pages.

00:04:03: i would send away And um... He Would Comment.

00:04:05: Almost all of his comments were related To facts & figures & dates.

00:04:10: There Was nothing that Related to the tone Of the Film.

00:04:12: So i felt that i was In A good place there And that i understood From the conversations i'd Had With Him.

00:04:19: You Know What It Was Like To Have Tourette's.

00:04:21: Then Of Course i Showed In The Final Film Before it was finished, because I wanted him to be able comment and if there's anything that upset or got wrong.

00:04:30: But thankfully he wasn't really thrilled and just amazed.

00:04:34: i think we've been able put this film together.

00:04:36: How

00:04:37: did the casting for the film go?

00:04:39: Ramayur gives like an amazing performance.

00:04:42: you decided cast unknown actor which often is a challenge on many levels also with producers.

00:04:48: There's detail which sounds as though its not connected to casting, but actually it's completely connected.

00:04:55: That is that in order to get the film made my wife and I. we just sold our house And we literally put every penny that We have into The film and we borrowed more money again.

00:05:05: So the reason why thats relevant Is that i had no one To answer too!

00:05:09: I Had No financiers Studios Executive Producers Having Made Films Now For Twenty-Five Years.

00:05:17: Thats Not Normal.

00:05:18: I Had Complete and Total Creative Control on this project.

00:05:22: So what that meant was I was able to have a really good relationship with my casting director, we sat and talked about actors who were right for the part not because the financiers wanted them or they just had been in Hollywood movies but actors who are absolutely right beating some huge, significant talent.

00:05:53: And I believe that is because we were left alone.

00:05:56: there was no one involved No-one trying to take control of the major decisions and that We Were allowed To do whatever we want.

00:06:03: so i Was fortunate enough to be nominated for a BAFTA For my script and i had NO ONE give me any notes.

00:06:08: The casting director was at WAN A BAFDA FOR CASTING AND SHE HAD NO NOTES FROM ANYONE.

00:06:14: I WAS ABLE TO CAST ROBERT.

00:06:15: HE WON BEST ACTOR.

00:06:16: SO SOME PEOPLE COULD SAY IT'S ALWAYS A coincidence.

00:06:19: even if gone to a traditional source of finance, those things would have happened anyway.

00:06:24: But I don't think they would've happened...I think may happen because we were truly independent film and had no one answer too!

00:06:32: Maybe financiers will look at this example you know.

00:06:36: now in again.

00:06:36: maybe should let filmmakers do what their supposed to do rather than trying tell them that's not really for me interesting part of the project.

00:06:48: How much

00:06:48: performance is directly inspired, or maybe I may say copied from John's behavior and how much his own interpretation off Tourette?

00:06:59: So when i first met Robert he talked about needing a three-month period where he wanted to live with John work with John walk The Dog With John watch TV And He did that for Three Months!

00:07:11: In the evenings he also spoke To people who had Tourettes unrelated.

00:07:16: no one person, nope sorry.

00:07:18: No two people have the same type of threats.

00:07:21: every form of threats is unique and different.

00:07:23: Robert wanted to speak to as many people he could who had threats to understand their condition And how it felt To live with them.

00:07:31: But He also Felt that he Wanted to get to know John Davidson.

00:07:35: Aside from The threats!

00:07:36: You want to Know the man?

00:07:37: you just want to know john davidson.

00:07:39: so he did all That research in a three month period.

00:07:42: at that point he stopped.

00:07:44: didn't see jonathan.

00:07:45: He didn't speak to John until after the production had finished, because he had to take ownership of John Davidson.

00:07:53: So that was his preparation and I did not see Robert Aramao performing as John Davidson till day one of the shoot!

00:08:10: Well there's definitely a pressure.

00:08:14: My money was.

00:08:15: my life savings were in the film, so that was unusual.

00:08:18: The weather was really difficult and we had a very tight schedule.

00:08:22: We ended up... I was really keen to use people from the Tourette's community.

00:08:26: We used thirty people who have Tourettes.

00:08:28: The days with the community they weren't difficult.

00:08:31: They weren't more stressful than any other day but we would just be aware some of their conditions are delicate And wanted to give them space where they could sit quietly if they want.

00:08:50: How was

00:09:04: working together with the other actors?

00:09:07: The main character also has very delicate relationships.

00:09:12: best friend, this woman who becomes like a surrogate mother

00:09:16: to him.

00:09:42: what you feel and upsetting so many people, making them angry.

00:09:45: Making them aggressive towards you because you've said something to

00:09:49: them.".

00:09:49: And every day for John he'd go the shops to buy some bread... ...and it could be a good day where he shouts something to someone who knows him.. ..who is from the community and cares about him!

00:10:00: They say hello John how are ya doing?

00:10:03: Or he can shout or say something inappropriate to a stranger Who literally wants punch in his face.

00:10:08: That's like living with Tourette.

00:10:10: Well, and John is at periods where he rarely goes out the house because it's so stressful.

00:10:16: He has no idea what was going to happen next.

00:10:18: So that was one of those things That was important To try and convey in a film.

00:10:23: You also

00:10:24: mentioned that The film could be very entertaining And It Is!

00:10:26: It Was Funny.

00:10:27: What?

00:10:28: Was That A Conscious Decision To Make A Film About His Ability?

00:10:31: That Is Sad But Its Also Funny At Moments.

00:10:34: I Remember When I Saw The Film.

00:10:36: It Was Actually In Talent At Black Night where you told the audience, You're allowed to laugh and then wants you to laugh.

00:10:45: One of the problems that the Tourette's community has had for decades is their laughed at.

00:10:49: And thats because often they say things which were quite obscure and funny.

00:10:55: But I realised that Tourettes was a very complex condition That maybe ten percent.

00:11:00: it was funny but there also was some serious side too.

00:11:04: So i didn't want ignore the humour John says when he with his friends friends who have Tourette's, and when they come together as a community.

00:11:13: They laugh a lot.

00:11:14: you know humor is a big part of socializing for them And they laugh at each other's tics As well.

00:11:20: so I didn't want to lose that and i Didn't want the audience To feel That this was just A serious subject.

00:11:26: it's very human Subjects.

00:11:28: So wanted to keep The humour to such an extent When I put the film Together the opening scene which Is where John shouts out At the Queen in the moment In the film down the film.

00:11:39: I was worried that there was nothing at the beginning to make the audience aware they could laugh, so i thought ok im going take this scene and move it up front…and that will be a scene where John shouts.

00:11:51: he says something very inappropriate but in relatively safe environment.

00:11:56: when people understand him..they know him...he is there for an award for his Tourette's.

00:12:03: It feels quite funny the audience out to let them know they could learn.

00:12:10: It's

00:12:11: been almost ten years before that since you directed a film, why did it take so long?

00:12:16: Was working on this film that took your so long because you just said you put all of your money in it.

00:12:20: and will your next project also take ten

00:12:22: years?!

00:12:23: I hope not!

00:12:24: I hope he didn't take that long... Yeah i mean This one probably came up about four years now And then there was Covid which where whole world went crazy.

00:12:31: The honest answer is unfortunately A friend Of mine was killed On a film set asked if I would help set up a charity.

00:12:39: And for about three years, I setup that charity and it was lot more work than i thought.

00:12:45: so thats probably took out another three years.

00:12:47: then we covered but already started.

00:12:49: the new project hope to be shooting sometime next year.

00:12:53: So do not want leave ten years again just wanna keep working.

00:12:57: Would you

00:12:58: like say maybe what this new project is about?

00:13:02: The New Project that Im about start working on In the nineteen seventies TV cartoon in the UK about a very regular guy who goes into A fancy dress shop if you went to a party and it's fancy Dress then You go to a shop, and you can try on lots of outfits And he does that.

00:13:20: When He tries On different Outfits from history?

00:13:22: He Goes back in time and he Solves problems huge Problems Of people warring and Hating each other and fighting Each Other.

00:13:30: I think The world has got a number of Problems at the moment Which could deal with People looking At but a huge amount of common sense and just saying, right?

00:13:39: Stop the war.

00:13:40: Stop this stop that stopped damage in the planet And I think it might be time for Mr Ben which is to character's name To come out of retirement.

00:13:47: So wonderful

00:13:47: closing word.

00:13:48: so thank you so much.

00:13:49: Alright Thank You very Much.