Graduate blog: BBC New Creative Edward Heredia Gasca

Edward Heredia Gasca graduated from BA (Hons) Film and Moving Image Production in 2020. Now working on a film commissioned by Screen South in collaboration with the BBC and Arts Council England, Edward shares his experience of the process and his inspiration in filmmaking. 

Can you share a bit about the film commissioned by Screen South?

It’s a narrative short film as part of their New Creatives funding scheme – the project is titled PAPERCUT and is based on the idea of escapism and the impossibility of doing so. Explored through the lens of a broken mother-and-son relationship, the film touches on love, pain, trauma and reconnection through the use of drama and contemporary dance.

How did the partnership with BBC Arts come about?

During my second year of BA (Hons) Film and Moving Image Production I worked as a producer to develop a narrative drama for one of our units. 

During this project whilst researching how to effectively Crowdfund our film, I ended up coming across different pathways that filmmakers can pursue to get their short and feature films off the ground. Aside from Crowdfunding, one of the most effective and rewarding opportunities in the industry – but also competitive – is fundraising schemes usually sponsored by medium to big production companies or studios.

Through this research I discovered the New Creatives scheme and different opportunities provided by the BBC and Screen South to promote emerging talent. During the first lockdown of 2020 I felt I needed to stay creative to cope with the situation. After giving it some thought, I developed a story and applied for the News Creatives funding – I’m happy to say I’m a BBC New Creative now.

Stills from Edward Heredia Gasca’s previous projects, and Edward at work. 

Can you tell us about the team you’re working with?

I’m developing this project in collaboration with Norwich-based production company Coda Films under the leadership of my two wonderful producers Jonathan Blagrove and Evangeline Williams, who have been with me since the beginning to make this film happen.

In front of the camera, I will be working with an incredibly talented pair of performers – Reece Wells and Agnes Lillis. Behind the camera, I am working with London-based cinematographer Simona Susnea to bring this story to life with a very intimate and poetic sensibility that is intrinsic to her work.

Similarly, I’m working with an incredible post-production team including Michal Zak and post-production sound company Sonic Fruit – who recently collaborated and featured in Danny Boyle’s Yesterday. 

I haven’t mentioned all my team members but it’s safe to say I’m just honoured to have the opportunity to collaborate with and learn from all of the creatives that have taken this journey with me.

What do you hope to achieve with the film?

I hope to achieve a greater understanding of the craft and myself. I have found that the more I write and develop my artistic voice, the better I know myself, what I like and what I don’t like. 

I would also like this film to work as my ‘calling-card’ and allow me to showcase my voice and style as an aspiring director and filmmaker, to continue pursuing and developing my craft. 

The film will initially be available to watch on BBC iPlayer and hopefully on tv too! After it’s broadcast run, we are planning to send it to film festivals and continue finding opportunities to share it with audiences all over the world.

How did your degree help prepare you for a career in filmmaking?

I was surrounded by like-minded people with a constant interest to explore the audio-visual medium, regular creative critiques, constant practical projects and access to filmmaking facilities and equipment. 

I think the fact that the course was very practical allowed me to get a lot of experience and fine-tune my skills in the safe environment of university, before going on to work in industry where there’s less room for failure.

The majority of my university experience was focused on getting as many opportunities to direct and shoot films during our course units, as these were the two pathways I wanted to explore in my career – and that I’m now working on. 

Also, I’ve always been quite introverted and never a big party-goer, so during my free time you would find me in the library researching film history or editing test footage I had filmed. I think, much like anything in life, it’s what you make out of the opportunities you encounter.

See more of Edward’s work on his Instagram. 

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