Several University of Exeter alumni are involved in the upcoming independent feature film: Mother Maker Lover Taker. The film is a queer supernatural drama about a young woman who resurrects the lover she lost to suicide, with devastating, unforeseen consequences. It is set to premiere on Friday 3 May in London as part of the BIFA-qualifying Unrestricted View Film Festival. We caught up with some of the alumni involved to find out more.
When Exeter alumni come together it always creates magic whether it’s behind the screen or starring on it, and so we were delighted to hear that ten alumni had banded together for this project. Co-directors and producers for the film, Will Pinhey (English Literature & Drama, 2019), who wrote Mother Maker Lover Taker, and India Howland (Drama, 2019) who edited it, were kind enough to share their thoughts on the process of this three-year long project with us.
What is the film about and who do you think will enjoy going to see it?
Will: Mother Maker Lover Taker is a contemporary Frankenstein fable, exploring themes of love, loss, grief, and the pain of letting go. The film will appeal to people who like their genre fiction grounded and character-focused, or their drama with a conceptual edge. It’s an eerie watch, full of dread and slow-building menace. Whilst not an out-and-out horror, it will definitely appeal to fans of the genre, particularly psychological, queer, and folk horror, or those who enjoy witchcraft, the occult, and tragic, twisted romance. If you enjoyed titles like ‘Suspiria’ (both 1977 and 2018), ‘Under the Skin’ (2013), ‘The Witch’ (2015), or ‘Melancholia’ (2011) then there should definitely be something here for you.
How was the process of creating and directing the film? Any standout highlights and challenges?
India: From start to finish, creating this film was a fascinating and surprising process. I believe we both learnt a great deal at every stage of development, and feel that tackling the various challenges we faced has been pivotal in my growth as a creative. Most notably, we developed and shot the film during the second lockdown of the pandemic. Doing so meant a completely new level of logistical planning and organisation would be necessary to pull it off. None of the cast or crew were actually able to meet in person until we arrived on location to begin filming, which was very odd.
Coming from a theatre background at Exeter, Will and I are used to working in a very hands on and collaborative environment, so swapping out studio spaces for Zoom calls was particularly strange. There was no real way for us to determine if what we had spent many hours planning would work in practice, so it was both nerve-wracking and incredibly gratifying to finally arrive in the New Forest and get started. All living and working together for that period of time was certainly a highlight and I feel very nostalgic looking back on it now that the film is about to go out into the world.
Did your University of Exeter experiences assist in any way?
Will: Our Exeter experiences were foundational in making this project. For one thing, the vast majority of the cast and crew are Exeter graduates, their involvement here being a result of past collaborations or connections made while studying together, or else through the wider network of alumni in this sector.
For another, it was the generosity of Jon Primrose and the Exeter Drama tech department that allowed us to borrow our sound recording equipment, the shoot taking place in March 2021 when students weren’t at the University or able to use these resources themselves. It almost feels like the creative culmination of our Exeter experience, in this way – having the chance to take the peer network we were given access to and go on to make something out in the world together like this.
What are some key features of the film?
Will: The music and sound design are extremely important components to the film. They really reflect the internal journey of our protagonist the Maker – they are always simmering in the background, almost like something living lying in wait, a constant, disquieting reminder how fragile and close to collapse both the Maker and the situation she’s built are.
Our sound engineer, Luke Isom, deserves a shout out for his work creating the aural world of the film – it feels physical, the way it squelches, crunches, and rustles, reflecting how the magic we see is connected to the landscape and environment of the forest. The sound also keeps us connected to the mystical, even when the drama becomes intimate and character-focused. The primordial forces the Maker has harnessed to return her partner to life audibly hang over the story in this way, an eerie enforcement of how beyond her control these events really are.
What would you like audiences to take away from the film?
India: Despite its supernatural elements, the story at the core of the film is actually a very human one. It’s about grief and the monumental challenges that come with learning to accept loss. It is something we will all inevitably face, but naturally want to protect ourselves against at all costs.
We began work on this film during a time in our lives where we had little control over the changes that continuously rolled in. Most of us had just graduated and were expecting to kick off our careers, but that all came to a dramatic halt when the pandemic hit. Accepting that and figuring out a new way forward was a very disorienting and frightening time for so many people. I hope that people can empathise with The Maker and the desperate measures she takes to restore some semblance of the life she had lost.
What does the future hold?
Will: There’s a lot of current focus on where the film goes from here. Premiering at Unrestricted View in its first year as a BIFA qualifying festival is hugely exciting, and it’s extremely satisfying to finally start turning our attention to sharing it with audiences on a wider scale down the line. We are, of course, always looking to the next project. Right now, The Developing Room, the production company run by our Producer and Cinematographer, Harvey John, actually has a number of other completed and in-production films that I’d urge you to keep track of. They are doing fantastic work platforming and engaging with new and upcoming creatives.
On our end, both Indy and I have our own projects outside our Mannequin Mouth partnership – her as an Editor, working on numerous other upcoming narrative pieces, and myself as a writer, currently focusing on a series of short stories both published and forthcoming. As Mannequin Mouth, the plan is to keep making, keep growing, and, once the dust settles on ‘Mother Maker’, come back with the next challenge. Bigger, bolder, more ambitious – that’s the future we’re looking to. For now, though, there is still so much more to come with Mother Maker Lover Taker. See you in an audience soon!
‘Mother Maker Lover Taker’ has been produced by the independent film companies Mannequin Mouth and The Developing Room. It premieres on Friday 3 May 2024 in London as part of the BIFA-qualifying Unrestricted View Film Festival. You can watch the trailer on YouTube.
*Alumni involved in the project include:
- Alex Stenhouse (English Literature, 2017) – Additional Cinematography
- Ben Phillipp (English Literature & Drama, 2017) – Sound Recordist
- Bridie Shine (Drama, 2020) – Starring Role
- Emma-Kate Barry (Drama, 2019) – Starring Role
- Hanna Gardner (Drama, 2018) – Original Credits Song
- Harvey John (English Literature with Film Studies, 2020) – Director of Photography, Post-Producer
- India Howland (Drama, 2019) – Director, Editor, Producer
- Peter Broughton (Drama, 2018) – Supporting Role
- Samuel Nicholls (English Literature, 2019) – Script Supervisor, Production Assistant
- Will Pinhey (English Literature & Drama, 2019) – Director, Writer, Producer