International Acclaim for Fiona

A SHORT film showing prisoners enjoying the art of patchwork and quilting is currently wowing film festivals around the world, after its Lancashire-based producer/director, Fiona Walmsley-Collins, received funding from regional screen agency, Northwest Vision and Media.

Fiona was awarded £1,000 to make her first 10-minute Virgin Short documentary – but never dreamed it would attract such international attention.

After the British Council's Film Department agreed to support the film by providing screening copies, the film was recently shown at prestigious film festivals in America and Ireland, and now looks set to be shown in Australia. In recognition of that success, Fiona has been named Crew of the Month by Vision and Media, which works on behalf of the region’s film, TV and digital content industries.

“I was awarded the money to make my film in 2005, and originally got permission from the Home Office to film at HMP Walton. However, due to various delays, I had to switch in filming in HMP Wandsworth, which meant the film didn’t actually get finished until last year,” explains Fiona, of St Annes on the Sea.

“Vision and Media was really supportive over the delays, and continued to encourage me throughout the filming and editing,” explains Fiona, a former registered nurse in general medicine and psychiatry.

Her documentary, Not Sacks, tells the story of a group of prisoners who attend a night class every Tuesday in HMP Wandsworth, where they learn the sedate art of patchwork and quilt making.

“For many of them, this newfound hobby has become a calming, meditative pastime that takes their minds off the day-to-day monotony of prison life, and gives them something to look forward to,” explains Fiona.

“The film was shot over three hours, crammed in to two short sessions at the prison. Everything about the film wasn’t easy, and anything that could go wrong did, but I think we got some brilliant footage in the end,” she adds. “We had access to six prisoners, and we just had to interview them, fast, as time was very limited.

“For the first time we hear the inmates’ views on their newly acquired sewing skills and realise what the patchwork and quilting group means to them,” explains Fiona, who recently returned from America’s Tribeca Film Festival in New York, where the film was watched by judge David Bowie – and was shown an impressive five times.

“It’s been so amazing and exciting to get invited to the film festivals. I attended a Sunday evening screening at Tribeca, which was the first time I’d seen my film on a big screen. Sitting there in the cinema was amazing, the real thing, with everybody watching my work!” says Fiona.

“Not Sacks has a personal narrative theme, and was mostly shot as extreme close-up, so it was quite different seeing it on a massive screen. I was so busy concentrating on what was on screen that I didn’t really pay much attention to the audience’s reactions, but it seemed to go down very well. Afterwards, I and the other five directors whose shorts had been included in the programme took apart in a Q&A session with the audience."

Soon after attending the American film festival, Fiona travelled to Ireland, where Not Sacks was screened at the Mid Ulster Film Festival. In addition to the Sydney festival, Fiona’s work has also been selected for inclusion at Silverdocs, a Documentary Festival to be held in Washington DC later this month.

“This is the first short film I’ve made with funding, and it’s my ambition now to try and secure more funding to make my second film,” explains Fiona, who has been doing some scriptwriting, and poetry adaptations since completing her short late last year. For now, though, she feels obliged to keep up the day job.

“For three days a week I’m a civil servant working in Preston, but for the rest of the week I concentrate on film, I just can’t stop,” she says. “I’m not exactly sure what I want to do next, I have an interest in most areas, so I’ll keep applying to schemes and learning, and see where it takes me.

“When I left school I had ambitions to work in documentary, and I did do some work as a researcher, but it wasn’t enough for me. I know I’m too old to start at the bottom of the film or TV ladder, so for now I’ll just keep pressing on with my own things, and I’ll see where I end up. I feel I am getting there, I’m just waiting for my break,” she adds.

After winning a drama pitching competition while attending the Mid Ulster Film Festival, Fiona has already taken yet another step in the right direction. “I not only won the competition, but the BBC are keen to hear more about my idea!” says Fiona. Surely, it can only be a question of time…