Zak Harney, London International Screenwriting and Film Festival Best Short Film Finalist, 'Reflections'

LISFF Short Film Finalist, Reflections, Directed by Zak Harney

- Can you please tell us about you and your daily life?

I’m originally from Newcastle! Where I basically grew up in my dad’s comic book store (I know, it’s a total cliché, but it’s true!). Back then, my big dream was to become a comic book artist. It wasn’t until my late teens - after discovering Media and Film Studies at college - that I realised film could actually be a career path.

Now I spend my days directing commercials, adverts, and online content. A lot of my work has a fun and visceral style, that hopefully cuts through the pretentiousness! No two days are the same! I can be stuck behind my computer one day, flying to Tanzania to film footballers the next! I love it!

- When and how did you get into writing & filmmaking?

I started writing during my University days, initially through necessity! We needed something to shoot, so I would write it. Once you start to read books like Save the Cat, Into the Woods and basically everything by Syd Field, you start to learn more about the rules and anatomy of a script. But honestly, I learnt the most by reading existing screenplays. I’d find the scripts to my favourite films online and analyse them. The conclusion I came to, is that there’s no definitive way to write a script. Prose, tone, dialogue, even layout; everyone is different! I found that liberating. It was from that point that I would start writing my short films with some freedom, experimenting as I went along.

It was around the same time I started working as a runner on films. The beauty of studying in

London means that you’re surrounded by shoots! My aim was to get myself as much experience as possible during my studies, just to try and get a head start! I worked my way through the ranks from runner to assistant director fairly quickly. This is where I gained most of my HETV and feature film experience. Every shoot I was on, I would always take something from the way the director worked; whether good or bad! Especially as a 3rd AD you would get a lot of time to be by the monitor, and I just took the opportunity to be a sponge!

Since 2016 I have constantly been writing and directing my own short films, each film was an excuse to work with new people, or challenge myself as a filmmaker. My short films have picked up numerous selections since my first short, Bubbles, won ‘Best British Short Film’ at the LA Film Festival in 2017. I've had selections at The British Short Film Awards, Norwich Film Festival, and Manchester Film Festival, to name a few. I was also a finalist for ‘Best British Director’ at The British Short Film Awards. Most recently, my comedy short First One Away was nominated at BAFTA’s Student Awards.

Currently, my short Reflections is doing the festival circuit, with selections at the Aesthetica Short Film Festival 2024, British Short Films Awards, Bolton Film Festival, and it has already won ‘Best North East Film’ at NEIFF.

Despite all of this, to this day, my mam still calls me a ‘camera man.’

- How often do you write/create ideas? Do you have a working routine? And what inspires you to create?

I’m constantly thinking of ideas. It can be as simple as a conversation with friends that rolls into an idea, or those 3am bursts of inspiration that have you furiously typing notes into your phone.

In my commercial work, so much of it is spent generating ideas for briefs, or thinking up creative approaches for briefs. Sometimes even then I’ll have an idea that isn’t right for my commercial work, but I may want to keep it in my back pocket for my narrative work. Previously my shorts have been about challenging myself as a filmmaker; experimenting with filmmaking techniques or pushing myself creatively. More recently, I feel like I’ve found my voice, so it becomes more about what I want to say as a filmmaker. Which is a beautifully simple question to ask yourself on a daily basis.

I generally have 4 or 5 ideas that I’m working on at any one time, which I can pick up and put down when I feel like I have something to add. I’m pretty disciplined as a writer, so I often set aside time when my partner is working away, or when I have a lull in commercial work. I’m lucky enough that I can sit down, play some lofi instrumental music and whack out a few pages in a sitting. Whether it's any good is another question!

One thing I will say is, I’m probably really annoying to have as a friend. I’m not precious about my writing at all, so I love sharing works in progress with collaborators and friends to get different perspectives while I work on a project. I’ve made sure that the people I share with are honest! I want people to tell me if something isn’t working, or if a theme isn’t coming across clearly enough! Sometimes I might get feedback that something “isn’t working”. Even if they can’t put their finger on it, people can sense when something isn’t working!

- How does it feel to have your work recognised?

That’s what it's all about! We all know that you don’t make short films to make money! A successful short film is one that is (completed first of all), selected for festivals and gets eyes on it. There’s nothing more heartbreaking to me than a film that sits rotting on vimeo link without anyone seeing it.

My experience on the festival circuit has been truly inspiring. You get to meet like minded filmmakers who are on the same journey as you. Everybody wants to help one another and push each other to the next level. There’s no toxicity or ego in sight! As Troy Bolton once said - ‘We are all in this together’ - and that's absolutely what it feels like.

With Reflections, the work that our crew put into the film truly amazed me. So I often feel like the recognition the film gets is recompense for their work. The film was a grind from start to finish, so I hope plaudits and recognition goes some way to repaying the hard work everyone put into the film.

- What's the best and most challenging thing about writing a Filmmaking?

 For me it depends entirely on the screenplay you’re writing. For example Reflections had no dialogue, but is also touching upon time travel! So every beat needed to be written in the prose and be clear enough for a reader to understand, while not bogging us down and taking away from the story. Whereas I’m working on a screenplay at the moment for a film set in the suburbs of Newcastle; complete with regional dialect! So I’m currently balancing the dialogue to keep regionality that makes it so unique, while ensuring that its accessible to any potential stakeholders who aren’t as fluent in geordie!

-  How did you develop the idea for your LISP-selected film? Is there a story behind your story? And, how long have you been working on it?

I always knew that I wanted to make a film with no dialogue; partly to challenge myself to tell a story visually, partly because my dialogue isn’t the best! So that was already at the forefront of my mind for my next script.

I probably started writing the script in 2018 and during this time my grandmother was suffering with dementia. Without turning this into a sob story, the film is heavily based on my experience witnessing her mental depletion. The emotional rollercoaster that came with that experience, I couldn’t help myself but to put this into my work, and particularly put myself into her shoes. What must that experience feel like? How scary must that be? The Father does an amazing job of telling a story from the perspective of someone with dementia, but I wanted to lean more into genre. The thriller/horror approach seemed apt.

The time travel aspect came from a conversation with my dad, when were talking about alzheimer’s and dementia, and how horrific it is. My dad said something as a semi-joke, but it was strangely poignant and stuck with me. He said “If I’m every suffering with anything like that, just tell me that I’m time travelling”.

- Can you please give us a few tips about writing & Filmmaking?

Not that I’m any authority on it! But my tips would be…

-       Don’t be precious! Share your script with people and get feedback as much as you can. Writers often gate keep because they’re worried that their work isn’t finished, or someone may steal their idea! Don’t be! Share your work and improve and rewrite while you work and I promise the end product will be stronger for it!

-       Know how your story ends. I know a lot of people don’t work like this, but I have the beats of my story worked out before I start writing. I know how each scene goes, and what needs to happen before I start work on it. It just streamlines my work and means I can get from point A to B with as much ease as possible.

-       Ask yourself if a line of dialogue is necessary. In reality, so much is left unsaid; relying on non-verbal cues, inference or implication. I will often go through a scene and remove unnecessary lines of dialogue, preferring to keep a scene realistic. This also means I’m often not pandering to an audience and spoon feeding nuance.

- What's the best thing and the most challenging thing about competitions and festivals?

Unfortunately film festivals cost money. There’s no getting around it. In my experience with independent filmmaking, you’ve often spent your budget on producing the film before even considering festivals. And then once you submit for the festivals, there is A LOT of competition. So you need to find a way of making your project stand out amid hundreds of others!

It’s an investment, but if you get your strategy right, it can absolutely be worthwhile!

- Lastly, do you recommend the writers submit to LISFF?

I would absolutely recommend writer and filmmakers submit! LISFF is an incredible platform for filmmakers to showcase their work and celebrates authentic storytelling! Like I’ve said getting eyes on your projects is so important! And LISFF provides that visibility, while championing writer and filmmakers. With the focus on creativity and originality, it’s the perfect avenue to connect with like-minded creatives and elevate your film’s profile. I can’t wait!