FemmeFilmFest20 Interview: ‘Faulty Roots’ creator Ella Greenwood

Ella Greenwood is the writer, actor, director of the short film Faulty Roots which is due to become a feature film in 2021. The film depicts teenage mental illness from the perspective of the teenagers themselves and it was therefore a delight to be able to discuss the film further with Ella.

---

LATOYA: The title of the film is Faulty Roots, I know that one of the characters talks about his roots and how he thought those were broken and damaged, and your character Lola says ‘Well, no they’re not, they’re just faulty roots”. Where did that idea come from for that title? 

ELLA GREENWOOD: For me, I was thinking about why I want to do the short film. I knew I definitely wanted to do it on mental health. And I sort of started exploring the idea of how, in my experience, like depression. It wasn’t caused by an event or something sad. It’s just sort of a part of you.

And so I started exploring the idea that it’s a part of your roots. I think because I wanted the viewpoint of teens, they can often be very self aware, and so I tried a few different names. It was going to be called like Bad Roots at one point, but I was just thinking ‘No’. That doesn’t really have a good ring to it.

So I just changed that to Faulty Roots. And that was the first thing that I came up with was the title. And it just stemmed from there really.

There are parts of Faulty Roots that are parts that were quite personal to you. If you were to give a message to yourself back then as a teenager, now that you’ve experienced some of those moments, what would that be?

I think it would definitely be just to feel. To go through everything that you’re going through. I mean, I’m still a teenager now and I’m still sort of going through everything. I think you just have to realize how everyone is going through something. Although it may not show.

People may not be aware of what you’re going through. They might say if you’re experiencing something that’s okay. That you’re experiencing it for a reason. Or not. But you’re just allowed to have that time to yourself, and to say that actually it’s okay.

So being able to express yourself and communicate and talk about your feelings. Is the film itself being shown in any schools or as part of any social outreach programs to teenagers that might be encountering similar problems or issues?

Yes. So the main focus of mine was to sort of go for youth based film festivals. Faulty Roots was recently shown in Busan. And it’s showing in Lahore International Children’s Film Festival. I’m working with a director of another festival in Wales, and we’re sort of working on how we can incorporate it in primary schools. Which is amazing.

They just approached me and asked how we could get it going in primary schools. I said I would absolutely love that. So that is something that we’re working on.

Yes, that sounds very positive indeed. 

Yes. And I know that wasn’t so much a deliberate choice. I think it’s always hard with a short film just trying to get everything into a short format.  With the feature, a key thing I wanted to expand on even more was the relationship between the main character and her mom. The affect that mental illness has on the person, but it also the people surrounding them.

I just wanted to focus on young people and their experiences. As a young person myself, I just sort of wanted to hopefully represent what other young people are experiencing right now accurately.

It’s very impressive. You acted in it, wrote it, directed it as well. How do you approach the filming whilst you were also on screen acting as Lola.

So I have two best friends, and we’ve been confused as being sisters rather than friends. I was lucky enough to have them be stand-ins for me, so I could go in front of the camera.

I absolutely love acting. That was always my main passion. And when I was on set I was finding more and more belief in that project. So I just wanted to stay behind the camera. I’m just going to focus on directing and writing for now, and in the future, which I also absolutely love.

One thing that I have noticed in Faulty Roots is just how colourful it is. A lot of pink. Lola seems to wear pink in virtually every scene.

I wanted to show the contrast between how someone can appear and how they’re feeling inside. That even if the surroundings seem so great, they’ve got a lot going on. A person can seem to be so happy and fulfilled. I just wanted to share that contrast – you just don’t know what’s going on inside.

That was a really good touch because you did have lots of really bright, colourful surroundings. And then the subject matter itself is quite serious. I think even in the kitchen there are quite a few pink utensils.

There are also elements of trying to think of dreams and aspirations. And not feel limited by your circumstances. The travel features within Faulty Roots, was that an aspiration that you held personally?

Yeah, I mean, for me, any time I sort of traveled, it meant you are escaping essentially. Escaping your normal location and everyday life. And it can be an overwhelming feeling when you go somewhere.

So much to take in – new sites, new sounds, new sense. I have always loved traveling. No matter how I’m feeling, no matter what is going on, it’s just something that I know brings me peace almost. So I wanted to incorporate that with my character. You can feel a connection to a place, even if you’ve never been.

I think for Lola as well, it was the idea of the belonging. I did enjoy that. With that particular approach that you took to Faulty Roots and that type of filming style involved in that, what were the influences as part of the filming process? 

In particular, I like the colour and the colour palette, and I really love the films like The Florida Project and Moonrise Kingdom – which is my sister’s absolute favourite movie. I loved that every frame you looked at you could just hang it on your wall. Almost another world.

I really like that I see films that really influence me, that I absolutely love, and using now with the feature. Like Lady Bird. And Eighth Grade because they are both such good representations of young people.

Yes. Eighth Grade was really good. Just highlighting all of the social media pressures as well. So, talking about the feature, I understand that it is due to be filmed next year. Obviously, we’re still in lockdown, has that had a huge impact on the filming schedule too?

We’ve just got to keep planning ahead, as if we will be able to shoot, and just have extra guidelines and things like that in place. And the feature is not an action film, there’s not a car chase or massive party scenes. We can still focus on these characters, and only have a few locations. So we’re hoping it is a good option to film during this sort of weird time.

There is perhaps I think maybe just one or two scenes that were outdoors in the short, with the majority indoors. Will it be a similar type of location setting for the feature?

I would say there’s definitely going to be a bit more outside. I think the outside almost represents Zack, and inside represents Lola. That’s her comfort space. And Zack is trying to bring her out of that. Trying to sort of reconnect her life almost, which is more outside.

And how did the decision arrive to develop Faulty Roots from a short film into a feature film?

So when I was creating the short, I never had it in mind – because it was my first short film – that I was really going to plan to develop it into a feature. When I was writing, there was a lot more I wanted to say. I wanted to show Lola’s experiences more, her journey, the friendship, and the struggles and highs of that.

When I got in a few reviews, it was mentioned that it could be good as a feature. And so that got me thinking. I was talking to a producer about it. she said that, yeah, she would absolutely love to help develop it as a feature. And it just sort of went from there.

That’s fantastic. With the topic itself there’s obviously a lot to unpack. It’s a daunting subject, especially if you’re a teenager and there’s already so much peer pressure at school.

I saw that there is another actress cast in the role of Lola. And so for the role of Zack will Sani Thabo be reprising that role?

We’re still in the casting process. There are a lot of various factors now, but some of that is not in my hands. So there’s not much that we can say about that at the moment. Of course, he did such an amazing job in the short. And we’re definitely considering him. I think he’s just an amazing actor, he really brought Zack to life. So I’m so thankful for him for that.

Certainly a really good dynamic there between the two characters.

So I’ve also seen that Faulty Roots is going to appear in another film festival. The High Peak Independent Film Festival?

Yep. We were just selected for that.

Congratulations. Is Faulty Roots still on the film festival circuit?

Yeah, we’ve still got sort of a large chunk of notification dates coming up. It’s still so weird. You don’t know whether they’re going to be online or in person. So I’ms waiting to hear about that as well. It’s still such a great opportunity to be selected for any.

And with the Femme Filmmakers Festival, which is opened last Friday, Faulty Roots was featured there as well, which is highlighting work by female film directors.

So what you would like to undertake in the future? Do you think that you might undertake any collaborations? Or any other type of film genres you would like to explore?

I’m a massive horror fan. I love comedy, I love charm, I love period. And yes I would be interested in collaborating with others, and working on a range of projects. Whether that’s sort of adaptations of things, because I love books too. I did an animation that was based more for kids, because I’m such a huge Disney fan.

So what’s the animated film?

The animation is called Dreary Days, and it’s about a girl who is quite different to her family and she sort of doesn’t fit in with them. It has a Gothic vibe, because some of my favourite films growing up were Coraline and Corpse Bride. I love that sort of creepy side to kids movies.

Any particular filmmakers you would like to work with in the future? I know you’ve mentioned Lady Bird and Greta Gerwig.

Absolutely! I would pay myself to work with her. That would just be amazing.

Once Faulty Roots has finished the festival circuit, has there been any discussions concerning the release of the film?

We’re not sure yet, because we don’t know whether it would be good for a wide audience to see the short, and then the feature to come out. It’s all about timing. I would hope so, because as much as it is a film, I do hope that sort of the message that we’re trying to get across with mental health can be shown and shared as well. I think that is really important just to try and get that out there.

Absolutely. It has an important message and should certainly be shared on as many platforms as possible.

What parts of the film did you find challenging? 

Trying to have a story, and build on the relationship between Zack and Lola. And for it to have a structure. To make aware the mental health and experiences in that time frame, and within that structure. Just trying to get it to all fit together, which was quite hard. So that’s sort of the great thing with the feature, that I was able to not think so much about that and just almost be able to build on the conversations and the experiences so much more.

Faulty Roots is about the importance of having a connection with someone else. And also the importance of not knowing what someone else is going through. Considering what you’re saying to someone, if your words can be harmful because you don’t know what they’re going through. To just be kind to people really.