Gaslight stands out as a great directorial debut for Mhairi Calvey

Gaslight is Mhairi Calvey debut directorial. Mhairi Isla Calvey is a passionate Scottish actress turned producer and director. At age five (5) Mhairi debuted as Young Murron in Mel Gibson’s ‘Braveheart’. She featured in ‘Dressed to Kilt’, with Sean Connery and Brian Cox. Mhairi Calvey played lead roles in Five Pillars, 3 Lives, Crystal’s Shadow and Robert The Bruce alongside William B Davis, Sienna Guillory, Angus Macfadyen and Jared Harris.

Mhairi now runs Dream Reel Entertainment from where she produced her first feature The Curse Of Hobbes House in which she also played the lead and she has now gone on to direct, write and produce her first short film ‘Gaslight‘. SHe talks to us about her work making Gaslight.

indieactivity : Give a background of your personal experience with the story, writing, production and marketing?
Mhairi Calvey : I attended a group therapy session about domestic abuse that inspired me to make Gaslight. I have had some personal experiences of my own in the past and I had spoke to so many men and women who have also experienced it. I wanted to write something, which actually taught people the red flags to watch out for and make people understand how it starts and where it can escalate.

This was made to help with my own recovery and shed a light on an important issue. I took inspiration from real events and changed the names and details to protect the people who had given me permission to use their story. The film has three storylines about three different couples and dealing with different forms of abuse. I also felt is was also really important to show men being abused so one of the story lines has a twist and reveals a man being abused.

This is to show how often as society we tend to assume that the man is being the abusive one, which is why, it’s s twist at the end of the film. It was really important for me to show the different forms of abuse too. So many people don’t realise they are in abusive relationships because they have never been physically abused.  I wanted to shed light on manipulation, lying, gas lighting and other forms, which people use. It’s hard to spot and what makes it worse is that there is no physical evidence so the victim doesn’t get believed.

It’s very nasty and filthy happens a lot. I hope people who are abusive learn not to be and people who are living with abuse leave the relationships they are in. I really want this project to educate people.

indieactivity : Did you start writing with a cast (You or any) in mind?
Mhairi Calvey : Actually I did with a couple. Simon Pearce is a director/actor who I know personally and I have seen his work. His look really worked for one of the roles. He has such a kind face that it was great to have him play someone opposite from his usual nice guy cast type. Simon Pengelly was another actor I have worked with. He has a real tough guy action look and again it was nice to see him play something different and do some emotional scenes.

Related Story – Interview: Mhairi Calvey, Actress & Producer Braves Indie Industry

Emma Spurgin Hussey came to my attention when I attended a screening for a feature film she was starring in. She was so brilliant and blew me a way. She is one of my favourite people to work with and she really inspires me as an actress. I knew right away that I wanted her in the film and she was a massive help. She guided me with the script too and really supported the whole process. We were super lucky to have such a high profile actress come on board. 

indieactivity : How long did you take to complete the script? (Do you have a writing process?)
Mhairi Calvey : Six months on and off, it was easy to write because the dialogue was real. I’m not a natural writer and writing is a skill that I am still working on. So it made my job easier to adapt real conversations into a script.

indieactivity : When did you form your production company – and what was the original motivation for its formation?
Mhairi Calvey : I started it in April 2019. I really wanted to create my own work and also it is a great chance to tell the story’s that are important to me. I want to contribute to the industry and create opportunities and employment for others. I think as an actress these days you have to have many fingers in many pies and keep yourself in work between other acting jobs.

indieactivity : What was the first project out of the gate?
Mhairi Calvey : This was my first project out of the gate and I have since produced a feature film and another short with some of the same team. It’s been a great start for the company.

indieactivity : During production, what scene (that made the cut) was the hardest to shoot?
Mhairi Calvey : Most of the scenes were pretty hard to watch but the scene that made everyone really uncomfortable was filming the physical abuse scene. We had Emma and Tim Henley who just nailed it on the first take. Their performances were so good that it took my breath away. It’s a really hard scene to watch and I was really lucky to have such an awesome cast.

indieactivity : You produced and directed the film, what measure of input did it take to don these hats?
Mhairi Calvey : It was such a challenge to do both roles especially because I was also playing a smaller role in the film, which I had to prepare for. There was so much to think about but I had a great crew who I really trusted and they helped me through. Paul Dudbridge was my DP and he really helped guide me through the process. I think for the 3 whole days we filmed I didn’t sleep or eat because I had so much to do and  think about.

indieactivity : Is there anything about the independent filmmaking business you still struggle with?
Mhairi Calvey : Finding the finance. I self funded this project which was tricky but sometimes that is the only way to insure it gets made. Looking for finance is always tricky and there are quite a few people around who pretend to be financers but aren’t genuine I know of so many incredible scripts that don’t get mad because of this.

indieactivity : Where do you think your strengths line as a filmmaker?
Mhairi Calvey : I think that because I like working as a team I am happy to take on other people’s contributions to a project. If the DP has a great idea how to shoot a scene, I am more than happy to do it, if I fell it’s going to work. Even if I am directing a project I am happy for it to be a team effort and happy for other people to feel like they can speak their minds or make suggestions. I also take on the advice of more experienced filmmakers.

indieactivity : How much did you go over budget? How did you manage it?
Mhairi Calvey : I didn’t go over budget at all, we actually came in exactly on budget for this. We did a lot of planning on pre-production so we didn’t get any nasty surprises.

indieactivity : How important is marketing? Do you think a project can make any dent without it these days?
Mhairi Calvey : I think marketing is key and It’s important to do. That is the best way to support a project and get it made and out there. Social media is a great way of doing that for free and also getting great support from people like yourself is a massive help.

indieativity : Can you tell us about your marketing activities on the project – and how it’s gone for you?
Mhairi Calvey : I have released a few things on social media and had a few interviews but I am going to push this more once the film is completed in post-production.

indieactivity : What do you hope audiences get from your film?
Mhairi Calvey : I hope that people will learn more about the subject matter and that it will spread awareness. The more we are educated in abuse the more likely we can end it together.

indieactivity : What else have you got in the works?
Mhairi Calvey : We have another two films in post-production, action short that was made as a proof of concept and a zombie feature film. We are also in discussion with a couple of other directors about their feature film scripts so fingers crossed more exciting projects are in the works soon.

Follow Mhairi Calvey on Social Media
Website
IMDb
Twitter
Instagram
Spotlight