Making
My grandmother once said that every morning she thought “what shall I make today?” She was a very sane person. This is what I made today. They’re footstools for a production of Joyful Noise at the Papermill Theatre in Toronto. I won’t be the one to add upholstery and gold leaf, but I’ll try to get a picture of them in their finished state in a couple … Continue reading Making
TIFF Time
Toronto International Film Festival is about to open, and this time I worked on one of the films! It’s going to be a treat to see Jean of the Joneses on the big screen in my hometown. Here’s the festival information. If you’re in Toronto take the opportunity to see this special film. Continue reading TIFF Time
Jean of the Joneses (4 months late)
Well, I missed this one. Feature film Jean of the Joneses launched in March, when I was too caught up in set designing Accumulated Heartbreak Disorder to notice. J of the Js was my introduction to the Canadian film industry (if you mercifully disregard set dressing for Hallmark Channel Christmas movies). It was the first time I worked with courageous production designer Helen Kotsonis, dashing art director Ashley Devereux and magnificent set dec … Continue reading Jean of the Joneses (4 months late)
Festival time for Hats
Gabriel Foster Prior’s brainchild A Short Film About Hats premiered a couple of days ago in Portugal at FEST | New Directors Festival. I had a ball as Production Designer 2nd Unit on this film back in London in 2013. It’s one of the most imaginative projects I’ve worked on. Its next screening will be as an official selection for Lisbon International Film Festival, with hopefully a run … Continue reading Festival time for Hats
Solitary in New York
My darling feature film Solitary is screening in New York next month! Since its premiere in Jan 2015 the film has been popping up in festivals all over the place, but I’m pretty sure this is its NYC debut. It will screen on March 14th as part of Chelsea Film Festival’s KINO & VINO series. There’ll be a Q&A with filmmakers afterwards, followed by a cocktail reception … Continue reading Solitary in New York
Bricks
I’ve been taking an architectural drawing class, partly to build up useful skills and partly because drawing bricks with trashy TV on in the background is one of life’s greatest pleasures. I handed in my term project yesterday, here’s a peek at it. Continue reading Bricks
I heart Toronto
I relocated to Toronto about 10 weeks ago and have to congratulate myself on a brilliant choice of city. So far I’ve been set dresser on a Hallmark Christmas movie (yes, every bit as cheesy as it sounds), on set props/set dresser for a charming little indie short, and set dresser for an indie feature with a gobsmacking art department crew. Plus, one of the … Continue reading I heart Toronto
Rewards of narcissism
I, ahem, googled myself today, and I struck gold. Set dressing on this ambitious little project from Anna Blandford had completely slipped my mind. It was a pitch for Playstation. We put it together in a shabby little black box of a theatre – but by our powers of design (Laura Phillimore & Donna Marie Howard) and cinematography (Anna Valdez-Hanks) you can’t tell. Enjoy! Continue reading Rewards of narcissism
Eden Lodge
This is a classic British horror film that I had the privilege of coming in on as second unit production designer. The blood and gore effects were really impressive – not to mention a whole lot of fun. Check out the website and the trailer: Continue reading Eden Lodge
SOLITARY still on a roll
Best UK Feature at London Independent Film Festival Best UK Genre Feature at DetectiveFEST International Film Festival Silver Remi Award for Best Independent Feature at WorldFest Houston Also an Official Selection at Southend-on-Sea Film Festival & Women’s International Film and Arts Festival (Miami, screening 6th June) Continue reading SOLITARY still on a roll
G. Isla Borrell : digital creation, film & theatre 