In the February half term, Anoushka Craggs (U6) starred in the Young Film Academy's 'Project Paradiso' which is due to be shown this summer. To celebrate this and to find out a little bit more about the experience, we asked her a few questions...

So can you tell me a little bit about how were chosen for the Project Paradiso? 

So to be chosen for the Project Paradiso cast/crew you had to show exceptional kindness to those around you, it was mostly based on a behavioural thing from the summer camp. They chose the people who they thought would work best with each other, I think that as an actor the film that I did from the film camp was a comedy which helped a lot as the film for Project Paradiso, Running Hot, is also a comedy. So I think it was a mixture of skill and just your attitude and how you work with others. 

How did you go about fundraising for Project Paradiso? 

Mainly it was through word of mouth, I just told lots of people about it, I did a funded marathon walk, it was a really busy time so it was amazing to have the support of so many really generous people but also other people fundraised with bake sales, screenings of other films that project Paradiso has produced. 

So did you get much support from YFA in terms of fundraising? 

From YFA they gave us plenty of ideas on how to fundraise but they were very clear that we had to do the fundraising ourselves otherwise the project wouldn’t happen. 

How much did you have to raise? 

The original goal was £78,000 which they rose to £82,000 in the end which we managed to raise! 

And where does that money go? 

It mostly goes to the equipment and the specialists that work with that equipment, they brought in 3 industry professionals that work on short form and long form pieces as well as commercials, so they handled all the various equipment. The camera was an Arri Alexa which is what Netflix uses for a lot of their films and shows. It is a really high quality camera and I learnt a lot about it. Going to Italy was of course a huge expense as well. 

And you had a week of intense filming? What was the day-to-day of that like? 

So we would wake up around, 6 then in hair and makeup most mornings in which I would definitely take the longest, being in there for around an hour and a half whereas other people would be much quicker, some as short as 10 minutes! At 10:30 we would be ready but then tech would take some time, we’d be on set from 11. On set we’d have a run through with the director, a rehearsal with the lighting and sound as well as the camera, checking you’re in focus. We would often shoot until 1 for lunch but the aim was always to shoot an entire section/scene before lunch but we quite often ran over. After lunch we’d run from 2-6 but the latest night we did was until 8! 

What was it like filming Iin another country as well? 

It was really cool! I’m not going to lie the weather was quite bad, it was raining most of the week. The scenery is right by Etna so when it was clear and sunny you could completely see her and she was actually erupting when were there which meant lots of volcanic ash which became a bit of a problem for the kit. It felt so surreal being on a film set and in another country at the same time, the lemon groves were also very picturesque. 

Did you decide on the location yourselves? 

No, Project Paradiso is built on YFA’s relationship with this particular farm and so the last 2 films also were filmed there. 

And did your team write the script? 

Yes there were also a group of writers that fundraised but they didn’t come to Italy with us. There were various zoom calls with them about the script and what it means which is really helpful. 

And how does this differ with other film experiences that you have had? 

So I have only really had a little film experience but this was so professional in comparison to what I had done before and the level of focus was just unlike anything else. It was very structured and organised although it was at times chaotic it still felt very structured. 

And how long is the film? 

Roughly it will be around 40 minutes. 

So that’s quite long for only a week of filming? 

Yeah it was 19 pages to do in a week and I think that scene was the least amount of shots we had to do was 3. Each scene varied between 3 and 12 different shots. 

And how many people were on the team in total? 

23 I believe. 

And how many were actors? 

Just 4 actually. 

Had you met anyone before? 

I knew a couple of people that worked on the film in the summer but other than that I didn’t know anyone else so I had to meet loads of new pupil even though we were all at the same camp. 

And what can you tell us about the film? 

I can say that it’s a romcom and that it has something to do with Etna! I can tell you that I had to have my hair crispy fried straight for the entire week so I won’t look like my regular curly self! Oh and there’s 2 couples, one being more obvious and the other kind of just creeping up. 

When is it going to be released? 

July/August time because it is a the longest film that they have ever done on this project and there’s only one person doing all the post-production work. 

And is it going to be sent off to film festivals? Is there a premiere? 

The premiere is around the same time as the Leavers Ball so I’m a little stressed about that! It will be held at BFI Southbank and there’s going to be people flying in from all over. They will also send it to tons of film festivals, the previous project has won 50 or so awards around the world which are quite big shoes to fill. 

What is the aim of Project Paradiso? 

It is kind of a Catch22 in the film industry that you need to have film experience to get on a film set but to have film experience you need to get on a film set. So the idea of Project Paradiso is to give people experience of being on a professional film set, to have that in your portfolio at such a young age. It is really invaluable, as an actor your reputation is built by your performances and if you don’t have anything to show for it, you just won’t get booked. 

What’s the end goal for you in terms of acting? 

End goal is acting in film and tv, I like theatre as well but I find Film and TV more interesting and it requires a different skillset which I really enjoy and also being able to do retakes when I mess up! That’s the end goal, to be an actor. 

How do other people get involved? 

So definitely going to the YFA summer camp, it’s an amazing experience for anyone that wants to get into anything related to film, its really helpful and the tutors really know their stuff and will be able to help you. There’s 2 courses, acting and screen-making, with screen-making being behind the camera and acting of course being in front. There are also various day courses form YFA as well as other film schools that can teach you skills such as how to use a camera. And if you take art, are an actor or just someone who is interested in film look up the opportunities or even just look at School because they will also provide opportunities and workshops.