Thank you!

Hello everyone! This trip was amazing! I still can’t believe it happened! I would like to thank everyone who made it possible for me to go to London and do all these amazing things. I would especially like to thank the British Council for their hospitality, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. I had a wonderful time in London and I’m so grateful to the British Council for this wonderful opportunity, thank you.

Oh, and I’ve already started the next movie with the amazing camera equipment I was awarded!

p.s. If you’re wondering about Romeo – he’s a bit twitchy but fine. Back to doing no good in the neighborhood!

 

All’s well that ends well, BUT parting is such sweet sorrow!

O.k. had to edit this one – It was LATE at night folks!

Today was incredible! This morning, Natalia from the British Council took us to meet Gareth Neame  (the producer of Downton Abbey and a lot of other amazing shows) at his office where we had a great chat. He was really nice, and when we were about to leave he gave me a book on the making of Downton Abbey SIGNED BY THE ENTIRE CAST – Including the amazing Maggie Smith or should I say Dame Maggie Smith! He also gave us a dvd collection of The Hollow Crown! We had to say goodbye to Natalia after she set us in the right direction on the tube. Natalia and Emily from the British Council were great and helped us out so much on our trip!

Next, we went to the Tate Modern and saw lots of great art by Salvador Dali, Picasso, Joseph Beuys, Lorna Simpson and tons more, but we had to run through just taking in some highlights.

Then, we had to run to The Globe Theatre (a reconstruction of Shakespeare’s Globe theatre) where we went on a private tour, which was really informative and hilarious. Our tour guide had a great sense of humor describing the “penny stinkers” who were poor people who paid a penny to stand in what amounted to an open toilet / beer garden in front of the stage where reeking people, who hadn’t bathed in months, were pinned shoulder to shoulder drinking heavily and urinating freely, all while chewing garlic (to fend off the plague)! I’ve been to a lot of concerts, even a Black Sabbath concert and it wasn’t even close to that! But then we got to leave the pit and experience the best seats in the house. There were four of these rooms, and we were told that the Queen herself had sat in one of them on her visit to the Globe – so we had a one-in-four chance that we were warming the same seat as the Queen once had.

THEN, we went to the London Eye, which is a humungous ferris wheel over 400 feet high overlooking the entire city!

THEN, we thought we were done, until we had the idea to try to see a theatre show. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was sold out, School of Rock (which was highly regarded by Gareth Neame) was closed on Tuesdays, and then we decided to attend something completely different in a theatre right next to our hotel. Ed Harris and Amy Madigan were starring in the Sam Shepard play Buried Child. There were some tickets left, so we picked up three. WOW, what a play! Hilarious, crazy, sad, maddening, every other feeling imaginable in 2 hours and 40 minutes! THEN, dinner and back to the hotel to pack for tomorrow and now, phew! BED!

We fly home tomorrow, but we don’t want to leave! I’ll be following up with a  small thank you \ summary of my trip after we get home and get some rest!

What a day!

Hi guys! Today was amazing! We started our day visiting Buckingham Palace. Then we rushed through the National Gallery (not much time)! We saw really cool paintings there. Then we had to hurry back to the hotel to get ready to go to the British Council and the ICA! When we got to the British Council we had a meeting with the British Council Chief Executive Sir Ciarán Devane, Director of Literature and Director of Shakespeare Lives Cortina Butler, and Thomas Kell, Program Manager. They were all incredibly nice! We talked about movies, Charlie Chaplin, homeschooling, sewing. Cortina also sewed her own clothes when she was my age! Then off to the screening and awards ceremony where we got to see Emily Hadwin and Natalia Jafar-Biglou again – they’ve all worked so hard on this and we appreciate it so much. Then the screening of my film, and also the amazing runners up and commissioned works. Everyone was SO INCREDIBLY nice! Actress, writer, director Nat Luurtsema, whose film Island Queen got nominated for a BAFTA (she was also in Florence Foster Jenkins with Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant!) introduced me before the screening of my film! What an honor! She’s hilarious and we had a great talk about cats, movies, acting, writing and accents at the reception afterward. Finally, to end the day we shared a wonderful meat pie 😉 There’s so much more to say, but we have to go to bed. We meet Gareth Neame, producer of Downton Abbey in the morning!!!!!

At Buckingham Palace!

The National Gallery: See any resemblance here?

The National Gallery

British Council Meeting

ICA Screening

ICA Screening

ICA Screening

Acceptance Speech

ICA Screening

Day 2: Directing Class with Simon Hunter

Hi guys! Today we took the second part of our film class. We learned a lot about filmmaking. This is me with our teacher Simon Hunter, whose features include Lighthouse, The Mutant Chronicles featuring John Malkovich and Ron Perlman, and his new one coming out soon is called Edie – looks really good! Now we’re watching the BAFTA awards on TV in our hotel. It’s happening right down the street from us! Tomorrow night is the award ceremony for the Shakespeare Lives Film Competition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, but first we’re going to Buckingham Palace and the National Gallery.

Film Directing Course with Simon Hunter!

Today, dad and I attended the first day of an awesome two day course in film directing (as part of the Raindance Film Festival) called “Let Me Direct” taught by the director Simon Hunter. Learned A LOT and got to pitch my idea for a film to him, which he liked 🙂 Looking forward to tomorrow! Then dad, “mum” and I ate at a pub called the Wolf Club, which was apparently founded by Shakespearean actor Edmond Keane, as a retreat for “oppressed husbands whose wives forbade them from singing in the bath!” huh?

oh, and those are meat pies we’re eating, but no worries, there isn’t a barbershop upstairs!

Wanted: Witch-in-Training Escapes From Hogwarts

Journey to Hogwarts

We started the day meeting Emily and Natalia from the British Council, to whom I will be eternally indebted for somehow managing to get me, my mom and dad tickets to Warner Bros. Studio where they shot all eight Harry Potter films! We saw the sets, costumes, props, and special effects, and oh yes, Butterbeer! We finished the day at an awesome pub – fish and chips and triple brownie sundae!

Tomorrow and the next day – a course on film directing at the Raindance Film Festival!

 

The course of true love never did run smooth & neither did the plane ride!

After many snacks and a turbulent plane ride, we are finally here. I can’t believe it! I’m so excited! This is our hotel in all its grandeur!

Parting is such sweet sorrow!

Geez! My Juliet gets to go to London, and I’m put in Jail. They call this place “Pet House Suites” – Yeah right! They can’t fool me. Does this place look like a hotel to you? Do hotel rooms have bars?! Not even a mini bar! I mean whose the star of this show anyway?!

 

 

Screening at the ICA!

I’m so excited! My film will be shown at the Institute of Contimporary Arts. I will also be meeting Sir Ciarán Devane (Chief Executive, British Council) Cortina Butler (Director Literature & Director Shakespeare Lives, British Council) and Thomas Kell (Program Manager, Shakespeare Lives, British Council) – How Exciting!