Imran St Brice talks ‘Secure’ and beyond

[dropcap]W[/dropcap]ith a budding film industry, a number of young creatives have come out of the woodwork. Imran St Brice, a young man from Marchand, is one of them.  His 2017 short film ‘Secure’ has earned him recognition at the Caribbean Youth Film Festival and was screened at this year’s Latin American and Caribbean Cultural Festival (LACFEST). We can look forward to Imran being one of the big names in the local film industry in the years to come.

How did you become so invested in filmmaking?

Imran: Although I started off writing poetry, from as early as 2014 I always wrote them with the idea to make them into short films. I knew absolutely nothing about short films or filmmaking at the time. In March 2017 I attended a film workshop and got to know the basics from a couple of British producers. From then I watched more movies with a critical eye while coming up with ideas for my own potential short films.

Who is your biggest inspiration?

Imran: Stylistically, Christopher Nolan is my biggest inspiration. There are several other filmmakers whose work I admire: Quentin Tarantino, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and so on.

You were recently awarded ‘Best Director’ and received a second place award at the Caribbean Youth Film Festival. How did that feel?

Imran: I felt honoured because it was my first attempt at putting together a short film.

Do you have another project in the pipeline?

Imran: Almost immediately after finishing ‘Secure’ I had another script ready to shoot but I ended up passing on it. But I’ve been developing a script since August with intentions to direct and produce. Naturally, I expect it to be different, just as difficult, if not more. Hopefully it will be better in terms of quality of story and technique.

The film industry in Saint Lucia is not nearly as developed as some other facets of the creative industries. What do you believe can be done to remedy this?

Imran: I think it’s a matter of really wanting it. By that I mean getting educated about how the film industry works; from good screenwriting to thoughtful budgeting and distribution and everything else in between. Once we’re all at a certain standard, the next step is to make it happen. Every resource we need to tell stories through film is more available now than it was 20 or even 10 years ago. So basically it’s up to us who call ourselves filmmakers – both individually and collectively- to get serious about making movies.

Where do you see yourself in the next five years?

Imran: It’s hard to say. I tend to take each project on as a single piece that requires all of my focus at that time to do it well. But at some point I would want to write and direct a feature film for theatrical release, that’s the long-term goal for me.

What other interests do you enjoy?

Imran: Besides watching movies? Video games and reading/researching random things. I’ve found the more things you study outside of film, the better you’re able to create because you’re more aware of what’s around you in the world.

Tell us one random fact about yourself.

Imran: I speak a little bit of German.