Good Morning Lovelies, 

Yesterday we had the exciting news and information from the creators of Becoming Who I Was from the BFI London Film Festival and to continue with their amazing work, I have another interview to share.

Paul Williams, the producer of the hit film, The Ballad of Shirley Collins, took to the festival to host its world premiere at the event, before speaking to the blog about why it is such an incredible feature. Find out everything about it below lovelies…

Firstly, congratulations for being chosen for the BFI London Film Festival! How did it feel to appear at the event?
Thank you! It was the appropriate film festival to launch the movie and it felt good to have it alongside so many really special films like Andy Serkis’s Breathe. I think Clare Stewart is an excellent festival director and I hope she continues to build the festival in the way she been able to since she took it on. It would have been an enhanced experience if the BFI would have had their name in the titles too but the funding team didn’t feel it was a film that warranted their support which was not only surprising but disappointing for the reasons they gave… which was, among other reasons, that it is ‘niche’ and only for her fans. Plainly and clearly not the case…

For those who don’t know what The Ballad of Shirley Collins is about, please could you tell us?
It is a film about a singer who lost their voice – the thing Shirley most cherished and at the core of her being was singing – and it is a story about the life and spirit of a woman who reclaims her agency at 80 years of age.

What was it about Shirley Collins that made you want to make this film?
The story of a singer who loses the ability to sing has the clear potential to be told as a piece of cinema. At the very beginning of the process I had no idea who Shirley was and hadn’t heard her music but after the very first conversation myself and one of the films two directors Rob Curry, (the other being Tim Plester), had with Shirley I was completely and absolutely determined that we make the film. Shirley’s powerful presence, her intoxicating voice, her quiet intellect so grabbed me and I could feel immediately this was going to be an incredible and transformative project.

Is there a scene that is special to you or that you want audiences to look out for? If so, why this one?
There are so many! But the outstanding one for me is when Shirley visits St Thomas Beckett Church, Fairfield, in the Romney Marsh. I myself went on a wonderful day out with Shirley to this church together with the titan that is Professor Brian Catling. This is a day that will always be one of the greatest experiences of my life as, among so many intense elements of the day, it was the first time I heard Shirley sing. Brian and I were astonished, knocked on our backsides and it was very emotional.


The scene where Shirley explains losing her voice due to the breakdown of her marriage is heartbreaking. What was it about this moment that you think really reaches out to audiences?
Her courage to speak freely and honestly about a deep trauma inflicted upon her so long ago, perhaps? I also believe it comes along to an audience when characters such as Harvey Weinstein are being brought to account for systematically abusing women and at a time when women worldwide are speaking out about their own stories and experiences in this regard.

The film took more than three years to make, was there anything you learnt during that time about filmmaking that you didn’t know before?
Of course, you always learn new things with every new project. I always like to be completely out of my depth! With this film, I learnt there are always deeper and profound levels of patience, resilience and dogged determination to see it reach an audience.

What have you heard from audiences who saw the film at the festival?
Feedback has been resoundingly positive… but to be quite honest the fact that Shirley herself loves the film that’s all I need to know!

Did you catch any films at the festival? If so, which ones and what was your favourite?
No! The only event I went to was our own. I go to film festivals all the time all over the world and at these, I watch as many films as I can and go to all the industry events but with a film enjoying its world premiere I just had far too much to do!

Finally, could you tell us about what you are working on next? 
I have a number of projects building at the moment. One with Tyler Hubby, the director of Tony Conrad: Completely in the Present which I produced, and this is called, Polyester Mind Control: A Misremembered Memoir about the Cults of San Francisco – a snappy title, eh!? And one with Rob Curry, director of Shirley’s movie, called, Music & Migration, which is about a turtle dove on her migratory path south and a musician on her migratory path north. There are a good few others too… but I can’t talk about them at this time!