Iftekhar Gafar is a talented Second Light graduate who was lucky enough to work for Sixteen Films on the new Ken Loach production The Angels’ Share. The film has been nominated for a prestigious Palme d’Or Award at Cannes this year. We caught up with Ifty to ask him a few questions about the experience….

What was your involvement with The Angels’ Share, how long did you work on it for and when?

I was a Camera Trainee on The Angels’ Share. I started working on the shoot exactly about a year ago now, and we were shooting for about a month and a half.

What experience did you gain from the project?

The experience that I got from working on the film was priceless. I worked with a wonderful team of camera crew and an amazing DOP. This was my first time working on shoot that used film when shooting so it was completely new to me. The crew was really helpful in training and teaching me on how everything worked.

Was it different in any way to working on other films? Does Ken Loach have a particular way of working that you noticed?

Working on Ken Loach’s film was quite different from other shoots that I have been on. Usually everyone on shoots are very friendly with each other. On Loach’s film it’s a bit more than that, everyone is like a family, it’s like they have known each other for a very long time. I think where ever Ken shoots something they get the same old team back together, which works great with the style of his shoot.

Before going on the shoot I heard that Ken doesn’t like a lot of people on set and he has a certain style of shooting which is different from other directors. It is true to a degree, he doesn’t mind anyone being there for some scenes. However in some important scenes he doesn’t want any distraction for the actors to get the best performance from them, so he would ask everyone to hide. He usually works with people who have never acted before or have some acting experiences, which is unique in its own way. He works with a wonderful casting director and they find the best person for the part, which means less
direction is given to the actors on the set.

What are you up to currently? Do you have any other films in the pipeline?

After the Angels’ Share I have been working on a few projects of my own. Recently I shot and directed a TV pilot for Asian viewers, which we are hoping to market in Indian and/or Pakistan. I’m also in the process of developing another short film, which I hope to make by the end of this year and at the start of next year I’m aiming work on a feature film idea.