“I think with filmmaking you have an opportunity to challenge people to open their hearts and change their minds, people tend to form very strong opinions these days without knowing all the facts.”

We had a deeply interesting talk with brilliant British filmmaker and photographer Nicola Collins about her award winning documentary film, the responsibility to be honest and empathetic when filming anyone´s life and her new photography project called “Essex Girl.”

I just watched the trailers of your two movies „Do as you likey“ and the award winning one called „The End.“ I definitely have to see both of them, the trailers already are so intriguing and intense. „Do as you likey“ f.e. is an intimate and revealing portrait of life as a British gypsy. What was the trigger for you to do a documentary about them?

When choosing subjects I am always drawn to struggle, sub-cultures and people who are misunderstood; the underdog. I find these stories to be the most compelling and the ones we can learn the most from. You will also find the funniest, brightest and most interesting people within these circles, they don’t take themselves too seriously which is a pet hate of mine.

How has your perception changed about them and their lives throughout the movie and is there a main message that you want to get across to people with it – or do you want to only stay an observer of what your are filming?

Before I start filming any documentary I try to be open to it going in any direction, I like to think that I just help the characters tell the story they want to tell. When I am given the gift of filming anyone´s life, there comes a responsibility to be honest and empathetic. I cringe when I watch a documentary where you know the subject has been tricked and made a fool of but I appreciate that its just a different style of filmmaking.

In „The End“ you explore a part of your dad´s and his friends life „as infamous criminals that shaped their war torn environment into a violent underworld“. I love that you open the film with a quote by Aristotle: “Crime is the parent of poverty”. Was one of your motivations to do this movie to understand more about your dad´s life and/or to make people think about the complexity of events? ( in the sense that things that appear “bad or wrong” at times also do have another side and we have to see their origins and so on..)

I have always been aware of what my dad had got up to in his life but I love my dad and I understand him so I wasn’t searching for any answers or validation by making the documentary, I was just in a very privileged position where these men trusted my dad enough for me to film them. I jumped at the chance, it was a filmmakers dream, they are fascinating and great storytellers. (Ironically it was one of my dad’s dodgy deals that delivered my first camera at 14 years old).

Are you working on another movie now – if so, can you reveal something?

I am working on my first narrative feature right now, it is the true story of a British Boxing legend. I am very excited about it. I also have a new photography project coming out very soon called Essex Girl.

„When choosing subjects I am always drawn to struggle, sub-cultures and people who are misunderstood; the underdog. I find these stories to be the most compelling and the ones we can learn the most from.“

Photographer or filmmaker – which is your future –or both?

Photography is a part of me, I will never stop taking photos, it is where I feel at my happiest. But I think with filmmaking you have an opportunity to challenge people to open their hearts and change their minds, people tend to form very strong opinions these days without knowing all the facts. Its a great feeling when I get messages from strangers who have watched my film and have been really moved.

I saw you photograhed Ryan Gosling – how did this come about?

Ryan is a friend of mine and one day we went down to the LA river and shot some photos of each other.

Your role models within photography/film?

In photography – Henri Cartier-Bresson, Mary Ellen Mark, Peter Lindberg, Bruce Weber and Corinne Day.
In film – Akira Kurosawa, Andrei Tarkovsky, Alfred Hitchcock, Werner Herzog and Mike Leigh.

You just moved from London to Los Angeles. What is the main thing that you are hoping to gain out of this change of place?

New adventures and a tan.

Your ultimate future goal?

Happiness. This world is getting all kinds of messed up right now, it can get depressing.

The most precious thing in life is…

Life itself…and my twin, everybody should have a twin.