Grisoni: the Miracle man
The Pizza Miracle: Ferguson Henderson of St John restaurant, artist Oona Grimes (with pig) and performance artist Laurence Harvey. Produced by Mike Elliott Photo: Rupert Lloyd Parry
Tony Grisoni, Hackney resident and successful script writer, is now making the bold move into directing. His screenplay credits make impressive reading, and a year into his directorial forays he has three short films under his belt.
His directorial debut Kingsland (BAFTA-nominated in 2009) is a magical homage to Dalston and the Kurdish community that has settled there.
Syncing, commissioned by Sky 1 as part of their 10 Minutes Tales Christmas series, is a non-dialogue piece starring Peter Capaldi as a lonely man whose out-of-sync hearing alienates him from the world around him.
Tony’s third short film, The Pizza Miracle, is yet to be unveiled.
He has been a citizen of Hackney for 11 years, and I set out to discover to what extent living in the borough has affected the man and his work.
“I think whatever you’re surrounded by finds its way into your work… that’s why back in 2006 I wanted to make a film set in my back yard, and that’s how Kingsland came to be.’’
However there is more to it than this, do writers not actively seek out places that feed their imagination?
Tony admits he likes the excitement of living in a place where a lot of his neighbours are not indigenous. ‘“In a way you find yourself being a foreigner or a stranger, and I think that’s very good for the work I do. It’s about finding out, and journeys, and looking at something with a fresh eye.’’
The success of soap operas, like Eastenders, relies entirely on the tight-knit community at its centre, and I wonder if in Kingsland he is setting out to make Eastenders: The Movie.
Tony points out that Ridley Road Market in the 1970s and ‘80s, the setting for Kingsland, was in fact the inspiration for Eastenders. The demographic has changed but the community lives on with a new cast of characters.
“It’s about being surrounded by people who have connections with their neighbours, and you find that in an immigrant community, because when you arrive in a new country you don’t know the rules, so you stick together, and that makes for a very tight community.’’
In an age where it feels like every aspect of our lives has been exploited for the small screen, it seems surprising that London communities haven’t made more mileage on the big screen. Why has there has not been a London West Indian or Turkish or Polish equivalent of The Godfather?
“Filmmakers in Manhattan made fantastic use of that whole Italian-American experience, and I haven’t seen the same kind of thing going on here.’’
Like many of his peers, Tony blames the lack of finance in the British film industry and the hunger for stars at the expense of great ideas.
When asked about the move from writer to director Tony explained that the main difference is a practical one: the dynamic of the workplace. “It’s a very different game, directing, you’re responding to people’s energy and you have to capitalise on that.
“There’s a tension between what you’re setting out to achieve, which is written down in the script, and what is happening on the set and the possibilities that arise.’’
Time is much more of a luxury when writing the screenplay, elements of which may well get lost in the practical constraints of a shoot.
It can’t be easy making the transition from established, respected writer to one of thousands of wanna-be directors. Many wouldn’t take such a risk. “You’re in a buyers’ market, so you have to have a good reason for doing it and you have to need to do it.’’
Hackney has inspired one of the most popular and enduring British soaps. As the borough and its communities change over time they continue to inspire. It is, in Tony Grisoni’s words, grist to the mill of writing drama.
The Pizza Miracle will premiere at the Edinburgh Film Festival.
More on Syncing here.