Like it or not, society is bound by norms of conduct that act as a guidance for acceptable behaviour. But what happens when the rules and restrictions which are supposed to put order in our lives actually do the opposite and cause mayhem? Writer and director Stelios Kouk, upon hearing an absurd story about the application of such rules, was inspired to bring to life a short film which sticks a proverbial middle finger at the nonsensical extremities that we sometimes find ourselves facing. By playing around and exaggerating his two main characters and finding the most perfect setting, Kouk has created a delightfully snappy and entertaining story which perfectly encapsulates the madness that is modern life. ‘Smoking in Public’ ends with a delightful twist which we would not want to ruin. Instead, we found out all about the making of his film and the perfectly balanced comedic juxtaposition of the two protagonists within.
A calm middle-aged executive, enjoys a cigarette outside of his office building when he’s approached by a young hipster. Things get rather interesting when the police get involved.
This tale is so absurd it has to be true.
‘Smoking in Public’ is based on a true story. While catching up with a friend after a screening at the BFI film festival, he told me about being approached by a young man while he was having a smoke and then…I guess people will have to watch the film to find out what happened! It was such an unpredictable story but at the same time it resonated with me, revealing all the madness of the world around us right now. I immediately knew that there was a good comedy there and I had to bring it to the screen.
After being told this absurd, yet unfortunately very believable story, how did you move into the writing and development of the script?
As an artist, I am always on the lookout for good stories, it just happens naturally. When I get moved by something, when I keep thinking of it, I know it has potential. I also read a lot, take photos and screenshots, save things on my phone or on my computer and listen to people narrating anecdotes from their lives over a beer or a glass of wine. There are specific themes that interest me more than others, which are important to me. In this case, this real story was just too good to let it go. So after my friend told me about it, I immediately clicked with it, I told him “That’s brilliant, I’ll make this into a short”. I went away and scribbled down the story without any dialogue. We never spoke about it again, I got what I needed. Then I started creating the dialogue beats from scratch. Revisiting my first draft now, I was surprised that no dialogue lines have been changed, all of them are in the completed film.
Can you talk about the comedic beats and how you offset our dour old-school protagonist against the newer generation?
I wanted to keep the whole situation very balanced. In life, it is very easy and comforting to choose sides and predetermine who is right and who is wrong. But what if they are both right in what they are saying?
When I say that the original story had so much potential, I mean I could take many creative liberties to make it funnier and deeper. In the real story the older protagonist is by no means so different to the younger guy, he is actually a fintech film buff. But I knew that I could play around the age difference. So making him a white-collar executive in a suit immediately creates a big gap between them, which is also very visual, you look at them in the frame and they could not be more different. But at the same time, appearances are deceiving. Based on prior experience, our mind immediately imposes a certain version of our beliefs on people based on how they look. So I wanted to go against the stereotypes and that plays well with the twists of the story, as it unfolds. In effect, none of the two is who they first seem to be, as my intention was to keep revealing traits of the characters in every beat. My other intention was that I wanted to keep the whole situation very balanced. In life, it is very easy and comforting to choose sides and predetermine who is right and who is wrong. But what if they are both right in what they are saying? This gives us the playing ground for good comedy, until the unexpected ending. Worth noting that obviously this is completely fictional as no one knows what happened in reality when the two characters split ways.
There is a hilarity in the tension when the two protagonists come face to face. How did you work on this brilliant scene?
I discovered the two main actors. Jami Reid-Quarrell who plays the suited businessman George, whose experience and background in comedy, physical theatre and choreography creates this memorable main character. At the other corner of the ‘boxing ring’ we have Elliott Eason who brings such raw power and is the polar opposite. When the two of them clash it’s just a joy to watch them. I was inspired by heated debates that happen all around us for the least important issues. A lot of people have this opinion that what they are doing is right and they become obsessed and preach about it, both in real life and on social media. Then they create a world around them of similarly opinionated people and that’s their version of reality. If you try to ever disturb it and take them out of their bubble their world collapses and so they become over protective about it. So when writing this scene I knew it was the climax, where they let the steam go. Without revealing too much here, there is also a certain choreography which leads to the next part. So all the beats and actions are there for a specific reason. That being said, my two brilliant actors Jami and Elliott got it right away and ran with it, it’s such a pleasure to watch them.
Tell us about the work with your DOP Yannis Manolopoulos, and how you created the vintage and timeless look to the film?
It all started with the location. I wanted a location echoing our older character and his world where the younger one will intrude. So when I discovered this little square in the City of London during location scouting, it already had a lot of character in it, the earthy tones, the leafy greens and brickwork browns. It kind of reminded me of a small quiet oasis surrounded by the tall glass buildings in the far background. I knew I wanted an idyllic setting so it’s sunny and colourful, definitely not what people think of rainy and cloudy London. This playful setting makes the situation even more hilarious, like two children arguing in a colourful playground.
Since we were a very small production, we couldn’t afford big lights and generators so we had to work with available light. Harsh sunshine is always tricky to handle but Yannis, having worked extensively in the Middle East, knew exactly how to make the most of the sun’s position. We visited the location many times and storyboarded everything in advance. In terms of blocking, I wanted scenes with depth and action in the background because they make you feel you are experiencing something real happening in front of you rather than a staged performance in a blocked set. So we had cars and buses in the background or (our own) extras crossing. I love the French New Wave and I went for a naturalistic style here.
It is certainly short and snappy. Did you always intend it to run at just over 4 mins and how do you pack such a great story into such a short runtime?
Yes it was always intended to be as short as possible. People who watch it enjoy it so much that they tell me they want to see more but that’s the nature of short films! If you cut out the fat and focus on what is important (story and characters) it makes the material much more powerful. I believe in great stories and great stories come from great scripts, so I had to make sure that the story keeps flowing. There is no time for useless “character development”, every line counts, every beat has a reason. It’s like great food. if it’s full of taste, you don’t need big portions!
If something is missing and you discover during the edit that there is a better way which serves the story, then you need to get creative.
What did the editing process entail and how did you set the pace so that it wasn’t too rushed?
With editing it’s always the same question: which way can we tell the story better? Is this the most powerful shot? If the story is there, the performances are there, the shots are there, then they all fit like a jigsaw puzzle. If something is missing and you discover during the edit that there is a better way which serves the story, then you need to get creative. Panagiotis, my editor, has a great eye for picking out small details and nuances in performances while maintaining a focus on the main story and the characters. You don’t want all the technical aspects, like continuity, to limit the storytelling so it takes a lot of skill to achieve that. In terms of pace, as we know, in film every second of screen time is made of 24 frames so every frame counts. All characters get space and breathing time but there’s also an internal clock which is different for every film. I feel that you have to trust your instincts for this one.
What do you hope for your film?
The film has started playing in festivals around the world so I hope it finds its audience – as a weird little comedy I feel it will strike a chord with people who feel that there are way too many rules in modern societies, often contradictory to each other, creating chaotic if not ridiculous situations.
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