Interview with awarded director Hal Sinden

Welcome Mr Sinden, we are very excited to have you today and discuss about your work. Who is Hal Sinden and how did the passion for filmmaking start ?

I was raised in a theatrical / filmmaking family. My late Grandfather was arguably the first Sinden to go ‘professional’ as an actor and almost all of us followed suit, so I was regularly just left to stand in the wings at theatres in London’s West End or hanging around film sets until either of my parents (an actor & a producer respectively) would finish their working day.

After finally working professionally in the camera department on a few feature films, I left school at 17 to concentrate on it full-time and then decided I wanted to become an actor. I studied at Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art but almost immediately afterwards became a musician, touring the United States as a singer in one band and then Europe & Scandinavia with my current band, talanas. When lockdown hit, I decided to make a return to filmmaking at last, turned my record company into a film production house and started making music videos for various metal / alternative acts. I’ve always loved film, but the industry has changed so much since the 90s / early 2000s when I was last working in it. With digital as a format it’s now so much more accessible to make as dark material as I’ve always wanted to.

As an example, this is a photograph of me in the arms of Linda Purl while she was filming ‘The Last Days of Pompeii’ at Pinewood Studios. I must have been about 4 or 5 years old and it’s one of my earliest ever memories.

Can you tell us about your previous work?

The first film I was ever credited on was ‘The Mystery of Edwin Drood’ in 1992/3, which was the last story written by Charles Dickens - an unfinished Victorian murder mystery. A lot of my family & the other people who made it felt it turned out way too dark, but conversely it really set the tone for me and what I wanted to make from thereon.

CONVERSATION ABOUT: Succubus à Distance

What would you describe as your directing identity style ?

It’s tricky to be fully objective about your own work. One of my most regular collaborators, Miss Fortune, once commented “Your style is ethereal and multifaceted. Sharp angles and harsh subjects that are softened by dreamlike, soft focus, and warm lighting” which I thought was a lovely thing to say.

Visually I lean heavily on textures and layering of images, but insofar as directing - I’m often working with my own material which is heavy on escapism / almost avoidant of modern day-to-day ‘kitchen sink’ stark realism, so I’m happy working with overt, whimsical or maybe even overblown characterisation to support a story’s conceit.

Talk to us about your film? How was it created and what inspired it?

The film’s co-star, Mistress Syn Ariad, is one of my closest friends and also my muse. She & I have worked together on quite a lot of varied projects because of how potent the flow state becomes whenever she’s involved. Her appearances in the piece are partly improvised / partly devised over several shoots in London and Brussels, since I tend to work with her as often as I can.

The storyline came about when I found Raven Victoria through mutual friends. She has a totally unique look and, conveniently, is a fantastic actress so I discovered a narrative arc that presented her as the victim of a Succubus that preys on her during slow-wave sleep, gradually signposting her impending death & eventually manifesting into physical form as the visions intensify.

The footage of Syn was predominantly in warmer / more amber tones, so shooting Raven’s sections in ‘blue hour’ colours provided sympathetically opposing shades. In truth, her shoot was late at night; my 1st AD (Dan Newcomb) had to climb out of a 2nd story window, cross the whole of the front of the house on window ledges and tie a 300w light with an enormous globe lantern softbox attached to it on a stand which we had to rope to various other window frames that refused to open. For the setup of the shots, I was most inspired by Stephen Goldblatt’s work in Tony Scott’s ‘The Hunger’, hence the use of vintage anamorphic lenses and slow motion. The soundtrack to the film I made from recordings of Syn’s speech from various past sessions.

Is there any hidden symbolism ? How is the ''realm of Sleep'' showcased in your work ?

I’m a huge fan & advocate of symbolism in film - it’s often like being granted more than simply dialogue to make your point. I’m an atheist, yet I’m fascinated by occult symbology and try to incorporate as much as I can into my work. I suffer from a number of neurological & behavioural disorders. Most relevant to this film is parasomnia (a sleep disorder, like extreme sleepwalking) & derealisation (total dissociation) both of which I’m medicated for but still experience quite regularly, so what happens to me when asleep both terrifies & fascinates me. My aim was to suggest the blurring of boundaries between consciousness & the dreamstate.

Could you see your work as an experimental installation in a modern museum ?

The film was first shown at the ‘A Glimpse Of Kink’ exhibition, which was held at the Bateman Gallery in Soho (London) in the Summer of 2021, so in essence it served more as an installation piece than a ‘cinema screening’. The whole of the basement floor of the gallery served as a devotional showcase for Mistress Syn Ariad and art made about her. My production company had the benefit of being given what used to be the building’s walk-in bank vault, complete with a really heavy door and no natural light. We managed to install an 82” UHD screen in there on an altar that I created that was surrounded by dead tree branches, chains & an antique book about human anatomy, the only other light in the rest of the vault was from dimly up-lit display cases containing various torture implements and sexual aids. We named the vault the ‘Chapel of Syn’ and had printed ‘Order of Service’ sheets near the screen. Don’t get me wrong - I absolutely love cinemas and the ritual they command of their audiences, but the opportunity to create a viewing room almost as if it was its own film set was too good to pass on.

FUTURE WORK AND CLOSING LETTER

What is the target audience of your project ?

Metalheads, Hammer Horror fanatics, goths, dissidents, free-thinkers, weirdos, lovers of extremity, perverts, camera nerds, fetish models, adult entertainment archivists, out-of-work undertakers, occultists, miscreants, French sex workers, ice cream biters, the enlightened, Cenobites, history buffs, insomniacs, independent record labels & Gillian Anderson. I should probably be responsible and suggest that we don’t discriminate with who we intend to appeal to, but frankly that would be disingenuous of me. The fact is; what we made isn’t for everyone and I’ve often held that you do better as an artist when you have a more concise idea of who would like what you make.

What is the message the audience should convey leaving the screening of your film ?

That life, while precious, is not all sunshine & butterflies but instead is (to quote Werner Herzog) “...overwhelming and collective murder”. The world we live in is obscene and largely indifferent to human suffering, notwithstanding that the universe our world is within is entirely indifferent to even our existence - and existence alone is essentially pointless, which I’m in love with. At times I find it slightly beautiful, when it’s not being simply amusing. If someone watching any of our work can go away thinking that some of this horror can be uplifted to the point of being entertaining, perhaps even alluring, then I’d say that’s a win for us. If not, I can only hope they leave with a message from someone good enough to send them nudes (consensually and in good trust, of course). If we’re talking more exclusively about ‘Succubus à Distance’, my hope was to present enough ambiguity to suggest the possibility that Raven’s character might have willingly conjured the Succubus, which is supported by the devotional candles & incense in her bedroom. I prefer that there is as little polarisation as possible when it comes to ‘heroes & villains’; life is too complex & nuanced to perpetuate Hollywood’s strict moral definitions.

Any future projects incoming ? Along with personal aspirations.

We have a number of music videos currently in production (further work for My Dying Bride & new pieces for acts such as contemporary cellist Jo Quail) which will be a format of filmmaking that I think Eulogy Media will always stick to, simply because it’s such a valuable method of expression / exploration and of grass roots distribution through the fans of each artist you work with (as long as you can create something you know they’ll like, which is a beautiful challenge in and of itself).

I’m at my happiest when writing in a period / historic setting; I love the research it demands to write with anything even resembling an authentic voice for the era that’s not the modern day. As such, I have a short film that’s hopefully about to go into pre-production; a drama / psychological horror based on an English folk song from the Georgian era (in which it’s set). It would be a gruelling location shoot on the Yorkshire Moors and, if we manage it, will have a cast that I’m honestly so excited about. With a long range view though I would love nothing more than to put British horror firmly back on the map for the international market.

That was the interview with our beloved creator Hal Sinden. Our community is rising everyday, new talented filmakers and screenwriters get onboard. Be sure to check the rest of our interviews and why not schedule one for yourself to promote your work. To publish an interview simply submit on the INTERVIEW OF YOUR FILM category on our Filmfreeway page.