Moviemaker Michelle Bailey has film premiere in Coventry

[dutchman]

Big things are being predicted for Michelle Bailey who has just premiered her first film in the city.



Michelle, a student at Coventry University, shot her first film ‘Dad’ around the city.

It features the life of two Coventrians – a father battling alcoholism and his daughter’s misery in finding a creative outlet.

The 26-year-old, of Coombe Road, Binley, said she chose the city as her backdrop to show people there were opportunities available outside big cities like London.

She said: “I was doing some work in the industry during my summer holidays and when the work was no longer in the Midlands, commuting to London became too expensive.

“So I had always wanted to make my own film and that seemed like the perfect time to do it.

“Dad is a story based on my life and my relationships and I think it is relevant to many people.

“Representations in the media don’t always represent our lives so I wanted to do something realistic and make a story without dramatising anything and keeping it real.

“It’s exciting when something happens in Coventry and when it is something like a film premiere I would like to show that anyone can shoot a film here and you don’t have to go to the bigger cities.

Michelle, who is a full-time carer for her mum, funded the film entirely by herself while also studying for her MA in Film and Visual Culture at Coventry University.

She got her break while working with BBC Films during her undergraduate course at the university.

She added: “It was hard to find the money for Dad so I really struggled but I don’t think it shows in the quality of the film at all.

“I have been doing all I can to push it because I think it is worth seeing.

“I want to take it to the next level after this film so I am looking for funding for my next film and hopefully we can start shooting next summer.”

The premiere for Dad was held at Coventry University’s cinema last Friday night.

Michelle has also been a part-time lecturer at Coventry University teaching on the same course she took for her BA(hons) Communication, Culture and Media.

Having set up her own production company now, Baileyface Productions, she has already entered the film into a number of film festivals for next year, including West Midlands film festival, Flat Pack, the London Student Film Festival and the Edinburgh Film Festival.

She is currently in the process of securing funding for future film projects and is hoping to make Dad available online later next year.