About The Filmmaker

After finishing my degree in Computer Science, I was selected to attend a trip to Japan via an organisation showing modern Japan to grandchildren of British POWs, which I decided to film. Later that year, with a strong desire to prove myself as a documentary director, I travelled to the USA during the finale of the 2004 presidential election to film a documentary which I used as my application to the National Film and Television School.

During my time at the School I become interested in filming microcosms of Britain and British life. One thing the School taught me is to look for stories with a clear development, but never to be afraid to step around those boundaries and to film what is actually happening. I always look to entertain the audience using warmth and humour, but then to contrast this with a - sometimes dark - undercurrent.

Since leaving the NFTS I have worked on a number of projects including a First Cut documentary called The Yorkshire Clamper, which is to be aired on Channel 4 on September 4th 2009.

Summary

The residents of the town of Lynton and Lynmouth in Exmoor National Park are at war over a breed of wild mountain goats that have lived in the nearby Valley of the Rocks for hundreds of years. Can a group dedicated to the protection of this rare breed, The Friends of the Goats, save the animals from extinction?
Festivals and Awards

Questionaire

Where did the idea for this film come from?

I grew up in Minehead which is only a few miles from Lynton & Lynmouth and so I always knew about the goats in the Valley of the Rocks and the strange fascination the residents of the village had for those animals.

I never thought there was never a strong enough narrative for a film until I read a story in The Guardian that someone had put green peppers laced with rat poison near to where the goats lived in order to kill off a few.

How did you find your contributors?

After reading about the poison peppers I headed down to Lynton and met the Pharmacists wife who had discovered the peppers. It turned out she was a member of a group called The Friends of the Goats and told me I should go and meet the head of the group, Elaine Drew.

I met Elaine and learned about an annual meeting being held in the town hall later that week where they would be debating the goats. From the meeting it was clear who I should focus on for the main characters.

The scene with the most remembered character, Tito, the Italian hotelier, was filmed by accident as we got lost down a street holding our equipment and he waved us over.

How long did it take to make from conception to completion?

The Guardian article was late March, I then filmed during April and had a couple of months to edit the film. We then had about a week to grade and online the film and a week for the sound mix.

What do you think this film did in terms of helping your career?

It helped a great deal. The exposure from Valley of the Goats directly led to me getting a First Cut documentary for channel 4.