Margo Roe – story of a filmmaker from the Midlands

Margo Roe – a writer, director, and choreographer from the Midlands agreed to share her story with Film Leicester. Her recent short POP has been shown and gained success at BAFTA & BFIA qualifying festivals. Her other short film Searching for Cowardice currently in the works of being adapted as a TV series. The filmmaker opened up about her journey, her connection with the Midlands, her art and the struggles that come with it.

The journey into film…

Before her debut as a filmmaker, Margo Roe worked in theatre as a director and a choreographer. After co-directing a physical theatre show and presenting it at Edinburgh Fringe she decided to explore film. The medium of film was especially drawing for Margo due to its longevity and wider accessibility to audiences. She started looking for ways to network and meet industry people, and got her first job as a runner and assistant director.

The journey was not easy, as Margo describes, due to a lack of contacts in the industry. She began looking for film communities in Leicester and the Midlands. Seven/Five, a film club run by The Phoenix Cinema, and Nexus monthly event in Nottingham was her starting point for connecting with fellow creatives. After putting in a lot of work and sending hundreds of emails, she finally got her first job on a larger production as a runner.

Margo’s connection with the Midlands…

As Margo’s journey in the film continues, it is evident that the director has a connection with the Midlands. The filmmaker explained how her roots are a key inspiration for the majority of her projects:

Being from the Midlands has been the key influence for the majority of my work to date. My influence comes from those around me and the environment that I lived in, the people and places gave such character that they automatically make their way into my current work.

Margo added that she enjoys working in the Midlands, filming and sharing familiar places and interacting with the locals:

We shot my last BFI short film in Nottingham and Derby which was amazing, capturing the places that were so familiar and sharing them on screen was great. I particularly enjoy speaking to the locals, being able to tell them I’m from down the road and also having my friend and family visit the set was an opportunity you don’t usually have.

Inspiration comes from the environment…

Having such a close connection with her roots, it is not surprising that Margo’s inspiration comes from her environment, people around her, family and their stories. Margo also added that recently she has been influenced by an artist Oona Doherty (worked with Jamie XX – I Don’t Know) and her choreography, especially how she navigates between movement and narrative. Movement is something Margo explores in her art:

I have recently been working on my first TV series which combines movement and dialogue as a key form of communication. Working with structured improvisation became imperative throughout the workshops to allow the freedom of the artist to respond verbally and physically from their character, without the constraints of a script of choreography.

She also spoke about how improvisation plays a key role in her art:

I really invite improvisation into my creative process because when you’re working with such regional characters, having the freedom to explore creates energy and moments that you couldn’t script.

Style and creative process…

Margo describes her creative style as poetic realism. Her values lay in creating art that has a message:

It is important to me to bring other experiences to the screen, specifically those of working class people and not just in a social realism medium.

Before putting ideas onto paper, Margo’s creative process involves speaking the thoughts out loud:

Being Dyslexic, I really rely on speaking my ideas to people before putting anything down onto paper. I usually have a rough outline of an idea and a colour that emanates from it, which informs the theme, visuals and tone. I then start to break it down and hash it out in pros before committing to a script, however sometimes the scenes are already there in my head and I jump straight into it.

How POP came about…

Margo’s recent short film POP, which successfully performed at numerous festivals, touches upon themes of gender identity and social expectation. Margo speaks about the film:

Pop is a story about a young transgender boy who befriends an ex convict and grieving widower named Pop. The main themes of identity and masculinity drove the project and came from a combination of places.

Having taught dance for a long time and worked in a nursery, I became very interested in how gender identification was handled around and digested within children. I volunteered at the T-Party at the LGBT Center in Leicester, which is a community group for teenagers who idenifity as transgender or questioning. There I got to work with Rueben Thomas and learn more about gender identity and also people’s lives experiences. It was from this that the character of Jack was manifested. The character of Pop came from a story my dad told me about a man he used to know and together the characters became vessels to explore intergenerational masculinity.

The film was made in the Midlands, and Margo shared a few fun facts from behind the scenes:

The production which was shot in Nottingham and Derby went well, although one location flooded and the horse tried to escape. This was Jake (who played Jack) first film and he was a star!

Future projects intended to be made in the Midlands…

Margo is currently working with Lucy Meer at Strive films developing her first TV series. The project received funding from BFI Young Audience Content Fund and was part of the 2021 Torino Series Lab. The TV series, like other Margo’s projects, draw inspiration from the Midlands. It is in the early stages of development, but there are intentions to shoot in the Midlands as well as opening up casting for those in the area.

Margo is also currently working on short films: Loose Chippings ( all about her mum’s cautionary tales about trivial fatalities) and a period project that depicts women during the Industrial Revolution. She is also collaborating with dancer & choreographer Lauren Jenkins on experimental dance films.

Advice for creatives beginning their journey…

Filmmaking, like any other art form, comes with its struggles and challenges. Margo opens up about her experience:

I struggle with feeling as though I am doing enough to get to where I want to be. As a working class creative and freelancer, there is no set ‘input’ ‘output’ when it comes to building your career, it is more fluid and situational and somewhat a ‘right place at the right time’ gig. This is a constant battle but I think you have to just collectively continue towards your goals, acknowledge them when they come and onto the next one. But most important, be mindful of living in the moment and not just waiting for the goals to materialise, otherwise you’ll forget how you got there.

It is important to acknowledge that starting out can be daunting, challenging, and uncertain. These are common feelings for emerging artists and it is okay to feel this way. To end, Margo gave some very useful advice for creatives who are just beginning their journey:

Make films, whether on your phone or borrow a camera if you can. Find your local film network and join film networks online. If you want experience, try to get a job as a runner and network to get yourself onto a tv or film set, that is where you will learn how to make films. Be kind, open to learning but stand up for yourself. I don’t think there is one way of overcoming the difficulties of starting out, you just need to keep pushing forward.

You can see Pop on Channel 4 now and at Phoenix Cinema on the 27th of April as part of the Iris Prize 2021 season!