I’m Program Director for the Revelation Perth International Film Festival. I also curate. And I write too.
Why do you do it?
I always did it. I started putting on gigs and curating when I was in my late teens and early 20s. I wrote my first book in my mid-20s. I am interested in creativity, interior and exterior worlds, and so on, for me it’s all an extension of these interests.
What do you love about the city you live in?
The smell of flowers that hits you when you come out of the airport. The floral smells are so different from the UK, where I grew up. The light, the over-exposed sunlight which burns into everything, again, the difference from the greyer British skies, although I do miss those sometimes. Also, I like walking around late at night and being on the streets in the summer with the noise and action, simultaneously, I also like being awake early and watching the sun rise over the rooftops. I like the energy and movement of the inner city, I like the chaos and possibilities of the city.
Where did you go for your last holiday?
It was one of the first holidays for a long time, many years, and I went to Portugal. I was doing some talks at universities in Europe, co-running a conference, and watching films at a festival. It made sense to take a brief detour and go to Lisbon and just immerse myself in the city, eat fine food, check out art galleries, and walk the streets looking for whatever elusive magic I could find. It was quite unique, normally when I travel I work, I do talks, meet people, research films, and so on. This was a week of just relaxing and exploring with no real end purpose. I enjoyed it.
What's your favourite item of clothing? Why?
My Blundstones. I wear a pair every day, day in, day out, and have done for years. My favourites have red elastic on the side. To me, good, comfortable boots are really important. I’ve actually written about my shoes before for a project about writers' shoes, so I guess they really mean a lot. Everything else I wear tends to be just black – black jeans, black shirts, suits – so the coloured elastic and red stitching is a novelty.
What was your favourite TV show when you were a kid?
All of my favourites change a lot but with that in mind 'Dr Who', 'Children Of The Stones', and 'Changes', that whole '70s science fiction, weird fantasy thing was a great part of my childhood. There was also a public information film, an education film, that was about the danger of kids playing on railway lines, called, I think, 'The Finishing Line', which came out when I was eight or nine, which was a grim and gory movie and fascinated me.
If you could travel back in time for a day, where would you go?
New York in the mid-late '70s.
If we were coming over to your place, what would you cook for us?
I cook a lot, but it’s pragmatic – pasta, stuff like that. I don’t have a signature dish and am suspicious of people who do, I like to experiment. I almost never use a cookbook, I learned to cook as part of growing up, you know. If I am seeing friends I like to go out and eat. But if you came to eat at my house, I’d do brunch. I’m a big drinker of coffee, so I’d make black coffee, maybe French toast or maybe scrambled eggs with spinach and spring onion. Possibly re-fried beans, or a section of different mushrooms lightly fried in organic garlic and butter. Whatever time I go to bed I like to get up early and get on with the day, but invariably not everyone else does, so I have learned to make a pretty good brunch for those around me.
What's the best lesson you've ever learned?
I don’t really know if there are lessons, but if there are, mine would be learning how to survive on what’s available. I think that originates in those DIY roots, where you just learned to live on your wits, getting by with little money and making the most of everything. That’s also probably where I got my interest in putting on gigs, it became apparent that, if I wanted to see something, I had to do it. I’m not sure if that’s a lesson though.
Tell us one thing about yourself that nobody else knows...
There’s a picture of this, but it’s also thankfully anonymous. A few years back I was one of 5,000 people laying naked on the concrete steps outside the Opera House for Spencer Tunick’s photograph. I hadn’t been naked in public before and it felt pretty strange. That moment when you realise you are surrounded by loads and loads of naked people, and you have to talk to them, you have to engage with them, you have to live the whole experience. That sense of possibility and excitement was important to me.
Are you happy with your work/life balance?
I work really long hours. But, that’s my choice and to be honest I couldn’t not do that. I enjoy it.
How do you define success?
Enjoying what you do I guess, but I’m not really sure that’s success or that success matters that much.
What's your spirit animal?
I’m not sure if it’s a spirit animal per se, but I like foxes a lot. When I am back in the UK there’s always something reassuring about seeing them at night while walking in the city. Plus, there’s that great fox in Lars Von Trier’s movie 'Antichrist' that says “chaos reigns” which I always liked. That sense of possibility in chaos.
