Despite the rampant drug use you got the 16 cert.
We were so caught up in making our first film that I can say hand on heart that we didn't sit down and go "don't do that because we'll get an 18 cert". We never really thought about, and this sounds like a real cop-out, because we were really busy trying to get the thing made. And then when you get the money to do it then you have to go and make it. Then it's really difficult and all of the overhead that comes with that. We were conscious that we had choice language and drug use, but I think again on a parallel lane that we weren't really giving consideration to at the time we were probably considering that without considering that. We weren't trying to go "drugs are deadly" or "lets show something really hardcore bad".The thing that we did do was that we worked with EPD and suddenly we were told that IFCO were watching watching it. Then you get an email from Jamie in Element with one of those certs and yu go "wow, we got a cert. I can see this in a cinema!". I went back saying "wow we got a 16" and she came back with "yeah, that's really good". So I was like "cool". My understanding of IFCO's notes was that it didn't glamourise drugs and that it wasn't instructional.
Even though you do make drugs...
Ketamine in a microwave! We do. I suppose, and this is purely my own opinion, but we show what happens when you do loads of it. You throw up and you pass out in a toilet, and you fall over a lot. I've never done ketamine, but I gather that's what happens. I don't think, and this is important, I don't think that at any point that we could have turned around within the process of filmmaking and said "don't do that because we might get an 18". Within the group that wouldn't have really flown. It has given me a curiousity into how the classification works. It was like when they asked us the other day about when during the credits did I want the lights to come up. Mike and I didn't know that we get to decide that. Everyday is a school day. We'll know thatfor next time. And with IFCO, would I be more cognisant next time? Probably not because otherwise you end up taking a half-step.
42 CinÉireann / June 2018