The film is a quirky comedy about Billy Heinlickburger, an 18 year old loser/dreamer who's having a rough time of it. It's all about his trials & tribulations with his ex-girlfriend, his barmy parents, him trying to get a job, etc, etc. It was inspired by early Woody Allen films, and is a bit similar to: 'Napoleon Dynamite'.

The film took about a year to make from pre-production to post-production, the actual shoot was only 17 days though which was tough.

It was a very, very tight schedule! We had to rush alot of scenes which is never a good thing, but I had a great cast and crew and we all pulled through in the end. As for the budget, the equipment I got hold of for free but I still put in five grand of my own money.

It wasn't a case of I wanted to produce the film, because I hate producing, it was just the fact that I couldn't find a producer so I knew that if I wanted to get this film made then I had to produce it myself. I didn't give myself a credit as either a producer or editor as I didn't want to show off too much!

I was very passionate and motivated about the story, I knew I had a decent script and that I knew I could make it. Having made a few short films, I realised that if I really wanted to make it as a filmmaker then feature films is where it's at. Short films are good to learn mistakes and mould you as a filmmaker, but if you're serious about making films then you have to make that leap from shorts to features eventually. I was just very lucky to have the equipment at hand to make my film.

Not a great deal, which is a big regret. It's not because I didn't want to direct them, but more like I didn't have time to communicate my ideas with the actors for certain scenes. As I mentioned, we were shooting on such a tight schedule that time was very precious indeed! However, we did have a number of rehearsal days before the shoot, so the actors knew what I wanted and served me well.

Well I'd definitely involve the actors alot more before we shot anything, and try to express my ideas instead of just shooting scenes unprepared. I'd also hire a decent sound recordist and a decent DP, as two things I've learnt is that:

1. Sound is such an important part of making a film and gets overlooked too easily
2. Film is a visual medium, it's visual storytelling; you have to take time over the look of the film in terms of colours and putting a certain mood across.

The script is the most important thing of course, but there's so many elements to filmmaking that you have to make sure you don't overlook something so vital such as the sound or look of the film.

It was a tough learning experience. I'm very proud of the film, but at the screening in Cannes I found myself surrounded by total strangers watching my film. A lot of people walked out, a lot of people walked in; it was all very demoralizing to tell you the truth. I can't stant watching my film as it is - I see all the technical errors and I find the experience very humiliating almost. But it wasn't that bad really, the film got a lot of laughs and a generous round of applause - that's all you can ask for I guess. I've learned an awful lot from the beginning of making the film to screening it at Cannes - I know there's alot of mistakes in the film, but there's alot of really good things about it too.

I am looking for a distribution deal, but I'm realistic and know that probably won't happen - the film is probably too low budget and too much of a risk for a company to pick it up. I'll be submitting the film to festivals for the rest of the year and see what happens.

My next project is called: 'The Illuminati' and is a dark conspiracy thriller which I'm hoping to shoot in summer 2006, possibly in Canada or the US. I also want to shoot on either HD or film. DV is fine as a format to shoot on, but I think if you really want to sell a film then it has to have that professional look - shooting on DV is probably another factor which will prevent: 'The Boy with a Thorn in His Side' from a distribution deal in the end. Whether I shoot: 'The Illuminati' all depends on whether I can get funding for the project as there's no way I can afford to pay for the production! It's a very ambitious script and should be quite a challenge, but I'm looking forward to it!