GFF 2012: Moments of Being – Anne-Marie Copestake in interview

And Under That, the new film from 2011's Margaret Tait Award winner Anne-Marie Copestake, presents a portrait of two women created through acts of looking and listening, with a live soundtrack performance. We grab a few moments with her ahead of its premiere at the Glasgow Film Festival 2012.

So tell us where And Under That came from?

The starting point was of a collection of words and ideas: hidden social rebellion, futile revolt, authority, grace, averted and directed gazes, and textual experience. It also came from bits of writing: a sentence – “I am not finished yet”; a phrase – “and under that”; and a scene set in heavy soaking rain with horses and people exploring three positions of movement and stillness. I was also interested to develop a scenario wherein words questioning histories and potential come from an older woman, and she is not seen as fixed and finished but there are possibilities connected to her.

Your installations often have an intimate feel, inviting close inspection. Did the large cinema screen influence your process?

I approached this piece of work in quite a different way. This short film involved a long process of writing, meeting people, asking questions, listening, writing further, re-writing, recording, and listening again. I wanted to make a piece of work that could travel to other locations that would not rely on the particular space in the cinema in Glasgow.

Last year's Margaret Tait commission saw Torsten Lauschmann up a ladder and measuring the ceiling of the GFT so he could project his film onto it. Disrupting the image is a strategy you often use in your film works. Was the installation process important for this film?

There isn't really an installation for And Under That. The cinema space involves a set of conditions and scale of projected image that I have never worked with before. My approach was to work towards a live event in presenting the film in the cinema. It will be the first time I have worked with a particular sound environment.

You've recently returned from touring the States with your band Muscles of Joy. Juggling your parallel practices must be a challenge. 

I had never been to the States before, so all of it was interesting to me. I visited the Anthology Film Archive and ended up being given an off-the-cuff personal guided tour, which was very special. But no, the timing was not really ideal. This particular timing clash was a fairly extreme one that I would not like to repeat, ever. I did bring my work with me though, and had an incredible view from where I sat in a thirteenth floor, glass-walled flat looking over layers and lights of New York.

You have a great track record of collaboration. Are you ‘going it alone’ this time? 

The screening will incorporate a live part too, a soundtrack performance that involves live music and voices. This will be performed by Stevie Jones, members of Muscles of Joy, and possibly a special guest. It is great to be working with Stevie, who wrote and recorded music for the film. Several years ago a track by Rude Pravo (Luke Fowler, Stevie Jones, and Cara Tolmie) was the first piece of music I used in a short film. A few years afterwards I asked Stevie if he would like to compose and perform some music on double bass for a new film. He was too busy at the time but stated he would love to do something for a future piece of work. I'm delighted that that time is now.