![]() Then, while filming a small role in Lithuania for TV series Chernobyl, he sent Cummings his outline for the Boiling Point short. As a jobbing actor, Barantini agreed to appear in two short films being made by students at the University of Portsmouth, one co-scripted by Cummings and both shot by Lewis, and was duly impressed by the two young men.īack in the UK, Barantini was helping out at acting workshops in Manchester and asked Cummings to write some scenes (“I think we basically paid him with some orange peel”). He also netted an agent on the back of the Boiling Point short, Jago Irwin at Independent Talent, who supported the filmmaker’s belief that the short could be developed into a feature.īoth versions of Boiling Point are co-written with James Cummings, and shot by director of photography Matthew Lewis - a creative relationship that arose from rather humble circumstances. The short was nominated at the British Independent Film Awards (Bifas) in 2019, by which time Barantini already had one Ruspoli-produced feature as director under his belt, London crime thriller Villain. What am I going to lose?’”īarantini’s first short film as director Seconds Out, which shot in 2018, impressed Graham, who then agreed to star as the protagonist of his second one: Boiling Point, a 22-minute, single-take film set in a restaurant kitchen, with the stressed, booze-medicating head chef ultimately suffering a major health incident. “I suddenly thought, ‘I really want to give this a go. “That changed everything in my perspective on life,” says Barantini. ![]() Then, a few years ago, his mother passed away. He had always harboured ambitions to be a filmmaker but lacked self-belief and visible role models (“Where I grew up in Liverpool, it’s just unheard of”). Barantini’s acting career did not flourish, and he embarked on a parallel career as a chef, while still landing occasional screen roles. The three men’s careers went in different directions, with Ruspoli producing his first feature in 2010, and Graham emerging as a major screen star. I don’t think there’ll ever be anything again quite like it.” “There was an incredible bond that was forged between almost all of us on the set. “It was, and is still to this day, the most incredible professional experience,” says Ruspoli, who reels off names from the Band Of Brothers ensemble who have gone on to appear in films that he has produced. Barantini and Graham, both from Liverpool, quickly bonded. We’re a small independent film, the money would have been lost.” Adds Barantini: “And we probably wouldn’t have gotten Stephen again because he’s the busiest man alive.” Fast friendsīoiling Point owes its origins to friendships that were formed in 2000 on the eight-month shoot of HBO’s Second World War miniseries Band Of Brothers, in which Barantini, Ruspoli and Graham all had roles. “If Stephen had said, ‘I’ll take the week off,’ we would not be here today,” says Ruspoli, speaking to Screen International via Zoom with Barantini and other key members of the creative team. Eight takes over four days had been planned, but it didn’t matter: the third take was golden and they had their film. The cast and crew assembled in March 2020 at the east London restaurant location for two weeks of rehearsal and technical run-throughs - vital preparation for a film that would be shot in one continuous take - with Graham joining for the second week.ĭirector/co-writer Philip Barantini then completed four whole takes of his film, two per day for two days, before the Covid pandemic lockdown prompted the producers to wrap production. ![]() Now the question was: would Graham like to take a week off, after Venom: Let There Be Carnage, or move straight into Boiling Point? “And he said, ‘No, let’s just get it done,’” says Boiling Point producer Bart Ruspoli. The tight shooting schedule had originally been set for April that year to accommodate Graham’s availability, but now the actor’s window had suddenly jumped forward to March - and he would then segue on to the set of recurring TV series Peaky Blinders. In January 2020, actor Stephen Graham and the filmmaking team behind Boiling Point made a snap decision that would prove wholly consequential for the life of the quadruple Bafta-nominated UK indie drama. Philip Barantini and Stephen Graham on the ‘Boiling Point’ set
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