Here we speak to Javier Dampierre, director of Fifty, which won the Best Thriller award in our September/October 2019 rounds. From the interview’s outset, it is clear that Javier has good experience of what it takes to work in the LA film industry. He takes us through the process of Fifty, discussing his decisions throughout, from how, and why, he chose certain crewmembers to how he explored a complex script. Javier speaks with honesty when he explains that his biggest fear was working within an apartment surrounded by windows. An advantage of this was exceptional & authentic LA scenery, but a major drawback was how much care was needed to avoid reflections in the glass. This is made more impressive by the fact that the film is shot entirely within this one room, a choice which also meant a lot of pressure was placed on exceptional performances. This point allowed us to explore his acquisition of the film’s cast, including his experiences working with the high-profile actress, Dey Young. This follows with an interesting insight from Javier that emphasises the usefulness of rehearsals. Primarily, how they can be used to create familiarity between actors, freeing them to explore their parts in full.