Theo James Krekis' frozen assets

How did you get into filmmaking?

I grew up watching all the Hollywood classics on my dad's Betamax. Every Friday night, he'd let me choose three titles I liked the sound of; mainly consisting of New Hollywood films by Scorsese, De Palma, Coppola. 

As I grew up, I always loved writing but was in a dead-end job selling market research to biotech companies. It was after a three-week stint living in the back of a camper van travelling up the West Coast of America that I decided I wanted to pursue screenwriting. On my first day back in the office, I handed in my notice, took out a loan from the bank and applied to do an MA in Screenwriting at the London Film School. 

That was such an inspiring year, but it was followed by two years of self-loathing, unemployment, and other directors botching my screenplays. I decided to put my money where my mouth was and direct something myself.

I decided to put my money where my mouth was and direct something myself.

I wrote a script about a young Greek boy trying to become a man quicker than he's actually becoming one, so sets about performing a series of manly tasks that go horribly wrong [Mangas]. The issue was I was flat broke at the time, so I had to be really pragmatic about what I wanted to shoot. I ended up wearing every hat throughout the production: producing, casting, location scouting, prop purchasing and everything in between before actually directing, which in retrospect was so valuable for me, and still informs the way I work now. I prep meticulously so that by the time the actual shoot day comes, my job is to turn up on set with my sense of humour intact and steer the ship accordingly.

Above: Mangas, TJK's directing debut, following a young Greek boy trying to become a man.

I'd get really nervous if an actor started asking big character questions on set or if my DP went off-piste with a setup. Of course, there are things which can't be accounted for, but because so much of the hard work has already been done, it's more about being reactive to what's in front of you during those moments, fine-tuning and having faith in the material and your collaborator.

I prep meticulously so that by the time the actual shoot day comes, my job is to turn up on set with my sense of humour intact and steer the ship accordingly.

I adored the DIY attitude of Mangas and especially working with a child actor who had no acting experience before, which of course posed lots of hilarious issues for a director who had no prior directing experience. For instance, as soon as we pointed the camera at him, he turned into a fully-fledged thespian and couldn't have been more removed from what I saw in him during the casting. I had to react and find methods to trick him into a performance where he didn't believe we were shooting. 

It was a steep learning curve, but I loved every second, and the film found its audience and was in competition at the BFI London Film Festival later that year.

Above: Memoirs of a Geezer, TJK's straight 8 film (the first in his Memoirs trilogy), and Superdad, a short created for Channel 4's 4Stories Scheme.

You’ve had a fair few jobs in your time. How does that ‘real-life’ experience inform your writing/directing?

I've had SO many jobs! 

I trained to be a hairdresser, manned the tills at Blockbuster, worked at Little Chef, was a labourer on a building site, a tailor at Reiss, sold market research to biotech companies, a postman, a handyman at Groupon offices – the list is endless... 

It's informed the way I work with actors and my collaborators immensely. Working in all those places exposes you to different ecosystems; being in a hairdresser's is different from being in a Canary Wharf boiler room, would you believe? 

Working in [a multitude of jobs] exposes you to different ecosystems; being in a hairdresser's is different from being in a Canary Wharf boiler room.

When working with my actors, it's about being empathetic and understanding what's required for their benefit. Some actors love discussing stories, which I'm happy to chat about until the cows come home, but it's about me adapting to their requirements because, ultimately, they have the hardest job in the world.

Above: Memoirs Of A Freezer, the innovative short that caught the eyes of the shots Awards New Director panel in 2022.

Your short film, Memoirs Of A Freezer, blew the shots Awards New Director panel away with its wit and innovation. Can you tell us a little about its construction?

It's a trilogy of shorts, with the third one nearly finished. After finishing Mangas, I wanted to stay busy and flex my directing muscles again. So I did a straight 8, which was called Memoirs of a Geeza, that used Super8 film to convey the concept of memory along with a narrated voiceover. 

Similarly to Mangas, it was made with such a DIY spirit and was in competition at the BFI London Film Festival the following year to Mangas, which helped get my toe in the door with the BFI, who supported my next short, Pram Snatcher... but then COVID hit, and I decided to stay busy and make a follow-up to Geeza: Memoirs of a Freezer 

The film follows a similar style to Geeza but, instead of Super8, uses 35mm photos my partner and I were shooting at home during lockdown. We were developing the film in our bathroom with all the lights off and bodged our way through it.

I spent a month editing and finessing the film; it was such a great lesson in pacing. 

I don't have any social media, so I asked her to message Ed Rowe, an actor in a film I love called Bait, to be the voice of the script. His dulcet Cornish tones were perfect for the film, and he read the script and fell in love with it. 

Fast forward some time, and we sent him a mic, and I directed him over Zoom. It took a month to edit his performance, working with my composer and figuring out the additional shots needed. 

I used Google's licence-free images and my friend's family photos to fill the spaces. In total, I spent a month editing and finessing the film; it was such a great lesson in pacing. 

Freezer was made for no money, except for the postage cost of sending the Zoom mic, so again, it had a real DIY attitude to it. The film was in competition at the London Short Film Festival and was one of the films that caught the attention of my production company home, Knucklehead. 

And of course, it won me the Best New Director at shots...