Iwasbadlybulliedatschool andmykidssufferedtoo..so thismoviemeansalottome

Styler on story of teen boy’s torment at the hands of ignorant mob

TRUDIE Styler has been a quiet but powerful presence in the film industry for a quarter of a century. Boox office hits such as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, and award-winning films like Moon and Still Alice are scattered among her credits as a producer.

But now she is taking a seat in the director’s chair and making her feature debut with Freak Show, a film about a teenage boy navigating his way through a hostile and homophobic school where he is singled out for being different.

Trudie said: “As a story about bullying, it resonated with me on a deeply personal level.

“It’s an issue close to my heart because as a child I was bullied myself at school.

“My face was quite badly scarred after I was run down by a truck when I was two years old, so I looked a bit damaged, and kids can be very cruel.

“I was picked on and called ‘scarface’ and then later, when I went to grammar school, I was diagnosed with dyslexia and that wasn’t acceptable either.

“It’s amazing what you can be picked on for in those early years of school life.”

The topic of bullying has also affected the 64-year-old deeply as a mother to the four children she shares with her husband, singer Sting.

She said: “My own kids also suffered from being bullied.

“With a dad as famous as Sting was when they were growing up, their relationships were always going to be affected, at least at first, by that awareness.

“And most kids don’t like having a reason to be singled out, or different.

“My daughter Eliot [Sumner, who has a song in Freak Show] has only recently talked about what a hard time she had at school.

“The fact is that bullying happens all the time – in families, at school, at work and on the internet.

“I think we have seen a growing acceptance and legitimisation of bullying culturally.

“During the Trump campaign, we saw public name-calling, mockery and aggression perpetrated by someone who has become the ultimate figure of authority in the US.

“It’s so important that we all do whatever we can to negate that terrible message to our young people.”

The film, based on a novel by James St James, features The End of the F***ing World star Alex Lawther as Billy Bloom, who is shocked by the intolerance he faces when he leaves his life with his mother, played by Bette Midler, to live with his father in the Bible Belt of the American South.

“Alex plays an American but he has that wit and wisdom that feels a little 19th century, like his hero would be Oscar Wilde,” Trudie said.

“When I cast him, we decided to play up his love of these extraordinary 18th and 19th century characters who were persecuted perhaps but who transcended through not giving up.

“I think Billy sends a very clear and strong message to our teens who are in crisis with being bullied or being abused or have gender issues, that they can be the people they want to be and we all have to step up and accommodate that.”

Meanwhile, casting Midler, a passionate activist for the LGBTQ community, was a “no-brainer”.

Trudie added: “She’s a wonderful actor, and I knew that the themes of the movie would mean a lot to her.” She is conscious that the film is arriving at a time when bullying in her own industry is making headlines.

She said: “There is a whole movement that has been created from the abuse of power, from the male sector of our entertainment industry.

“I think the Metoo movement is right to redress where the power base is.

“Within our industry, there is a paucity of women in every section of film-making or making television content.

“The stories being written are being told by men, largely. We do have women scriptwriters but the majority of narrative we put out in the world is being created by men so you

ON GENDER IMBALANCE IN FILMS

normally see more male leading roles than female leading roles.

“There are 26 per cent of producers that are women. There are only six per cent of us who are directors.” rudie is optimistic that the movement for gender equality will finally redress this imbalance.

She said: “We are not a world that is made up largely of men. When we go watch a movie, we want to see a story that really reflects the human life that we all live in.”

Trudie founded her production company Maven Pictures in 2011. Two-thirds of the 20 films they have made have had women at the helm.

She said: “One of us asked the question, ‘What is missing in our entertainment industry today?’

“The answer became obvious, what is missing is us. Women are missing.

“It’s going to take time and we have to be consistent and look at all aspects of where we can redress the balance.”

Freak Show is in Irish cinemas now and is also available on demand.

TAt cinemas we want to see a story that really reflects human life TRUDIE