Filmmaker Leo set on cinema career
Park House pupil, 15, shooting Batman film in town
A YOUNG Newbury filmmaker is currently shooting a Batman film in spots around the town in the hope it will help launch his career in cinema.
Leo Halford, 15, has released a trailer for his upcoming release Batman: Redemption, which was filmed in the Kennet Shopping centre and at Donnington Grove Golf Club.
The Park House pupil writes, directs, edits, shoots and often stars in his films and he has already amassed an impressive portfolio of work on his YouTube channel, LLO Cinema.
Leo said: “Sometimes I’ll sit down and watch a film and then I’ll take ideas from it and think ‘oh that’s quite cool, imagine if I did a film like that’.
“Other times, because I go on a lot of walks, I’ll have certain music playing and I’ll think of a scene.
“If I was walking through town I’d probably walk by a window with a reflection and I’d make it look like a camera angle in my mind and I’d add that to a film.”
Leo’s passion for filmmaking began as a child when he made a number of short films on an iPad with his neighbours. He went on to create stop motion videos using Lego.
Last year Leo sold all his Lego so he could buy a £400 video camera to better pursue his dreams of becoming a fulltime filmmaker.
When asked what directors he looks up to, Leo said: “I like Christopher Nolan who did The Dark Knight trilogy, Interstellar and Inception.
“I think he’s probably the best director out there.”
Leo also has great admiration for Peter Jackson, director of The Lord of the Rings films, who inspired him to create his long-running fantasy series Emberada.
The young filmmaker is currently in the middle of shooting Batman: Redemption, with a few scenes still needing to be shot and edited before the halfhour feature is fully released.
Leo stars as the iconic caped crusader, with members of his family appearing alongside him.
His father makes an appearance as Commissioner Gordon, and his grandfather plays Batman’s faithful butler Alfred.
Leo’s school friends often help him to create his films, and his pals Aston and Finley will star as Batman villains the Penguin and Bane respectively in Batman: Redemption.
Talking of his love for the comic book character, Leo said: “For ages Batman has always been my favourite superhero, so I’ve always done stories with Lego about Batman.
“But I did think I could try do a live action film one day.”
After seeing Matt Reeves’ The Batman, which released earlier this year, Leo thought it was finally the time for him to explore the character in his own film and he began working on the film just a week after The Batman came out.
Leo’s father Dean Halford said: “He just loves it. He builds all the sets, he went on FaceBay and bought an old kids wardrobe and filled it up with all the stuff he buys from charity shops. We go to car boot sales and he buys props.”
Leo hopes to attend Peter Symonds College at sixth form to study media and go on to study the same at the University of Reading before making a career for himself in the world of film.