Archer's Mark On Goals and Gongs

It’s been a bit of a whirlwind year for East London production outfit, Archer’s Mark. Founding co-directing producers, Mike Brett and Steve Jamison, were named on BAFTA’s Breakthrough Brit list earlier in 2014 and have taken the festival circuit by storm with their debut feature doc, Next Goal Wins, which most recently picked up Best Documentary at the British Independent Film Awards on Sunday night (7 December).

Starting out as creatives making free brand films for the likes of Nike to prove their talent and, simply, that it could be done, the pair have become a formidable team, building their company for the best part of seven years,  embracing every medium and technology available. The company also prides itself on nurturing new directorial talent which you can expect to hear more about in 2015.

Fresh from the buzz of Sunday’s ceremony and award win, below Jamison and Brett talk about launching a company with sport culture at the core, how their experience will help their roster to develop and how they intend to build on what they learnt from Next Goal Wins to seize the future with an open mind.

Tell us how you met and how you started working together?

SJ: We met playing football together at the University of Cambridge and, whilst we were both studying arts (Brett reading English and Jamison Architecture), for three years our only real creative overlap was on the football field. After graduation we went our separate ways but were reunited two years later and discovered to our surprise that we were both writing film scripts, or attempting to.

MB: What came out of that serendipitous reunion was a very strong desire to take our first steps as filmmakers. We both directed our debut short films shortly after that, but quickly realised that producing a piece of short drama every couple of years wasn’t going to cut it in terms of creative or professional fulfilment.

You’ve worked in TV, advertising, art and teaching. Why do you think it took as long as it did for your love of film to shine through?

SJ: Storytelling, or communicating ideas, has always been at the heart of what we’ve both done, either through creative writing, exhibiting paintings or working with young people. Filmmaking presented us with the kind of multi-faceted challenges that perhaps writing and painting couldn’t, purely because of the logistics involved in bringing a creative vision to the screen, and we instantly thrived on that.

MB: Early on we were perhaps a little self-conscious about having come to film relatively late compared to those directors who had been running around with a Super 8 since they were in short trousers. But having that breadth of real-world experience has turned out to be a massive creative asset.

Why was 2008 the right time to start Archer’s Mark?

SJ: In the wider landscape of film production, 2008 was a fascinating time. Above-the-line commercial budgets were starting to fall and clients were looking for emerging alternatives to the traditional model. Digital technologies were growing faster than ever and we were able to harness some of those to be more ambitious with the films we were making, or could have made, at that time through analogue means.

MB: As Steve says, there’s a perception in some quarters that falling above-the-line budgets have somehow stunted filmmakers’ creative possibilities and created a race to the bottom in terms of commercial production. To turn that analysis on its head, you could argue that it’s never been a more exciting time for brands, audiences and commercial filmmakers.

Tell us about your first feature project, Next Goal Wins, and how it came about?

MB: Next Goal Wins is ostensibly the story of the American Samoan national football team, who are determined to erase the scars inflicted by a record-breaking 31-0 loss to Australia in 2001, and win their first-ever competitive match on the way to qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Beyond that, it is of course – like all the best sports documentaries – about far more. We won’t ruin the film for you with any narrative spoilers but, suffice to say, you’ll leave the cinema with a smile on your face and a pretty peerless insight into why the American Samoan people are quite so darned great.

SJ: The film came about through a conversation with a mutual friend and fellow producer, Kristian Brodie, who proposed the idea of a feature doc about the world’s worst football team over a beer. In a more general sense, though, our debut feature came about as a natural progression to the work we’d been doing for brands in the early years of Archer’s Mark. We’d been looking for a feature project for some time, though not specifically a football-related one, so when this opportunity arose, and was so close to our comfort zone, we could instantly see the potential. Six weeks later we were on a rock in the Pacific with cameras on our shoulders.

What was it like to make a film so close to one of your major passions and all on your own terms?

SJ: In a strange way, blessed as we have been with Next Goal Wins, we’re quite reluctant to become known as the football guys. It’s a world we love and react very instinctively towards, but before we were directing for sports brands we were making shorts with Sicilian fishing communities and we will almost certainly return to explore worlds outside of football for our next projects.

MB: Far from being a distraction or an escape, the film has actually turned out to be a fantastic catalyst for our commercial work in a number of ways. At a time when brands have become increasingly interested in telling longer, deeper and richer stories alongside the traditional 30-second TV spot, it’s been incredibly useful to show that we already have the skills and sensibility to tell these stories alongside more conventional commercial briefs.

You were recently named on BAFTA’s Breakthrough Brit list; how does that feel?

SJ: When you first visit BAFTA and look around the walls of 195 Piccadilly, they are covered with photos of the greatest filmmakers this country has ever produced. You do secretly hope that by being there some of the magic of the place will rub off on you.

Being named as Breakthrough Brits will undoubtedly enable us to be more ambitious with the stories we aim to tell in the future but we’re also intent on using it to drive everyone within our creative family at Archer’s Mark.

How does being recognised by a film academy compare to winning an award for a piece of creative advertising?

SJ: When you set out to make any film, either commercial or feature, you do so without any expectations for awards. You’re just interested in telling a story on screen and making it as successful as it can possibly be for whichever platform it is destined. To be recognised or win awards of any kind retrospectively is therefore a huge bonus. The recent BAFTA recognition was particularly special because it represents more than just a pat on the back or a trophy to pop on the mantelpiece. BAFTA have committed to mentoring us for the next year, giving us access to all of their resources and hopefully connecting us with filmmakers who inspire us the most.

MB: You’ve picked a good week to ask the question, as we’ve just received the Special Jury Award at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival and a BIFA prize to add to the recognition from BAFTA! But, yes, I think you also need to remember that your own internal creative values are considerably more important than any external recognition.

Why do you think you work so well as a team and tell us about the dynamics of the partnership as co-director/producers?

SJ: When we first started working together, it was more about the ideology than the dynamics of our partnership. We both wanted to make films and we knew that we were starting relatively late, without a single ‘connection’ between us – and as a result things were going to be very challenging. Surely this was going to be easier, and a darn sight more fun, if we were both doing it with our best mate by our side?

MB: And the beauty of having two of you is that I don’t have to add anything when Steve provides such an impeccable answer!

What does the future hold for Archer’s Mark?

SJ: 2014 has been a year of breaking new ground in the features world and we’re hoping 2015 will represent the same for commercials. We’ve just appointed the wonderful Sarah Cutler as head of new business and we’re attracting a lot of new talent right now, so we look forward to introducing ourselves (and our new directors) to brands and agencies early in the New Year.

MB: it’s been incredibly exciting to watch Archer’s Mark grow almost organically over the past five years, through word of mouth and personal recommendations. However, we now want to really get our hand on the rudder and start proactively guiding the company to where we know it can go, both creatively and from a business perspective. That means making a big investment in talent, equipment and infrastructure, and really making the wider industry aware of the work we’re doing, and the way we’re doing it. The possibilities for our sector right now are pretty mind-blowing and we want to help shape its future as much as we can.

To read more details about Next Goal Wins including screening information click here. To see the full list of BAFTA's Breakthrough Brits of 2014 visit the website.