YDA Gold Winner Sarah Clift on Trump Pinatas and Her First Short

At what point did you decide that you wanted to become a director?

I had a revelatory moment one day. It was 12 years into my career as a creative in advertising agencies and I’d often experienced moments of frustration at work but never quite understood why. Then a friend bought me a packet of crayons with a quote on the front: “What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?” Suddenly, “write and direct a movie and play polo” popped into my head, taking me by surprise. But looking back at my achievements and interests so far – art school, graphic design, stand-up comedy, sketch writing and my passion for film – it made sense. So, I enrolled on night and weekend classes in film and two years later, quit my 18-year agency career. Jorge Aguilera at Madrefoca invited me to co-direct a commercial with him. Working on such a big job with an amazing crew was incredible and I loved it. Six months later, I’d written a script and was shooting my debut short in Mexico City with Madrefoca.

La Madre Buena was inspired by true events. Tell us about what happened.

I fell in love with Mexico on a horse-riding trip a few years ago and last year an American rider asked me where they could find a Trump piñata to take home. I didn’t know they even existed, but thought it was a great idea for a short. Things were getting interesting in the US elections and Donald Trump was in the middle of his campaign. Although I based some themes on his dialogue around women and Mexicans, there were also themes close to my own life – like growing up in the countryside with motorbikes, horses and a childhood filled with TV comedy.

What were the biggest challenges?

On a first film, everything is a challenge. Timing was really important because it was so topical. The edit had to correspond to what was happening and the film had to come out before the US elections. This created the second challenge: after the shoot I was back in England getting things done and I realised I’d need to open every door and chase down every opportunity.

What does it mean to you to win a YDA?

Two years ago I attended the YDA as I was quitting my career as an agency creative director. I announced to my partner that I’d be coming back to “win one of those YDA awards” and now, two years on I’ve won Gold! It feels amazing to take risks and see them pay off. You need to think big, say what you want to do out loud, then get on with it. An old boss told me I’d had the most positive mid-life crisis he’d ever seen.

What else are you working on at the moment?

I’ve spent the first half of the year developing projects, getting ready to start shooting again and I now have two new short film scripts written and a feature film project in early development. I’m living my dream.