The first directorial effort by British theatre and television actress and producer Trudie Styler Freak Show is racking up the points for the Audience Award. The enthusiastic applause the film received after its screening in the Municipal Theatre, where the director herself was also present, also attests to its positive reception. The high school comedy tells the story of a boy who wears one extravagant costume after another and is about the fight for the right to self-expression and acceptance of the eccentricity we all carry inside.
In his introduction, moderator Saša Michailidis characterized the film as a coming-of-age story. He filled in the context with a quick survey of film terminology ranging from the trailer to hyperrealistic surrealism, which he said only festival Artistic Director Karel Och would be able to explain.
Trudi Styler then explained that it was actually by accident that she ended up directing. "At first I was only supposed to produce the film. We hired a director but he had to go do a different project and we wanted the film to come out during the period of graduation proms, between October and Thanksgiving, when it takes place. So then it occurred to me that I could take it on," describes Styler, who hopes that this was not her last time trying out this position.
The main role of Billy is played by Brit Alex Lawther, who for example already appeared in the film The Imitation Game. "We were trying to pick the main protagonist at a casting call of around a hundred people in New York and Los Angeles. In the end I found him in London however. I knew in ten minutes that he was the one. It had to be someone who can capture the camera's attention for ninety minutes – other than two scenes he's in all of them. Alex met that condition," praised the actor Styler, whose directorial debut was selected for the section Generation 14plus at the 67th Berlinale.
