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On The Table Read Magazine, “the best arts magazine in the UK“, writer and producer of Finding Penrose, Paula Sheridan, shares what inspired her story and the creative work she is doing to make the film.
Written by JJ Barnes
I interviewed Paula Sheridan about her life and career, the work that she is putting into the film adaptation of her novel, Finding Penrose, and what inspired her story.
Tell me a bit about yourself.
As an award-winning entrepreneur and author, I have won eight business awards, and I’m a mother to a son and to many little fur babies. I’m also an animal advocate and have rescued more paws than I can count.
As writer and producer for Finding Penrose, I’m so proud that Penrose’s heart-warming true story is a poignant reminder of the essence of humanity.
When did you first realize you wanted to make films?
I wrote my first script a couple of decades ago and spent many years tweaking it. I also wrote a short story and tried to get funding to make it into a short film. I also won a sought-after film director course bursary from Screen South UK but as I couldn’t get the funds to make the short, it remained a dream.
What is your favourite thing about films?
Apart from the entertainment value, I love getting caught up in a character’s life and seeing their emotional challenges and how they confront them to overcome the difficulty they face. Films are wonderful to take us on a fast emotional ride to see what is going to happen to the character. Equally, a TV series can get us hooked so that we binge-watch a series to find out what happens next.
What classes or research did you take to support you in your filmmaking career?
As mentioned, I won a director’s course to learn how to view the story through the camera lens. I’ve spent the past forty years learning about the craft of writing, for both screenwriting and novel writing. I never stop. It’s a love buried deep inside me that I can’t stop. I read writing guides to teach myself because writing for film and the novel format is an art and like any piece of art, it needs nurturing to be perfected.
What is the title of your current project?
Finding Penrose
What inspired you to make Finding Penrose?
Apart from the plot and the story, I wanted to share Penrose’s incredible loyalty and love for our family. As a result of having no identity, Penrose’s daily life was filled with threats and uncertainty and the risks he faced living with a white family without the legal paperwork that was needed in those days. A man of colour in that domestic position was extraordinary in that era of South African history. Yet he seemed to rise above all that so effortlessly.
Beyond those challenges, the story is about the friendship he had with my grandmother, who he called Miss Ad. He helped to raise two generations and as my gran had eight sisters that’s a lot of kids! He treated everyone as equals. He influenced so many people for the better, not just in our extended family but all family friends as well. His qualities endeared him to people. Finding Penrose is about his search for identity and the incredible sadness that he only received his identity papers a year before he passed. But the story is about the love he achieved in his life. Strangely enough, it’s the story within the story that is the power of Penrose’s story.
What is the main conflict of Finding Penrose?
Penrose spends his entire life under the police radar. His quiet courage leading a daily life is to be commended. Just walking to the shop for bread and milk was a challenge because he could have been thrown into jail for not having the correct ID paperwork. There is also inner conflict which is his struggle to find out what happened to him when he was ripped from his family and village home. It all culminates in a high climatic moment when he saves a friend from being attacked by a mob and it all comes back to him.
How long did you spend in production?
I am working closely with the film producers, who have been captivated by Penrose’s story and we are now developing the story to take it to the big screen. I’m on the production team to protect these much-loved characters. So far, we have been developing the story and we now have two producers on board. And we’re in talks with a director.
Did you work with a writer, or write Finding Penrose yourself? Would you do the same again?
I worked between both formats constantly, taking the story to novel and then script and then back to novel. It was satisfying to see the story taking shape this way. On top of that, the script went through several edits, plus a film producer’s critique. So, yes, I would do the same again.
How did you find your cast and what made you choose them?
We are currently talking to a casting agency to find the right talent for the film. It’s very exciting knowing that an actor or actress can take the story and turn it into something real and alive on the screen.
How did you find your locations?
We will film primarily in South Africa but the interior shots can be filmed at any studio and we are looking at tax credits and which locations will fit the film’s budget.
Tell me some career goals. What would you like to achieve?
I’d love to see Penrose’s story shared with a wide global audience. That’s my mission right now, and I’m determined that his story should be told – it certainly deserves to be shared and even demands to be told.
Tell me something you were surprised by, something you had never realised about being a filmmaker.
Filmmakers are storytellers. So are novelists. A novelist can also become a filmmaker by teaching themselves the art of writing a story for screen. The essence of the story is still there, it just needs to be told in a certain way. And there’s nothing stopping novelists to adapt their books for the screen.
What are words of advice you have for other aspiring filmmakers?
Believe in your story and the passion will come from deep within. Don’t pause and let that energy subside. Keep going. Never give up on sharing your dream.
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