A chat with Stephen Warbeck, Co-Director of The Man in the Hat

Stephen Warbeck is an Oscar-winning composer. His directorial debut, The Man in the Hat, is a beautifully framed odyssey of music, story-telling and silent comedy traversing the breath-taking landscapes of France. Ahead of the film's screenings at the Corn Exchange, we spoke to Stephen to find out more.

Hi Stephen. You have written music for television and film for many years, including Prime Suspect, Billy Elliot and Shakespeare in Love, for which you won an Oscar. The Man in the Hat is your writer-director debut - please could you tell us about how you found the transition from composing to directing?
I have always written stories. And I have always tried to be involved in the whole creative process - whether in film, television or theatre. So I try to go to rehearsals and locations as much as possible and I think of the composer as part of the team of collaborative film makers. Because of that, the transition did not seem daunting although, of course there were some things I had to learn very fast. Working alongside John Paul Davidson, my co-writer and co-director, was immensely helpful as his experience in film-making was essential.

Did you always think that one day you might go down the directing route, or has this switch up surprised you?
I have always spoken about how much I would like to direct my own project so I suppose the surprise is that it has taken me so long. The reality is that it is hard to get a film into production - and I am especially grateful that Dominic Dromgoole and Daniel-Konrad Cooper have steered the logistics to make this film happen.

Please could you tell us about the role of music within the film?
The music operates in this film as another character. And it is also used to express or comment on the emotions and responses of the characters. We are surrounded by sound and music, and I wanted to use this as a way of deepening the experience of the characters in the film. So in a way it has two levels… The music as a film score (unheard by the characters) and the music as part of the scenery, as another aspect of the environment.

The scenery for the film is beautiful - have you always had a passion for France? What made you decide on this setting?
I have spent a lot of time in France, working and also holidays - and I think the fact that I am still an outsider there gives a useful perspective, the main character in a similar way experiences his encounters as the outsider finding his way into engagement.

Do you think, in the context of Covid-19, the film offers a new or larger sense of escapism for audiences than you perhaps initially anticipated?
One of the biggest things that has happened to us all, is feeling a great void that is usually filled by human interaction. A void that no amount of Facetime or Zoom calls can fill. The Man In The Hat is, at the beginning, a bit isolated, and little by little, through the story he is warmed by human interaction.

The Man In The Hat is a musically-rooted almost silent upbeat comedy following Ciarán Hinds on a road trip across France pursued by five angry men in a tiny car. You can watch it in either our cinema or auditorium from Friday 16 - Thursday 22 October. Find out more