c atch
me
dadd y
A Film by Daniel and Matthew Wolfe
Sales Contact;
Altitude Film Entertainment
34 Fouberts Place
London
W1F 7PX
+44 20 7478 7612
info@altitudefilment.com
PR Contact;
Charles McDonald
+44 77 8524 6377
+44 20 7736 3445
charles@charlesmcdonald.co.uk
CATCH ME DADDY
A film by
DANIEL AND MATTHEW WOLFE
Producers
MIKE ELLIOTT, HAYLEY WILLIAMS
Executive producers
JIM MOONEY, WALLI ULLAH, KATHERINE BUTLER,
CHRISTOPHER COLLINS, NORMAN MERRY,
PETER HAMPDEN, HUGO HEPPELL, JENNY BORGARS,
DANNY PERKINS
Director of photography
ROBBIE RYAN
Cast
Sameena Jabeen Ahmed, Conor McCarron, Gary Lewis, Wasim Zakir,
Anwar Hussain, Barry Nunney, Shoby Kaman, Adnan Hussain,
Ali Ahmad, Kate Dickie, Nichola Burley
‘Catch me daddy, ‘cause I’m moving on’
Janis Joplin, ‘Catch Me Daddy’.
‘Badlands where outcast and outlaw/Fortified the hill-knowle’s long
outlook’
Ted Hughes
‘My Dad used to call me Cham Cham. It’s like a little pink
dumpling, sweet pink thing.’
Laila
Short Synopsis
Laila, a girl in her late teens has run away from her family with her
drifter boyfriend.
Holed-up together in a Yorkshire town on the edge of the moors, they live
a hand-to-mouth existence.
Two carloads of bounty hunters roll into town asking questions and
flashing a photo of Laila. Thugs hired by the girl’s father with her brother
in tow. They find her. There’s a confrontation. Her brother is killed. The
stakes have gone up. They’ve got to get out of town. They head onto the
moors, pursued by men who will stop at nothing to bring Laila back.
Father and daughter come face to face in a terrible confrontation.
Long Form Synopsis
LAILA, a British Pakistani girl and her white boyfriend AARON are
living in a caravan on the outskirts of a rural Yorkshire town. She’s
working in a hairdresser’s while he gets stoned and half-heartedly looks
for work.
Phone calls are exchanged between JUNAID, BARRY and TONY. The
couple have been spotted. The men, bounty-hunters, plan to meet.
While Laila’s father TARIQ watches from a distance, Junaid instructs a
young man, BILAL, to line the boot of a car with plastic sheeting.
Junaid, Bilal and Laila’s brother ZAHEER collect SHOBY and drive to
meet Barry and Tony at a service station. The two groups of men set off
in separate cars to find Laila and Aaron.
Zaheer tells Junaid that Laila will be working in a hairdresser’s. They start
checking salons, asking around taxi ranks and leaving a phone number in
case anyone sees them.
Laila is invited to go clubbing at Acapulco’s by her boss, Vicky. When
Aaron discovers her getting ready to go out, he says it’s too dangerous
and they argue. Aaron leaves the caravan to fetch beers while Laila sleeps
on the sofa.
The bounty-hunters find out where the couple are. On their way, Barry
sees Aaron heading into a local shop and waits for him outside while
Junaid continues to the caravan. Aaron catches sight of Barry looking
suspicious. He takes him by surprise, hits him in the head and runs away.
Zaheer insists on going into the caravan alone. He tells Laila that their
father is ill and tries to convince her to come home. Aaron keeps ringing
Laila and when she eventually reaches for her phone, Zaheer grabs her
hand. They struggle and he falls through a glass table, blood streams
from his neck.
Laila picks up the phone to Aaron and tells him what’s happened. She
jumps out a back window and runs away with Shoby in pursuit, she
outruns him when he trips and falls.
Junaid finds Zaheer’s dead body and searches the caravan. He leaves with
some letters.
Aaron and Laila meet and go to Acapulco’s nightclub to find Vicky.
Aaron waits outside and is alarmed to see the bounty-hunters follow
Laila in. As Laila tries to get money from Vicky, Barry grabs her. Vicky’s
friends intervene and a fight breaks out. In the confusion, Laila grabs
Vicky’s purse and escapes.
Aaron and Laila get into a taxi to Leeds. Someone at the taxi rank
recognises them and phones Barry.
The taxi driver speaks to Laila in Punjabi. He says people are looking
for her and offers her a safe haven at his home. Aaron is annoyed that
they’re speaking to each other in a language he can’t understand. He
insists they’re on the wrong road and when the driver refuses to turn
around, he grabs him around the neck and the taxi hits a wall. The driver
pepper sprays Aaron in the eyes and the couple struggle onto the moors.
Aaron angrily asks Laila what she and the driver were talking about. For
a moment it seems that Laila may leave Aaron and rejoin the driver, but
Barry and Tony pull up and start to chase up the hill towards them.
Barry runs after the couple into the moorland, but loses them in the
darkness.
Junaid finds Aaron’s mum’s address on one of the letters he picked up in
the caravan and sends his friends to her house. They tie her up and take
a picture which Shoby texts to Aaron.
When Aaron receives the picture, Laila calls her dad and asks him to call
them off. She agrees to go and meet Junaid.
Laila and Aaron arrive at an abandoned country pub and say goodbye.
As they approach the waiting cars, the guys get out. Junaid violently kills
Aaron with an axe. Tony pulls out a gun that Barry had stashed in the
car and fires, “let her go”.
Tony and Laila drive away with the other men in pursuit.
Tony loses Junaid and takes Laila to his dealer’s house. They call her
dad and Tony delivers Laila to Tariq’s restaurant. He collects the money
promised to the bounty-hunters and drives away, conflicted.
Tariq grills Laila and discovers that Zaheer is dead. Junaid wants to
return to the caravan to collect Zaheer’s body. When Barry protests,
Bilal kills him and they dump him in the road.
In an emotional confrontation, father and daughter come face to face in
the restaurant kitchen. Tariq forces his daughter’s neck into a noose that
is hanging from the ceiling. Both are distraught, desperate.
The film ends with the father, the daughter and the noose.
Catch Me Daddy Biographies
Cast
SAMEENA JABEEN AHMED (LAILA)
After leaving school, Greater Manchester-born Ahmed earned a BTEC
in sport and went on to study for a foundation degree in sports coaching
at university. Ahmed worked as a youth coach in a sports centre before
becoming an outdoor instructor at an outdoor activity centre for young
people and families. Each summer, Ahmed plays for a women’s cricket
team.
CONOR MCCARRON (AARON)
Glasow born Conor McCarron started acting when he was fifteen when
he was cast in Peter Mullan’s award winning feature NEDS (2010)
for which he was nominated for both a BIFA and a BAFTA as Most
Promising Newcomer and was awarded Young British Performer of
the Year 2011 by the London Critics Circle and Best Actor at the San
Sebastian Film Festival. Conor joined the Scottish Youth Theatre to
gain stage experience, he has appeared in the tv drama RIVER CITY
for BBC Scotland and his work in film continues with the shorts THE
GAS MAN and KITTIWAKES, and most notably with a leading role in
Paul Wright’s BIFA award winning and critically acclaimed feature FOR
THOSE IN PERIL (2013).
GARY LEWIS (TONY)
Gary Lewis has become internationally known for such high profile roles
as the troubled father in Billy Elliot and the volatile McGloin in Gangs Of
New York. He has appeared in many critically acclaimed films, including
My Name Is Joe and the Oscar nominated Joyeux Noel.
He won Best Actor award at Gijon Film Festival for his role in Peter
Mullan’s Orphans.
His work on flagship television shows such as Prime Suspect attracted
praise and he was BAFTA nominated for his role in Mo alongside Julie
Walters.
His most recent work includes Outlander the epic Scottish drama for
Starz TV, Libertador, a film about the life of Simon Bolivar and The
Strange Case of Wilhelm Reich. Gary also starred in the acclaimed BBC
One drama Case Histories. He continues to work on short films, such as
The Terms directed by Jason LaMotte.
WASIM ZAKIR (TARIQ)
Wasim Zakir was born in Yorkshire in 1975.
Born into a conservative family he never considered a career in the arts
and graduated in 2000 with a BA Hons in IT. Before entering the job
market he joined a theatre group as a hobby. This led to professional jobs
in theatre which allowed him to perform at the Lawrence Batley Theatre
in Huddersfield, the Alhambra and the West Yorkshire playhouse in
Leeds.
Whilst on stage he was spotted by a casting director and cast as one of
the four leads in the acclaimed Dominic Savage film LOVE + HATE.
This was an amazing big screen debut for a newcomer and he has since
gone onto work on BAFTA winning projects with directors such as Peter
Kosminsky in BRITZ and, more recently, in the hit Chris Morris’ film
FOUR LIONS. He now stars in Daniel Wolfe’s directorial debut CATCH
ME DADDY, which premiered at Cannes Film Festival in May 2014.
Crew
DANIEL WOLFE (A film by / Written by)
Daniel’s career in film began while travelling in Vietnam, with a job
working on Anthony Minghella’s production of The Quiet American.
After signing to Partizan, Daniel went on to make promos for The Horrors,
Roisin Murphy, Duffy and Take That. In 2010 Daniel started working
on a series of videos for artist Plan B to accompany the triple-platinum
selling album ‘The Defamation of Strickland Banks’. That year he won
the prestigious Best Director award at UK Music Video Awards.
He signed to Somesuch & Co. in 2010 and has since directed acclaimed
commercials for brands including San Miguel, Cobra, Guinness, Puma
and HTC. He has also made music videos for Chase & Status and, most
famously, The Shoes; ‘Time to Dance, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a
hipster-slaying serial killer, which became an instant YouTube sensation.
Daniel was named one of Screen International 2012 Stars of Tomorrow.
His work has been recognised with numerous awards, including D&AD,
Cannes Lions, EMA’s and has picked up numerous MVA’s.
Daniel received a Distinction in his MA in Screenwriting from Royal
Holloway University of London. In 2013 Daniel wrote and directed his
debut feature film, ‘Catch Me Daddy’, a dark thriller set in the Yorkshire
moors, which premiered at Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes in May 2014,
an extraordinary accolade for a first time British filmmaker.
MATTHEW WOLFE (A film by / Written by / Composer)
Matthew studied Jazz and Composition at Leeds College of Music.
He joined Stephen Fretwell’s band as keyboard player, recording the gold
selling album ‘Magpie’ at Abbey Road. He went on to tour this album.
Matthew then worked with award winning producer Victor Van Vugt, on
Liam Frost’s album “We Ain’t Got No Money, Honey, But We Got Rain”
featuring Martha Wainwright.
He has composed the music to numerous commercials.
He wrote and made Catch Me Daddy with his brother Daniel. He (as
Matthew Watson) also scored the film in collaboration with Daniel
Thomas Freeman.
Matthew is in development as a writer on various feature projects.
MICHAEL ELLIOTT (Produced by)
Mike Elliott has worked in physical production on 40 feature films.
Directors he has worked with include: Michael Winterbottom, Lars Von
Trier, Woody Allen, Jane Campion, Pawel Pawlikowski, Edgar Wright,
Matthew Vaughan, Guy Ritchie, Lynne Ramsay, Danny Boyle and Neil
LaBute.
He has production experience in Europe, America, India, China, Africa
and the Middle East.
Under his EMU Films banner, Mike’s most recent production credits
are Daniel Wolfe’s debut feature, CATCH ME DADDY (produced
in association with Film 4, BFI & Studio Canal), selected for Cannes
Directors’ Fortnight 2014, and THE GOOB (Guy Myhill’s iFeatures
project).
Mike also produced EMU Films’ first TV commission, THE CRUISE, a
half an hour Single Drama for SKY Arts (part of the series Playhouse
Presents…).
Currently he is in development with Film4 on another Daniel Wolfe
project, SKINFLICK and with the BFI on JIMMY THE HOOK, written
by Johnny Harris, in addition to a number of projects with Tony Grisoni.
Recent producing credits include the PLAYHOUSE short film series
(2012) for SKY, which include; Jim Cartwright’s KING OF THE TEDS,
starring Tom Jones, Brenda Blethyn and Alison Steadman; Jeremy Brock’s
WALKING THE DOGS, starring Emma Thompson, Eddie Marsan and
Russell Tovey; and Iain Softley’s THE MAN, written by Sandi Toksvig
and starring Stellen Skarsgaard, Hayley Atwell, Zoe Wanamaker and
Stephen Fry.
Previously Mike has co-produced Tony Grisoni’s BAFTA nominated
short KINGSLAND (2010) for Cinema Extreme, as well as the BAFTA
winning drama THE UNLOVED (2009), a film directed by Samantha
Morton and produced by Revolution Films for Channel 4.
He also line produced Michael Winterbottom’s THE ROAD TO
GUANTANAMO in Iran, winner of the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film
Festival.
His credits are listed on IMDB PRO or are available through his agent
Sue Greenleaves at INDEPENDENT.
http://pro.imdb.com/name/nm0254560/
HAYLEY WILLIAMS (Producer)
Hayley Williams began her career as assistant producer on Richard
Jobson’s film discussion programme ‘MovieTalk’. She drove Danny Boyle
around London on 28 Days Later and did the historical research for
Sam Mendes on Road to Perdition. While assisting Douglas McGrath
on Nicholas Nickleby, Hayley met Simon Channing Williams and began
a long-standing relationship with Potboiler Productions & Thin Man
Films which included the role of Mike Leigh’s rehearsal manager on Vera
Drake. As a casting associate with Nina Gold, projects included ‘Game
of Thrones’ and The King’s Speech. Hayley worked alongside writer Tony
Grisoni on the Red Riding Trilogy and was regular first assistant director
to Nick Broomfield (Battle for Haditha) and Daniel Wolfe on promos for
Plan B and The Shoes, including ‘Time To Dance’ with Jake Gyllenhaal.
With Mike Elliott at EMU Films, Hayley produced Daniel and Matthew
Wolfe’s first feature, Catch Me Daddy.
ROBBIE RYAN (Photography)
Born and raised in Ireland, Robbie decided to become a cinematographer
at the age of 14, when he, his friends and his cousins commandeered
one of his father’s Kodak S8 cameras and started making short films. A
college course in Cinematography in Dunlaoghaire’s CAD fuelled that
passion. After finishing his college course, Robbie left Ireland and headed
to London.
Some of his film credits include Red Road, Fish Tank, Wuthering Heights
directed by Andrea Arnold, Sarah Gavron’s Brick Lane, The Scouting
Book for Boys, directed by Tom Harper, I Am Slave, directed by Gabriel
Range, The Angels’ Share and Jimmy’s Hall directed by Ken Loach,
Ginger & Rosa directed by Sally Potter and more recently Philomena
directed by Stephen Frears to name but a few.
Robbie has won awards for his Outstanding and Best Technical
Achievement at the Venice Film Festival, Valladolid Internation
Film Festival and the Evening Standard British Film Awards for his
cinematography on Wuthering Heights and been nominated for his work
at the British Independent Film Awards, Camerimage, Irish Film & TV
Awards, the Cork International Film Festival and the London Critics
Circle Film Awards.
He also shoots commercials for brands including Adidas, British Airways,
Tourism Ireland, Vodafone, San Miguel, M&S, Guinness, Mercedes Benz
and works on music videos for a huge range of artists including Ellie
Goulding, Coldplay, Kaiser Chiefs, Leona Lewis, Kasabian, Super Furry
Animals, Stereophonics, British Rebel Motorcycle Club, Massive Attack,
Plan B and Jarvis Cocker.
DOMINIC LEUNG (Film Editing)
Dominic Leung graduated from Central St Martins (BA hons Graphic
Design) in the mid nineties and founded the influential music video
production company, Hammer & Tongs, with fellow classmates Nick
Goldsmith and Garth Jennings.
They quickly established themselves with a prolific run of quirky and
distinctive work for Pulp, Eels, Supergrass, Fatboy Slim, Travis, Badly
Drawn Boy and Moloko to name but a few.
In 2000, Blur “Coffee & TV” won Best Video award at the MTV Europe
awards and Garth, Nick and Dominic won best director, producer and
editor respectively at the CADS (now the UKMVAs).
In 2001 Dominic left to pursue his own directorial and editorial work in
music videos and commercials but continued to collaborate with Hammer
& Tongs, notably on the 2004 feature film adaptation of Hitchhikers
Guide To The Galaxy, with Dominic assuming the roles of 2nd Unit
Director and Pre-visulisation Editor.
In 2006 he cut his first feature film, Son Of Rambow, again produced and
directed by Hammer & Tongs, which premiered at The Sundance Film
Festival in 2007.
Since 2008 Dominic has been partner at Trim, a small, award winning
edit house in East London, established by Paul Hardcastle and Tom
Lindsay.
In 2013 he co-edited (with Tom Lindsay) Catch Me Daddy, the debut
feature by Daniel & Matthew Wolfe which has been selected for Cannes
Directors’ Fortnight this year.
www.imdb.com/name/nm1601640/
www.trimediting.com
TOM LINDSAY (Film Editing)
Tom spends most of his time at Trim Editing in East London or on
location aroundthe world, working with some of film’s most talented
directors, including Daniel Wolfe, Jamie Thraves and John Hillcoat.
Tom has been nominated as best editor at the UK Music Video Awards
every year since 2006, winning in 2009, 2011 and 2012. He won the coveted
D&AD yellow pencil for editing in 2011.
In 2005, Tom assisted on John Hillcoat’s western The Proposition, starring
Guy Pearce and Ray Winstone. In 2010, he completed his first film as
lead editor, Treacle Junior, directed by Jamie Thraves and starring Aidan
Gillen. Treacle Junior was voted film of the month in the August 2011
issue of Sight and Sound and won best film at Dinard in 2010. Together
with Dominic Leung, he recently completed editing Daniel and Matthew
Wolfe’s first feature film, Catch Me Daddy, which debuts this year at
Cannes Directors’ Fortnight.
Together with Paul Hardcastle and Dominic Leung, he is a partner at
Trim Editing.
SAMI KHAN (Production Design)
Sami first studied Psychology before starting his design career. Sami has
worked as a designer and art director for over 15 years with directors
such as Peter Cattaneo, James Marsh and Penny Woolcock, and for
clients such as Nike, Pepsi and Coca-Cola. He is currently designing the
BBC/HBO adaptation of the JK Rowling novel ‘The Casual Vacancy’.
DANIEL THOMAS FREEMAN (Original Score)
Daniel Thomas Freeman has just co-written his first feature film score
with Matthew Watson for “Catch Me Daddy” (Film4 / BFI) which has
been selected for Cannes Directors’ Fortnight 2014.
He was a member of Rameses III, the South London ambient / experimental
/ drone / folk group who had countless releases over 10 years on labels
such as Type and Important Records and who played live supporting
such genre luminaries live as Stars Of The Lid, Current 93, Murcof,
Fursaxa, James Blackshaw, These New Puritans and Astral Social Club.
His debut album “The Beauty Of Doubting Yourself” was released on
Home Normal in June 2011 to critical acclaim and the follow-up is due
later this year.
Other soundtrack work includes music for the short film “Suityman”, a
track from which was re-licensed last year to the National Film Board of
Canada / Alexi Hobbs interactive short “The Last Hunt” which has just
won a Webby Award.
HANNAH EDWARDS (Costume Design)
Having started her career as an illustrator, Hannah soon realised that
her real passion was for design and storytelling through the medium of
costume. After a valuable stint as an historical costumier at Angels the
Costumiers in London, she made the move to freelance costume designer
and maker for theatre productions around London, this allowed her to
learn the ropes on her own terms.
Inspired by the exciting, fast moving and adventurous nature of music
videos, Hannah moved on to create some of her best work in this genre,
indulging her passions in a myriad of different forms from historical pieces
to modern day riots and futuristic imaginations. Working closely with
directors Daniel Wolfe and Romain Gavras led to her winning the Music
Video Award for Best Stylist in a Video three years in a row as well as
several other nominations for the award over the years. Working with
artists whose work she admired such as Kanye West, M.I.A., Roisin
Murphy, Bat for Lashes and PlanB as well as designing videos for Jay-Z
and Franz Ferdinand also led to collaborations in front of and behind the
camera.
Commercial work followed, with Hannah continuing to create more of
her greatest work to date with Wolfe and Gavras, Eric Lynn and Nima
Nourizadeh amongst many other talented directors. She won the Silver
Award at the British Craft Awards last year.
Logical progression led to film and, after working on various independent
films, she once again found herself collaborating with Daniel Wolfe on his
soon to be released thriller, Catch Me Daddy.
LUCY PARDEE (Casting)
Lucy Pardee comes from a background in anthropology and specialises
in street casting and research in both film and TV . She has worked with
award-winning filmmakers such as Andrea Arnold, Penny Woolcock, Joe
Cornish and Edgar Wright. She is currently casting American Honey for
Arnold, their third collaboration after Wuthering Heights and Fish Tank,
where she found Katie Jarvis on a train platform.
About Catch Me Daddy
CATCH ME DADDY explores the archetypal struggle between
father and daughter. Laila’s search for freedom versus her father’s belief
that he has the right to control her. He hires bounty hunters to find his
errant daughter and bring her home.
“The idea of a modern-day Western, the image of a car rolling into
a small town, with low-level thugs asking questions about a girl. This
was the initial trigger. The bleakness of the Yorkshire moors provided
a backdrop,” says Daniel Wolfe, the UK writer-director of CATCH ME
DADDY, made with his brother Matthew.
Always close, the brothers researched, wrote and realised the film
together. “We read an article about two white men working with two
British Pakistani men. They kidnapped a Pakistani girl’s boyfriend and
executed him down a country lane. This was a premeditated murder,
ordered by a family member. What’s going on? We were intrigued by the
use of hired white thugs in this case. There was a commercial transaction,”
says Matthew.
“The image we kept coming back to was a father in a kitchen
with his daughter. Just that, father and daughter – the absurdity, the
pointlessness....yet the possibility for change,” says Daniel. “The simplicity
of that image, yet the crippling complexity. A man imprisoned by his own
narrative.”
“We wanted to tell a story about a group of people all trapped
within destructive cycles.” Matthew continues. “Where occasionally a
moment of humanity breaks through and they wake up. It’s a story that
explores attachment, addiction and freedom.”
CATCH ME DADDY is a thriller and a love story. “A heroine’s
journey” says Daniel. It follows a British Pakistani girl with bubblegum
pink hair, Laila (Sameena Jabeen Ahmed) and her white boyfriend Aaron
(Conor McCarron) as they scratch a life together on the moors of West
Yorkshire in the North of England. Their simple, sweet time together in a
tatty caravan lit by fairy lights and over-the-counter cheap thrills, comes
to a brutal end when Laila’s brother Zaheer (Ali Ahmad) and a gang of
white and Asian bounty hunters, track the couple down on the orders of
Laila’s father, Tariq (Wasim Zakir).
In 2011, Daniel was making a name for himself directing awardwinning music videos including a recreation of a 90s rave for the Chase &
Status track ‘Blind Faith’, and a video starring Jake Gyllenhaal for The
Shoes, ‘Time To Dance’. Meanwhile, Mike Elliott and Hayley Williams
were working on a development slate at EMU Films - the London and
Manchester-based film production company set up by Mike and his
partners Jim Mooney and Walli Ullah. Hayley brought Daniel to their
attention - she was his regular first assistant director, and they asked him
to write a treatment for CATCH ME DADDY.
“He pitched the idea of a Western set on the Yorkshire Moors, of
a girl on the run from her family and of a father who employs bounty
hunters to go after her,” says producer Mike Elliott. “Daniel had a real
vision. It was apparent he was a filmmaker who would do something very
interesting.”
Daniel remembers, “I met with Mike Elliott and he really responded
to the pitch. He got it. EMU films commissioned the screenplay, it was
great to have that confidence in our idea. Our meeting was the catalyst
for the film.”
As a first AD, Mike had enjoyed working with directors including
Michael Winterbottom, Lars von Trier and Jane Campion. Hayley had
worked alongside Nick Broomfield and Mike Leigh, directors with a
particular vision. As producers, they saw similar attributes in Daniel &
Matthew.
“They write in the same way they shoot,” says Hayley. “It’s
dynamic, visual and poetic.”
EMU Films financed the first draft of the script before Mike took
the project to potential investors in the UK. He pitched it as a uniquely
ambitious thriller. “It’s quite hard for British thrillers to have a sense of
high stakes bedded in reality, and this really has it,” he says. “It has the
attraction of a thriller but with a hyper-reality that pushes the genre into
a very interesting space.”
The British Film Institute (BFI) and Film4 agreed to co-develop the
project and were enthusiastic and thoughtful supporters of the filmmaking
team. As was StudioCanal, which took UK rights, and regional agency
Screen Yorkshire which came in with additional financing through its
Content Fund, and UK post-production house Lipsync. Will Clarke’s
Altitude Films Sales took on international sales rights.
Developing the story
In depicting the circumstances of the story, Daniel and Matthew
wanted to be very sure of their ground. An exhaustive research period
began in which the production team spoke with every major UK charity
concerned with ‘honour crime’, as well as Yorkshire and Lancashire
community organisations and the Manchester Muslim Writers’ Association.
“’Honour crime’ is an abhorrent practice. Pre-meditated murder. I found
the stories unbelievably tragic,” is how Daniel puts it.
The stories they uncovered galvanised the filmmakers. “The more
we found out about these crimes, the more determined we were to do
justice to the subject matter and the lives affected by it,” says Hayley.
“Daniel is forensic in his approach to detail,” Mike explains. “He is
depicting a real situation. The sad thing is, the more research we did, the
more we realised the reality is often more brutal.”
The support of Walli Ullah and Jim Mooney, Mike’s business
partners and the film’s executive producers, has been crucial throughout
the film’s development and production.
“We championed this project from the very beginning as we felt
strongly it was a story that needed to be told. It sheds a light on very real
issues,” states Walli.
The North
The mill towns of West Yorkshire played a big part in the story’s
development. “I recognised Daniel’s idea of ‘the North’,” says Elliott, who
was born in West Yorkshire. “In certain areas there is almost a sense of
lawlessness.”
“Our grandmother lived in the Eldon Street Estate in Oldham
where we shot the opening of the film,” Daniel explains. “The restaurant
used to be our grandfather’s local. Behind the restaurant was Tomlinson
Close where we spent summers as children. That’s gone now. I stayed at
Ted Hughes’s old house in West Yorkshire on a writing retreat and was
awed by the surrounding moors.”
The polarity between the urban and natural environments of this
part of northern England created the tension that lies at the heart of the
world of CATCH ME DADDY. And it was partly Daniel and Matthew’s
very singular view of Yorkshire and Lancashire that drew Gary Lewis,
the popular Glasgow-born actor, to the part of the conflicted Tony.
“Daniel shows the post-industrial misery and the communities
ravaged by the legacy of post-industrialism and Thatcherism and puts
them up against the incredible natural beauty of the moors,” Lewis
enthuses. “And into this economic wasteland and amid such paternalistic
authority, Daniel puts the two beating hearts of the film, Laila and
Aaron, and he puts them to the sword. And you’re thinking, ‘fuck, it’s
devastating’. I thought it was so powerful.”
Street casting
Gary Lewis is one of a small number of professional actors in
CATCH ME DADDY, along with Conor McCarron (Aaron), Nichola
Burley (Vicky), Wasim Zakir (Tariq), Kate Dickie (Aaron’s mum) and
Shahid Ahmed (taxi driver). The rest of the cast, including the compelling,
pivotal role of Laila, is composed of non-professionals.
“I wanted the realism and authenticity, but also something
heightened that can be particular to non-actors,” Daniel explains.
For the role of the white and Pakistani thugs, Daniel and Matthew
were looking for a particular kind of authenticity. “The films I enjoy
have totally fresh faces,” Matthew explains. “Accattone by Pasolini for
instance, Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s early films, Carlos Reygadas’ films.”
And so began an intense, six-month process that saw Hayley,
casting director Lucy Pardee, and associates Leanne Flinn and Shenaz
Khan immerse themselves in the communities from which they hoped to
find their cast.
“We sought to engage people from local communities, working with
youth services schools and colleges,” explains Hayley. “It was a long,
careful process of explaining the intention of film and the casting, and
how we wanted to handle the subject. It was important to us that we had
that time. To make the film properly meant digging in.”
The team met around 600 girls and auditioned over 300. Twentyfour year old Sameena Jabeen Ahmed is a youth sports coach from a British
Pakistani family with brightly-coloured hair and a natural confidence.
She was walking home from work in North Manchester one evening when
she was tapped on the shoulder by Augusta Sakula-Barry, a member of
the casting team.
“She asked me if I would like to be in a movie and I said, ‘Um,
okkaay,’ ” Ahmed recalls. “I wondered if she was joking. She asked me if I
wanted to come to an audition in Manchester, so I went with my sister.”
“My brother was watching a casting tape in my kitchen and shouted
me over,” says Daniel of how Matthew spotted something in Sameena.
“Something just clicked. We met with her and she was compelling on
screen. Then we brought Conor in to meet her and there was an instant
spark. It just felt right. Sameena was electric.”
For the male roles, both white and Pakistani, the team were looking
for men who were familiar with the underbelly of these Northern towns.
“We didn’t need their stories to be straight out of the script,” explains
Hayley, “but we wanted them to understand the world, the codes, the
dialect, the dynamics of the different relationships.”
Indeed, the script kept evolving due to the constant dialogue
with the British Pakistani community, particularly with the girls, as the
filmmakers heard more and more of their stories.
The casting team trawled snooker halls, pubs, shisha bars, clubs
and gyms as well as using word-of-mouth to find people through the
unofficial networks in the region.
In the end, Daniel got the cast he wanted, eliciting visceral
performances from people working on a gut level.
‘We got a remarkable cast through an exhaustive search. The
casting team was amazing.’ - Daniel
The Actors
The young Scottish actor, Conor McCarron, who had blown the
Wolfe brothers away with his performance in Peter Mullan’s Neds, was
cast as Aaron, the boy with whom Laila is in love and on the run. Gary
Lewis, an actor the brothers had long admired, took the role of Tony, the
reluctant bounty hunter.
“I was gobsmacked by Sameena,”says Lewis, of his scenes with
Ahmed. “She is such a powerful and wonderful talent.”
For the scene between Laila and her father to work dramatically,
Daniel knew he had to push both actors’ emotional limits. “With Wasim
we knew we had someone we could absolutely trust in that space with
Sameena, a non-actor,” says Hayley.
“I have never worked with a director like Daniel before,” says
Wasim, who is from the region in northern England in which the film is
set. “He was specific about certain things he wanted from me and let me
do my own thing about everything else. It wasn’t easy though, the scenes
were long and I had to psychologically be in a dark place.”
Shooting Catch Me Daddy
CATCH ME DADDY moved into pre-production in the early
spring of 2013, as wild weather conditions cut off access to
many of the remote locations.
Of the shooting, Mike says: “Daniel likes to debunk the process,
strip away the rigmarole of filmmaking and tries to create an atmosphere,
a kind of looseness, that will give a sense of freedom to the performances.”
“I didn’t have a script or any lines to learn while we were shooting,”
Ahmed explains. “I had to be myself. The way I would walk into a
shop and what I would normally say, for example, is basically what he
wanted.’ ”
“We shot sequentially, without rehearsal, and plot developments
were only revealed gradually to the cast. It meant that everyday was
fresh and free of pre-conceptions,” says Daniel.
Big Landscapes, Real Faces.
‘It’s big landscapes. Real faces. Captured on 35mm.
The photographer Paul Graham was an influence,” says Daniel.
“We were reading a lot of Ted Hughes so he had an influence on the feel.
A lot of his poems were written in and about the areas where we were
staying and writing. Films which had an impact on us were: Westerns,
from Sam Peckinpah to Clint Eastwood’s Pale Rider, the films of Bruno
Dumont, Alan Clarke. Also a lot of ‘New Hollywood’.
“Although inspired by very real events, the film exists in its own space.
We wanted to create the feeling of a collective nightmare, a dream-state,
claustrophobic. A heightened reality.” - Matthew.
The brothers worked with director of photography Robbie Ryan,
their long-term collaborator whose impressive credits include Wuthering
Heights, Fish Tank and Jimmy’s Hall.
“Robbie is someone who photographs by feel. He responds, in
the moment, to character and place.” Daniel explains. “He’s a complete
inspiration” offers Matthew.
Ryan brought with him an accomplished camera team including Andrew
O’Reilly, his regular focus puller. The team had to work in low-light with
untrained actors and no formal marks.
“There was a moment in prep while projecting our lens tests, when
all the hard-fought for elements seemed to crystalise into the vision of
the film,” says Mike. “Seeing those street-cast faces captured on 35mm,
set against the landscape of the moors on a widescreen format. It was a
defining moment.”
During principal photography, Daniel was the vocal presence on set
with Matthew watching takes with a forensic gaze, providing a creative
sounding board for his brother. CATCH ME DADDY is a natural
progression of Daniel’s previous work as he brought many of his regular
collaborators with him to the film.
“It was great to continue my creative relationships with people I
have worked with on commercials and music videos. “Hayley Williams
really understands and enables the way I work. George Belfield worked
closely with us, on everything from location hunting to storyboarding, he
was an invaluable presence. Costume designer Hannah Edwards just got
it. Absolutely tailored to the characters and the world. We spent a lot
of time driving round mill towns in the middle of night with production
designer, Sami Khan, working out the world. I have always edited with
either Tom Lindsay or Dom Leung and we worked together on this. Two
great editors sparking off each other – interrogating the rushes. And then
colourist Simon Bourne whom I love, and who really understood what we
wanted.”
Music
Matthew wrote the film’s score with Daniel Thomas Freeman after
hearing Freeman’s album ‘The Beauty of Doubting Yourself’. “It is a dark
and intense album but also with a lot of heart,” says Matthew. “I felt we
could create something together that would augment the film’s world. We
wanted the music to feel like it comes from the landscape.”
Cast
in order of appearance
Tony
Laila
Aaron
Vicky
Junaid
Junaid’s Daughter
Barry
Bilal
Tariq
Zaheer
Shoby
Jay the Falconer
Damage
Simone
Milkshaker
Taxi Driver
Pub Landlord
Tanning Salon Girl
Vicky’s Boyfriend
Aaron’s Mum
Barney
Snips
Catholic Club
Milkshake Bar
Gary Lewis
Sameena Jabeen Ahmed
Conor McCarron
Nichola Burley
Anwar Hussain
Laila Bano
Barry Nunney
Adnan ‘Idy’ Zakir Hussain
Wasim Zakir
Ali Ahmad
Shoby Kaman
Jay Ali
Ben Musson
Simone Jackson
Adam Rayner
Shahid Ahmed
David McBlain
Katarzyna Szymanska
Nicky Bell
Kate Dickie
Gareth Wood
Jodi Gerhegan
Lewis James Savioni
Vicky Davies
Chelsea Corbett
Gina Hall
Gwyne Hollis
John Hyde
Sean Morgan
Ellis Hirsch
Harry Houton
Paul Wright
Richard Kelly
Adam Johnson
Jemma Nelson
Imogen Grant
Shaleigh Graham
Cameron Gilsernan
Leanne McGuiness
Pharmacists
Central Garage
Taxi Rank
Bouncers
Kidnappers
People of Yorkshire & Lancashire
Tracy Salmon
Christopher Raine
John Creegan
Aaron Dawson
Terry Hall
Colin Nutton
Paul Gray
Rory Hughes
Steve Allen
Ray Shafi
Khuram ‘Fritz’ Sheikh
Aqdas Vasi
Yoonus Mistry
Tony Paskin
Jack Simpson
Dawn Taylor
John Lowther
Stunt Performers
Jason White
Curtis Rivers
Lloyd Bass
Matt Sherren
Andy J. Smart
Casting Director
Lucy Pardee
Stunt Coordinators
Line Producer
Costume Design
Production Design
Film Editing by
Paula McBreen
Hannah Edwards
Sami Khan
Dominic Leung & Tom Lindsay
First Assistant Directors
Zoe Liang
David Gilchrist
Production Sound Mixer
Stevie Haywood AMPS
Location Manager
Supervising Art Director
Post Production Supervisors
Production Coordinator
Second Unit Director
Unit Publicist
Unit Stills Photographer
Script Supervisor
Script Editor
Music Supervisor
Focus Puller
Clapper Loader
Central Loader
Camera Trainee
Joseph Cairns
Andrew Watson
Miranda Jones
Shuna Frood
Abi Atkinson
George Belfield
Charles McDonald
Alex Hulsey
Jemima Thomas
Ziad Semaan
Nick Nash
Andrew J. O’Reilly
Danny Mendieta
Will Lyte
Deepa Keshvala
Steadicam Operators
Rick Woollard
Iain Mackay
Key Grip
Assistant Grip
Phil Whittaker
Dane Duncan
Producer’s Assistant
Development Assistant
Thomas Hardiman
Laia Senserrich
Boom Operator
Sound Technician
Additional Sound Recording
Jay Radosavljevic
Thomas Markwick
Henry Milliner
Lighting Gaffer
Rigging Gaffer
Electricians
Andy Cole
Wayne Mansell
Chris Davis
Lee Wiseman
Darren Campbell
Casting Assistant
Casting Scout
Gussy Sakula-Barry
Laura Serra Estorch
Production Buyer
Art Director
Assistant Art Director
Screen Yorkshire Trainee - Art Department
Assistant
Helen Watson
Kerry-Ellen Maxwell
Lizzy Butler
Claire Molloy
Property Master
Dressing Props
Standby Props
Duane Marshall
James Boid
Matt Wells
Unit Manager
Assistant Location Manager
David Gales
Lucinda Spurrier
Assistant to Daniel & Matthew Wolfe
Cast Liaison & Unit Driver
Assistant Production Coordinator
Production Assistant
Screen Yorkshire Trainee - Production
Secretary
Alex Hulsey
Mark Hollis
James Youd
Robert Sugden
Jake Holdsworth
Production Accountants
Post Production Accountant
Assistant Accountant
Second Assistant Directors
Co-Second Assistant Director
Third Assistant Directors
Floor Runner
Costume Supervisor
Costume Standby
Designer’s Assistant
Additional Costume Supervisors
Elaine Harrison
Tarn Harper
Sarah Teboul
Tina Ellis
Lucy Harrison
Tom Mulberge
Mark Murdoch
Sarah Mooney
Teariki Leonard
Matt Bensley
Jamie Holker
Nadine Davern
Sophie Earnshaw
Verity May Lane
Melissa Cook
Kath Davies
Choreographer
Movement Direction
Additional Casting
Additional Casting Scout
Translator
Prosthetic Make-up Design
Additional Make-up & Hair Designer
Make-up Artists
Additional Production Buyer
Prop Hands
2nd Unit & B-Camera Operator
2nd Unit Production Manager
Additional Focus Puller
Additional Grip
Additional Electricians
Additional Script Supervisor
Additional Third Assistant Director
Additional Runners
Nadia Sohawon
Twigs
Des Hamilton
Shenaz Khan
Wes Rashid
Haniya Ali
Pauline Fowler - Animated Extras
Alex King
Carli Mather
Meg Clough
Helen Jones
Neil Smith
Ben Critchley
Fred Duran
Thomas Chester
Steve Burns
Mark Jones
Simon Tindall
Dougal Meese
Chris Connatty
Marc Tempest
Michael Holmes
Dan Finnigan
Rhiannon Preece-Towey
John Turner
Owen Henley
Robin Anson
Elizabeth Webster
First Assistant Editors
Paul Dawber
Lucy Benson
Elise Butt
Creative Skillset Editing Trainee
Elliot Barrett
Second Assistant Editor
Score Performed and Produced by
Score Recorded and Mixed by
Facility Vehicles by
Facilities Coordinator
Camera Truck Driver
Facilities Driver
Unit Drivers
Minibus Drivers
Action Vehicles by
Action Vehicle Drivers
Director of Photography
2nd Camera Operator
Sound Recordist
Art Director
Location Manager
Production Manager
Make-up Designer
Costume Supervisor
Second Assistant Director
Script Supervisor
Production Coordinator
Standby Art Director
First Assistant Camera
Fouad Gaber
Matthew Watson and Daniel
Thomas Freeman
Daniel Thomas Freeman
Up & Running Facilities - Nathan
Colclough
Christian Colclough
John Shelmerdine
Adam Colclough
Colin Barnett
Paul Nicholson
Steve Dawson
Stuart Fleming
Mick Bates
Phil Murphy
Hassan Nurr
Autofilm - John Noakley
Malcolm Williams
Andrew Noakley
Josh Hussy
Dennis Holstead
Carl Brogden
Tom Townend
David Procter
Simon Bysshe
Daniel Taylor
Lucinda Spurrier
Jenna Mills
Jenny Rhodes
Jo Cook
Lucy Cover
Jane Berry
Damiano Blloshmi
Drew Howard
Jon Mitchell
Key Grip
Gaffer
Boom Operator
Third Assistant Director
Assistant Art Director
Second Assistant Camera
Electrician
Trainee Electrician
Grip Trainee
Unit Manager
Location Assistant
Make-up Assistants
Health & Safety Advisor
Unit Medics
Security by
Security Guards
G3 Remote Head Technician
A3 F Tracking Vehicle Driver
Animal Handler
Armourer
Johnny Donne
Martin Duncan
Mike Kent
Danny Groombridge
Henry Woolway
George Telling
Mick Grundy
Ben Ellis-Martin
Becki Horsburgh
Chris Hutchins
Sophie Coulter
Cassi Brookes
Sophie Rowatt
Jim Reynard
Angie Bailey
Ray Baker
Capricorn Security - Billy Robinson
Phil Moore
Barend Walkinshaw
Greyham Walkinshaw
Alex Pugh
Rob Herring
Sue Clarke - Timbertops Animal
Agency
Mark Shelley
Digital Colour Grading by Framestore
Digital Colourist
Colourist Assistant
Telecine Producer
Simon Bourne
Jessica Vile
Andrew McLintock
Post Production by Lipsync Post
Senior Post Producer
Post Producers
Head of Digital Intermediate
Scanning and Conform Manager
Lisa Jordan
Paul Dray
Aileen McIntosh
James Clarke
Daniel Tomlinson
Key Grip
Gaffer
Boom Operator
Third Assistant Director
Assistant Art Director
Second Assistant Camera
Electrician
Trainee Electrician
Grip Trainee
Unit Manager
Location Assistant
Make-up Assistants
Health & Safety Advisor
Unit Medics
Security by
Security Guards
G3 Remote Head Technician
A3 F Tracking Vehicle Driver
Animal Handler
Armourer
Johnny Donne
Martin Duncan
Mike Kent
Danny Groombridge
Henry Woolway
George Telling
Mick Grundy
Ben Ellis-Martin
Becki Horsburgh
Chris Hutchins
Sophie Coulter
Cassi Brookes
Sophie Rowatt
Jim Reynard
Angie Bailey
Ray Baker
Capricorn Security - Billy Robinson
Phil Moore
Barend Walkinshaw
Greyham Walkinshaw
Alex Pugh
Rob Herring
Sue Clarke - Timbertops Animal
Agency
Mark Shelley
Digital Colour Grading by Framestore
Digital Colourist
Colourist Assistant
Telecine Producer
Simon Bourne
Jessica Vile
Andrew McLintock
Post Production by Lipsync Post
Senior Post Producer
Post Producers
Head of Digital Intermediate
Scanning and Conform Manager
Lisa Jordan
Paul Dray
Aileen McIntosh
James Clarke
Daniel Tomlinson
Senior DI Editor
Online Editors
Head of Technical Support
VT Operators
Connan McStay
Scott Goulding
Diana Vasquez
Rick White
Ritchie Ferguson
Louise Purvis
Garth Merry
Sound by Lipsync Post
Supervising Sound Editors
Re-recording Mixers
ADR Mixer
Sound Assistants
Foley FX Supervisor
Foley Artist
Stephen Griffiths
Andy Shelley
Rob Hughes
Paul Cotterell
Robert Farr
Yanti Windrich
Tushar Manek
Sandy Buchanan
Paula Boram
Visual Effects by Lipsync Post
Visual Effects Supervisor
Visual Effects Producer
Head of Visual Effects
Visual Effects Coordinator
Digital Compositors
Systems Administrators
Leo Neelands
Paul Driver
Shanaullah Umerji
George Stone
Andy Quinn
Bryan Dunkley
Alexander Phoenix
Hampus Robertsson
Titles by Lipsync Design
Head of Design
Senior Designer
Designer
35mm Lab & Dailies Service
Lab/Dailies - Head of Operations
Laboratory Contact
Supervising Dailies Colourist
Unit Catering by
Howard Watkins
Julia Hall
Simon Edwards
Deluxe 142
Jon Gray
Steve McGowan
Darren Rae
Daru Catering - Danny Janes
Billy Prentice
Keith Phillips
Danny Janes Jnr
Head Chef
Chefs
The Craggs Country Business Park
Jessica Wild & Dan Holmes
Take 2 - Vince Wild
Arri Rental - Sinead Moran & Bob
McGregor
Trim Editing
Chapman UK - Michaela Barnes
Bickers Action
Stop and Shoot
Green Light Traffic Management
Arnold Clark
Persona Chauffeurs - Mark Jones
Mandata Contracts
Frame 24 - Rachel Baker
Audiolink
That’s a Wrap
HWL - Alan Cox & Bob Howorth
The Source - EJ & Jeff Grainger
Calderdale Council Events Office
Production Office & Storage
35mm Camera Equipment by
Lighting Equipment by
Editing Equipment & Facilities
Grip, Remote Head & Tracking Vehicle by
A-Frame & Low Loaders by
Traffic Management by
Rental Vehicles by
Unit Cars & Minibuses by
Lab & Equipment Couriers
35mm Film Stock by
Walkie Talkies by
Camera & Sound Consumables
Location Filming Permission Liason
Completion Bond by
Insurance by
Legals by
Clearances by
Payroll by
Banking by
Auditors
International Film Guarantors
Luke Randolph & Emma Mager
Media Insurance Brokers - Peter Suddell
Lee & Thompson - Natalie Usher
The Clearing House - Ruth Halliday
Moneypenny
Coutts
Shipleys
For BFI
Director of Lottery Film Fund
Head of Production
Development Executive
Production Finance
Business Affairs Manager
Ben Roberts
Fiona Morham
David Segal Hamilton
Amanda Pyne
Ben Wilkinson
For Film4
Senior Legal & Business Affairs Executive
Legal & Business Affairs Executive
Production Finance Manager
Production Manager
Head of Commercial and Brand Strategy
Development Executive
Louise Long Donnchadh McNicholl
Gerardine O’ Flynn
Fiona Lamptey
Sue Bruce Smith
Jo McClellan
For Lipsync Productions
Associate Producer
Legal Services
Peter Raven
Christos Michaels
at Lee & Thompson
For Screen Yorkshire
Chief Executive
ERDF Contract Manager
Investment Administrator
Sally Joynson
Liz West
Kirsty Graham
For Studio Canal
Head of UK Development Chief Operating Officer UK
Chief Financial Officer UK
Head of UK Legal and Business Affairs
Head of UK Acquisitions
Head of UK Theatrical Distribution
General Manager UK Home Entertainment
Head of UK Marketing
Dan MacRae
Robb Smith
James Forde
Stephen Murphy
Alison Meese
John Trafford Owen
John Rodden
Hugh Spearing