It’s been a hectic but gratifying 10 days covering the Twin Cities Film Fest on its 15th anniversary! Monday, October 21 was truly an evening to remember as I got to meet both Daisy Ridley and Tom Bateman who were in attendance to promote their psychological thriller MAGPIE (read my review).

Thanks to TCFF executive director, Jatin Setia and Nemer Fieger’s president Chad Olson for making it happen! It was a brief Q&A but it was fantastic to hear their inspirations behind the story, which originated from Daisy herself. Read on below:

Photo courtesy of Kirstie Halverson

Ruth: Hello! I’m a Twin Cities-based film critic and a member of the Minnesota Film Critics Association. So I have seen Magpie, shout out to Shout Studios! Shout to them as they were kind enough to send me the online screeners.

Daisy and Tom: Shout out to Shout Studios! Good one!

Ruth: They’re really great! Ok, so I have questions for both of you. Let’s start with you, Daisy. I love you in the recent biopic Young Woman and The Sea, where you played a strong but also vulnerable woman. I feel that Anette, your character in Magpie is the same way, but she has that inner strength in her. How do you approach playing her role?

Daisy: I think it’s interesting because I’ve played a mom before (in The Marsh King’s Daughter), but I think particularly coming to, um, this role, and having a lot of conversations with my mom as an adult about what it’s like to be a mom, and understanding the thing that one can enjoy. When it involves a child, that’s where the buck stops.

So that was really how I approached Annette. She is, you know, in a situation that’s very uncomfortable for her and she has taken on a lot and she has been pushed very far but the minute it involves at all her child is when that changes. So I think, gathering the strength from Hiba [Ahmed], who played my little girl in it, that was really an amazing drive. So basically, it’s about how far can someone be pushed before they respond.

Daisy Ridley and Hiba Ahmed in Magpie

Ruth: I love that. It really shows that you have such good chemistry with Hiba.

Tom, I’m a huge fan of yours. I’ve seen most of your films and TV works, Beecham House, for example… I’m still sad that that’s gone. Now, this is your first time writing for a feature, but I read that you have been writing a long time. What is the inspiration for the story for you?

Tom: I drew a lot from Christopher Nolan’s story structure which I think is almost unparalleled. His ability to, both intrigue and take an audience with them at the same time as keeping them in the dark. Yes. But without cheating. I love that very much, and I kind of was inspired by his earlier films like Memento. And also Hitchcock, what he does with story structure and things like that.

Those are the things I want to kind of tap into a sort of a slow burn that slowly just increases the pressure until you realize, Oh my God, all along this thing has been, has been happening that I didn’t realize. So yeah, those were the inspirations for me.

Ruth: Daisy, in terms of your character Anette, what are some of the inspirations to play her? I kept thinking of Rosemary Baby, but what are some other ones?

Daisy: Yeah. Oh my God. I mean, that’s pretty clear, yes. I think our director, Sam Yates, and our cinematographer, Laura [Bellingham], did such an amazing job, they set the tone so beautifully that I could inhabit it in my way, and it felt like what we were all imagining in a sort of visual, stylistic way. A lot of Sam’s inspiration was Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia) with his dramatic close-ups. 

I think basically the script, the crew, the cast, everything, the table was set in such a beautiful way that I was just playing Anette and all together. You can just jump in there and yeah, I already feel like I was Anette.

Ruth: Thank you so much for your time, Daisy and Tom. I know you have to run to your screening. I appreciate your time, thank you, and have a great night tonight!

Daisy + Tom: Thank you so much!

It was truly a dream to be able to have a quick chat with Daisy and Tom. They are truly the quintessential ‘it couple’… stunningly beautiful and freakishly talented!! They were both very gracious and friendly, they made me feel at ease to talk to them. As a longtime fan of Tom Bateman, it’s an especially pinch-me moment… and he’s as easy on the eyes on screen as he is in person! I really wanted to ask if they’d be open to collaborating more in the future, perhaps as actors, well, I hope that would happen!

I wish there were more time to ask them more questions, but I was mindful of the time as they had to get into their 6:30 PM screening right after the red carpet interviews and there were so many people wanting to meet them.

I didn’t get a chance to take a photo right after the interview as a throng of people were waiting to get their autographs, but I was fortunate enough to meet them just before they went back in for the post-screening Q&A. 

I also ran into Jordan Fields, Shout! Studios’ Senior VP of Acquisitions & Originals at the Marcus West End lobby. We had met the day before at the Education Panel on Financing & Distribution. Thanks, Jordan!

TCFF 2024 Award Winners

Best Feature Film: 
Conclave, directed by Edward Berger (read my review)
The Robert Byrd Best Documentary Award: 
Camp Ricstar, directed by Sam McConnell (read my review)
The Bill Cooper Best Minnesota Feature Award: 
Boundary Waters, directed by Tessa
Best Short Films (Tie): 
The Bend, directed by Sarah McCarron
Audience Award, Feature: 
Magpie, directed by Sam Yates
(Runner Up: A Real Pain, directed by Jesse Eisenberg)
Audience Award, Documentary: 
24 Days Without You, directed by Rebecca Rizzio
(Runner Up: Camp Ricstar, directed by Sam McConnell)
Audience Award, Short Film: 
Hold, directed by Josiah Junqueira Spencer
Indie Vision — Breakthrough Performance: 
Daisy Ridley, actress in Magpie
Indie Vision — Screenwriting: 
Tom Bateman, writer of Magpie
TCFF North Star Award: Josh Duhamel
Fun Is Good Bill Murray Comedic Shorts Award: 
Physical Therapy, directed by Cristi Rumpza
2024 MN Film Critics Alliance Prize: 
Bob Trevino Likes It, directed by Tracie Laymon
2024 Blncd Aspiring Filmmaker Grant: 
Harmony Unraveled, directed by Adriana Foreman

Congrats to all the winners!! Many of the films are the ones I’ve highlighted in the 10 Indie Films and Documentaries to watch at TCFF, Woo hoo!!

One of my favorite moments at TCFF this year is meeting the Camp RicStar team before the screening. In partnership with TCFF this year, a few members of the MN Film Critics Alliance got to introduce some of the films and do Q&A afterward. I picked Camp RicStar and I got to meet the team behind the award-winning documentary, including the film’s writer Lukas Houser, and the founders of the music camp itself, Judy & Richard Winter. Congrats on winning Best Documentary, you guys rock!!

With Judy & Richard Winter

The Camp RicStar Team L-R: Linda & David St. Amant, Lukas Hauser, Judy & Richard Winter

Hope you enjoy my TCFF highlights. Stay tuned for more TCFF reviews in the coming weeks!