"It's a simple story - the people in it are very open. What makes it colourful are the characters I've chosen to tell the story with" is how writer and director Sara Sugarman describes her film.
Although from Rhyl in North Wales, director Sara Sugarman was familiar with the valleys of South Wales from childhood trips. One day she found herself in Pontycymer, a village at the end of the deep valley of Garw. The local coal mines, once the industrial life blood of the villages, are all now closed down, and ironically, the trees and grass planted to cover the scars of mines, pit heads and slag heaps, have added to the area's natural beauty. Sugarman realised that Pontycymer was the home town of her friend Molly Parkin, writer and broadcaster. She rang Molly, who told her to knock on the door of Number 47 and introduce herself to Wendy Phillips, a local woman who, in addition to being the school cleaner for twenty six years, was a prominent activist during the historic mining strikes against the pit closures in the area. Sara's chance visit led her to write and shoot her two short films in Pontycymer, both starring Wendy Phillips.
The genesis of this project came to Sara through a remark overheard in the valley. She explains, "Someone said to me 'You know, he could have gone to Milan to sing.' The sadness of that kind of lost chance struck me, and the idea that it becomes a local myth really stayed with me."
Sugarman graduated from film school in 1995, and began to write her first treatment of what was to become VERY ANNIE MARY. "The story started filtering through me. I spent a good six months on the outline, reducing it all the time, and then began work on the script. Then I began to reduce the script. Again, in editing the film, I reduce it all further. So my writing process starts with one line which grows to the size of the universe, and then I spend the rest of the time reducing it to 100 minutes of film. "
Sugarman met producers Graham Broadbent and Damian Jones when the first draft of her script was complete. She says "I had already had a reading of the script, so it had taken shape. Graham read it in London, and I met Damian in Los Angeles. They both liked it and agreed to produce it so we began the development process. "
Says Broadbent, "I had seen Sara's graduation short film Up the Valley, and thought she had enormous talent. In her two short films, both set in Pontycymer, she had created a world I call Sugarmanland, and had shown the ability to take you somewhere that is the present day, but not as everyone else sees it. "
"Sara presents her characters, who live in their own reality, with love and humanity; she has a wonderful sense of observation and comedy. She has the confidence in her story and her characters so that she can transport you from A to Z by a route you wouldn't expect, but that you enjoy," says Broadbent.
During the development process, Sugarman entered the script for Robert Redford's Sundance Institute Script Competition. "I sent the script off and completely forgot about it, " says Sugarman. "It was like entering a competition on a cereal packet - fill in the form and never dream you would win. When a fax arrived a few months later from Sundance to say the script was among the last twenty five, I was really surprised and pleased but didn't think it would go any further, then another fax arrived to say it was in the last ten, and by the time it got down to the last three, I really wanted to win. "
Producer Graham Broadbent was initially alarmed, then delighted, that the script finally won the prize and then surprised again when it was one of three winners of the Orange Pathe Script Prize. Says Sugarman,"He kept saying 'Is there anything else you haven't told me about?', who duly confessed that the script was a finalist for one other prize, which she wasn't allowed to win, because by then the project had a producer attached. Broadbent and Sugarman agree that winning the prizes helped raise the finance for the film, by raising the profile of the project, and giving it a platform to attract the attention of financiers.
In casting the film Sugarman had originally been adamant that she would use only Welsh actors, but was persuaded that if the film was to reach a wider audience then she should consider opening up the casting process. "I had seen Rachel Griffiths in Muriel's Wedding (1994) and enjoyed it again on video, but her performance in Hilary and Jackie (1998) really persuaded me. There are scenes in that film where she has similar characteristics to Annie Mary Pugh, and I was convinced that the casting would work. "
At that time Rachel Griffiths was in Hollywood, having been nominated for an Academy Award for her role in Hilary and Jackie (1998). Says Griffiths, "I was reading lots of scripts and doing lots of meetings, but I hadn't found anything I really loved. I had met Sara before, for the film Mad Cows (1999), which I wasn't able to do because of timing, and thought that she had a genuine passion and understanding of characters in the film. I told my agent that I was interested in her script and the next thing my agent told me that Sara and Graham were on their way over to Los Angeles to meet me. "
Griffiths met with Sugarman and Broadbent between interviews and photo shoots to promote Hilary and Jackie (1998), and invited them to a dinner with her agents and family the night before the Oscars. Says Sugarman, " It was so weird to watch all the hoopla involved in the run-up to the Oscar ceremony. I felt we were asking royalty to appear in my small film in Wales."
Rachel watched my short with her Mother and stepfather and they all seemed to enjoy it. " Adds Griffiths, "My family really took to Sara and kept encouraging me to do her film. It's the first time ever that my Mum has had any input into my career!"
Sugarman and Broadbent returned to London, knowing that Griffiths was keen on the script but realising that she also had other offers. They were delighted when she subsequently accepted the role. Says Broadbent, "In this film we are heavily reliant on casting. The audience need to fall in love with Annie Mary in the first scenes, and be willing to join her on the journey, going through her adolescence at the age of thirty three. Rachel Griffiths has the charisma and talent to do that. "
The producer had admired Griffiths' work in Hilary and Jackie (1998), Muriel's Wedding (1994) and My Son The Fanatic (1997). " In three very different roles, she never failed to convince me, and as Annie Mary,she really inhabited the role. "
Sugarman praises Griffiths for embracing the role. "She threw herself into the village life in Pontycymer, staying with Wendy Phillips, going to the social club, and attacking the accent so that she made it her own. The language I use is all about rhythm, which is sometimes different from the natural Welsh rhythm, so even Welsh-born actors had to adjust. "
For Griffiths, working with a director who is also the writer of the piece, and has trained as an actress, has many advantages. "Sometimes we crossed each other's territory, but usually in a helpful way. We both have very intense energy. We developed a creatively dynamic relationship, and Sara's willing to take risks in a way I haven't encountered before. I trusted her story so much that I was able to find a way to take the audience with Annie Mary. As she gets more tragic, the audience has to laugh at her more, but with affection. It was a joy and a challenge to run the gamut of emotions. "
Adds Sugarman, "Because I'm a performer perhaps I'm more on the floor than other directors are." Rachel said as an actress," I had done a lot of the homework for her, but also had to tell me when to stand back and let her do her job. "
While in Los Angeles, Griffiths had told Sugarman and Broadbent that she knew just how to play Annie Mary on screen and did a convincing imitation of Sugarman herself. Says Sugarman "She's right; the script is not autobiographical - my father is fantastic, funny and warm. I can't sing and I left home at an early age - but I realise that I do reveal myself in many ways in my writing. "
Griffiths also watched the films of Fellini, where Sugarman had found cinematic inspiration, and what the actress describes as the tradition of old fashioned clowning, where actors take big physical risks. "It's the first role I've done that hasn't been completely naturalistic, but I wanted audiences to believe in Annie Mary. "
The role of Annie Mary's overbearing father,Jack Pugh, required a strong screen presence, and Jonathan Pryce was cast as soon as Rachel Griffiths accepted the role of Annie Mary. Says Pryce, "I read the script and immediately told my agent I was interested. It was so rich and vivid and stood out as being highly original, and full of detail. Then I watched Sara's short film Valley Girls and, as I could see her visual style, the script came to life."
"Also, there are so many parallels between my character and incidents in my life, that when I met Sara I asked if she had researched my background as basis for the part. My father was a shop keeper with a good singing voice. Anyone who can sing in Wales is respected and my father was held in high regard in our village. My sister used to work in the family shop,and my father had a stroke which paralysed him. On top of all that I come from North Wales near Rhyl where Sara was brought up, so we have similar references." He adds, "The Welsh do have a warm hearted gregarious side that's not often portrayed on film. "
Pryce admired the director's energy on set. "Sara has a very positive and a very generous personality. She's astute on set, knowing how to encourage cast and crew to enjoy themselves, without dissipating the energy. " Pryce also enjoyed working in a small community. "Everyone in Pontycymmer was warm and welcoming. Sara has worked there before so they knew the film company had not come to exploit them and we did not interfere with their lives too much. "
Many of the villagers were involved with the production as actors and extras. Says Pryce, "It was a pleasure to work with such a broad spectrum of Welsh actors. I had recently worked with Matthew Rhys, in a film where he played my son. Veteran Welsh actor Kenneth Griffiths played the village minister.He's such a mischievous scene stealer," says Pryce. "It's great to see so much vigour in an actor of such experience. "
Sugarman says, "Jonathan Pryce has the range of darkness, coupled with the range of comedy, that is perfect for the role. And he has a huge singing voice. He comes from North Wales so he understood the script on an emotional level. It was nice for me to work with someone from "just up the road" in terms of upbringing, because we have similar tastes. "
Rachel Griffiths and Jonathan Pryce enjoyed their collaboration. Says Griffiths, "I only knew Jonathan as this powerhouse of English theatre. I had no idea he had a fantastic comedy range. We both use the same span of emotion, so we had a very harmonious relationship. He is also very creative and Sara was willing to let us add elements to our performances, so that, by the end of the working day, not only had we got what was on the page, we often got more. "
Other casting includes hot young Welsh actors Ioan Gruffudd and Matthew Rhys, in the roles of Hob and Nob, the gay shopkeepers to whom Annie Mary gives singing lessons. "I had originally written the parts for men in their fifties, but what it needed more than anything were actors who convey closeness, familiarity and love for each other and Annie Mary. Ioan and Matthew have known each other since they were seven years old and now they share a flat together in London so, although they are not a gay couple they love each other as best friends, and have that ease of familiarity. " says Sugarman.
Gruffudd and Rhys were pleased to accept the cameo roles, giving them a chance to work together for the first time on screen. They enjoyed themselves so much they offered to stay with the unit as runners but were forced to return to building up their blossoming careers, with Ioan taking a leading role in the feature drama Another Life, while Matthew has a lead role in the TV series Metropolis.
Since Sara Sugarman first visited the village of Pontycymmer and started making films, local school cleaner Wendy Phillips has been her muse. "Wendy is probably the living person I most admire, and I've already written her as the lead in my next film. " says Sugarman. "Pontycymmer has been the place I chose to write about, and through my short films I realise I've found an audience. What a gift to lead this life, writing about what I care for. I feel so lucky I went to that village in that valley. What would have happened if I'd gone to Thailand, and knocked on Number 47?"