We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ella Greenwood a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ella, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I’ve been fortunate enough to be involved with so many wonderful projects, but one that’s particularly meaningful for me is ‘Why Wouldn’t I Be?”. The film follows 17-year-old Jack, who reaches breaking point and questions why he wasn’t able to reach out for help. There are so many reasons why this project was meaningful – one of which is because it was the first time that one of my films had partnered with a mental health charity. In this case, it was HUMEN, an incredible charity that is leading a global movement improving and maintaining men’s mental health. It focuses on a prevention approach over a crisis response, which is what I wanted the film to encourage, as well as the power of speaking out. We had an amazing cast, led by Harry Collett, who soon after shooting the film went on to get a key role in HBO’s House of the Dragon, as well as the talented Elizabeth Berrington, Tut Nyuot and Susan Lawson-Reynolds. Making this project was also the first time that I worked with Maya Bartley O’Dea, whom I have since worked on absolutely everything with. When she joined ‘Why Wouldn’t I Be?’, it was her first time producing, and now, a couple of years later, she is Lead Producer at Broken Flames, and we have worked on so many projects together, including getting to film one in Los Angeles. The rest of the crew was also made up of some of the most kind and hard-working people that I’ve met in the industry, and I truly only have good memories associated with all of the project’s production.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m the Founder of Broken Flames, a production company with a focus on mental-health-based projects. I’m also a Women of the Future Award Winner & a Forbes 30 Under 30 Honouree. Aged 18, I wrote, directed & produced my first film ‘Faulty Roots’ which was nominated for an Award by Film The House which is run by Parliament and sponsored by Disney, Lionsgate, Warner Bros and more. Faulty Roots was selected for BAFTA Qualifying festivals including Carmarthen Bay at which I won the Rising Star Award. Next came the short films ‘Smudged Smile’ starring BAFTA Winner Mia Mckenna-Bruce (How to Have Sex) which premiered at the Oscar Qualifying Chicago International Children’s Film Festival, ‘Self-Charm’ starring BAFTA Winner Bukky Bakray (Rocks), ‘Why Wouldn’t I Be?’ with Harry Collett (House of the Dragon) which premiered at BIFA Qualifying Manchester Film Festival, ‘Bibimbap for One’ which premiered at BAFTA Qualifying Norwich Film Festival, and ‘Fifty-Four Days’ which won Best Short Film at BAFTA Qualifying British Urban Film Festival. Upcoming projects include ‘Better Get Better’ with Elisha Applebaum (Fate: The Winx Saga) and Aliyah Odoffin (Everything I Know about Love), and ‘Once Upon a Riot’ which was filmed in London & Los Angeles. My next project is the one-take short ‘Twofold’ which was recently nominated at the British Short Film Awards, and stars Phoebe Campbell (House of the Dragon) & Rebecca Calder (Hilma). I’ve always loved going to the cinema, and got into filmmaking after wanting to share my own stories. Improving the representation of mental health in the media is something that is of great importance to me, after struggling with a mental illness as a teenager. I have been an ambassador for leading teenage mental health charity stem4 since 2020, and have projects that have partnered with charities such as HUMEN and PAPYRUS. I’m most proud of the positive conversations surrounding mental health that have been started as a result of our films. On Suicide Prevention Day, we got to take ‘Why Wouldn’t I Be?’ to the Havas Media Group Headquarters in London, and I was invited to speak on a panel at the Oxford Union about mental health in the media, which was a wonderful experience. At Broken Flames, we also run a range of other things, such as the Lucas A. Ferrara Film Fund, the Acting Mentorship Programme and the Screen Acting Workshops. We want to help get more women into the film industry and always have majority female crews, and we hope to bring many more important stories to life.

Have you ever had to pivot?

For a long time, I had always wanted to be a successful actor. I thought that it was the only thing I’d ever want to do and that if I didn’t achieve this goal, I would be failing at life. I signed with an agent at a young age and went to countless auditions, but received endless rejections. I was so tired of waiting to hear from other people on whether or not I got to do what I loved, and so went about making my first short film. The intention was to only act in it and was never to write or direct the film, but when I started to think about what it was that I wanted the film to say, I realised that I wanted to help say it, and so decided to write the script for ‘Faulty Roots.’ During the film’s production, I fell in love with filmmaking. Once I had finished the film, I began to discover that my desire to act was being taken over by the desire to write and direct; to be behind the camera instead of in front of it. At the time, I felt that I would be letting my younger self down by giving up acting, but I now know that it was completely the right decision to pivot in this way. I found something that I was even more passionate about, and have been loving this new journey.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding part is getting to see how people react to your work. It’s always the best time screening the films and I love when you can hear people’s reactions during the film, as well as afterwards. Getting to share a story that you’re passionate about and to have people take it in and experience it, that’s always so rewarding.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ellagreenwood.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/popsella
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/ella-greenwood
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/ella_greenwood

Image Credits
On set photos by Ines Hachou