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When Don Allen couldn’t shake the creative bug that was biting him, he gave up a lucrative business career to pursue his first love, says Amina taylor

Producer/director Don Allen is a bright new name to watch on the UK filmmaking scene. His first feature film, Three Minute Moments, has been seen by a select few as Allen applies the finishing touches, but those in the know are already declaring it a winner. Film Focus caught up with this former Coventry Centre for the Performing Arts alumni and found out about his path to the big screen.

Take me back to your earliest interest in filmmaking?
I went to drama school and did the whole acting thing for a while, then I settled for a life of corporate responsibility. That side of things was fun, but I decided about five years ago that I did not like the corporate life that I was now leading because I had stopped acting. I was one of those people who knew they could never really work for someone else. I started a production company and I remembered sitting back and thinking about it after I had given up this well-paid job for something that was an unproven entity. That’s the problem though, when your heart is in something, you have to follow it through.

So what happened next?
The first few short films we made, I really wanted to get my hands dirty and I did everything. I produced them, directed them and when necessary, I got in front of the camera as well. Our first film, shot on 16mm, got us noticed and we carried on from there. For a long time I had been thinking of my dream film, my romantic comedy and we started working on that. Once we started working on that, I got some other people involved and things got a lot more serious, which meant that the budget got serious and so on. So instead of trying to finish that original film off and rushing things, we decided to concentrate on another feature idea that would show people we could get things done.

We wanted something that would be our calling card in the independent sector and create awareness. That is where Three Minute Moments came from.

When you told your family you wanted to pursue this as a career, what was the reaction?
I have nothing but admiration and great things to say about my parents. They have supported me a million percent in everything I have ever gone for. In fact, they have never blinked an eye at anything I have ever said I wanted to do. I have been very fortunate and I know this.

You’re originally from Coventry but I don’t detect an accent – what happened?
It got knocked out of me at drama school. I spent three good years there and I worked really hard at whatever I was told to do. One of those things was trying to establish a neutral accent and its stuck. Now I could not undo it if I tried.

How did you feel when you stopped acting and pursued more corporate endeavours – that creative bug must have continued to burn inside?
It did. I know it sounds like a complete cliché, but I was unfulfilled. I enjoyed the business challenged and I enjoyed the progression and experiences along the way, but it really was continuing to go through the motions. When it all happened, I was actually at the office and I have this tendency to fast-forward things in my head and that’s what I was doing with my future. I fast-forwarded 10 years in my life and realised that I would be very comfortable financially, but doing the same thing. I knew that’s not what I wanted. I felt I was losing out creatively and missing out on who I really was and what I really enjoyed doing.

How soon from making that decision did you go into making films?
It was a matter of months. I started plotting and planning on the short film straight away. Within a month I had written the script, storyboarded the idea, and quit my job. There was no time to waste. This was back in 2002.

There must have been times in all of this when you thought you were crazy?
There were a lot of those moments. Subsequently, I’d gone to film school to learn a bit more about directing, but I’ve always felt independent in spirit, but sometimes a little unsure of myself. Who am I to go asking people for money for assistance – they’re only going to laugh and say ‘thanks, but no thanks’. So I was always of the mindset that I had to go out and make things happen for myself. It’s been difficult and a real struggle at times. I have never gone to the UK Film Council or gone in front of any of these councils that support films or black filmmakers.

Do you think it’s just too beaurocratic?
I do. I don’t feel anyone has embraced me or helped me navigate the system. I’m not saying that’s their fault but I’m not quite sure how else an independent filmmaker can navigate these different hurdles.

I’m not sure what that support could have been and what it could have represented in relation to what I was trying to achieve. I’m acutely aware that people are beginning to pick up on what we’re trying to do and say a couple of nice things. It’s welcome and appreciated but I can see how a helluva lot of talented people would have just drifted off or given up. I’m afraid of failure so I just keep on going and so far, so good.