Film
Eva Birthlstle and Atta Yacquib fall in love in a post-9H 1 atmosphere of cross-cultural mistrust. Ken Leach (opposite, below) directs
Kaleem Aftab catches up with Eva Birthistle and Atta Yaquib, the hot young stars of Ken Loach’s new film AE FOND KISS.
46 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 19—26 Aug 2001
Ml about Atla&Eva
cn Loach approacth] casting .‘it' l'om/ Rio in Ihc samc ua_\ IhaI ilt' has dom- \x'hcchcI' hc has \x'anlcd Io tind non actors or I‘clatiwh nnknoun oncs. ilt' trics Io lind pcoplc \xho arc similar to Ihc chaI'actI-i's hc \xants Ithn to In nhas.
i’or Ihc lcad I‘olcs. |.oach \\as watching l'oI' I\\o ( ilasucgians. a \luslnn lll.‘1it‘ and .1 Roman (‘atholic lcmalc. Hc lound thc (ilasucgian \hlslnn \\thI .\tta \atltnh Im ill\ first rolc) \VaIkcd through thc door. but to pla} his girlh'icnd lx’oism. hc \iill\k' Insh actrcss liva Birthislc alIcr thc sccing lhc chcmistr} bct\\ccn ilL'l and 25 _\k'ili old Yaquib in auditions and mm I‘otc Ihc parI accordineg
Yaquib‘s‘ lack ol‘ acting cxpcl'icncc prcwntcd him hom bcittg llt'l’\t)ll\ nhcn hc lllt'i thc dircctor. ‘l was doing somc part-Iimc moching as ucll as a [\Iisl giad Ihploma III information managcmcnt and m} agcnc} Iold Inc Io go scc a ch'lain dII'cclnI‘ callI-d Kcn Loach and. to bc honcst. I had no idca \xho hc \\;Is. .‘\I lhc andinon Kcn gmc Hit" an idea of thc background to (’asim's charactci' and in man} \\;I}s hc did contonn Io how I wasf
liva Birthistlc. who had spcnt thrcc _\c;n‘s in Irish sci‘ial (I/I'In'w plgomg httic Regina ('rosbic. was undcrstandabl} ncnous at thc IhonghI oI lIlL'L‘IllIfJ Ihc acclannI-d dircctor. Shc too could I‘clatc hcr oxxn mpcricncc to thc i'olc. 'l'd nc\ci' cow'n‘nccd a rclationship with an Asian. but I could I‘clatc thc stol'} Io |i\ ing in \oi‘thci‘n h'cland and being a (‘atholic and going to a l’rotcsIanI sL'ittmi. I had diilictlltics in using to maintain rclationships \\ith thc l’rotcsIanIs tth'c and got a hard Iimc h'om pcoplc m the communin and in school.‘
Thc dircctor is \Vcll knou n tor shooting Ihc lihn in narratixc scqncncc and old} giving the actors Ihcir lincs lhc night ik‘ltn'c thc} aI'c duc Io [)L‘l'iltl'lll. Hil'thistlc. who was rcccntly namcd by liuropcan l-‘ihn Promotion as onc ot~ lzuropc's shooting stats. says: 'I think it is a good \\a_\' to work. 'l'hc Idca Is that it is as closc to [cut litc as _\Hll can possibly bc. Also. bccausc hc likcs to usc non-actors. it hclps to kccp thcm h‘csh