Filmmaking was inherently in Carl Medland from a young age. He grew up in Barnstaple, North Devon England. He would create short films with his brothers and sister. He would then deliver video films on VHS cassette into the farming communities for people who had no access. Matter of fact, he was the first person in North Devon to have a satellite dish this was because he wanted to have access to films. He remembers the first film it was broadcast on Premier of Project X with Matthew Broderick.
Medland has a diverse background in choreography, acting and directing. The one consistent through his artistic career has always been a storyteller. Writing has been his main outlet of expression. In school, his ideas and imagination were wild and vivid.
He wrote the award-winning film, The Spiritualist.” where he portrays the common ground between mental illness and spirituality. This is a personal mission for Medland. His Partner has mental illness. He describes the impact it has had on their home life and it depicts the real horror of living with something pre-and post diagnoses. “The Spiritualist” has great performances by Julie T Wallace from the “Fifth Element” and James Bond fame, Ian Reddington from the “Highlander”, and Jasmyn Banks from “EastEnders”, and Jane Merrow from the Lion in Winter.
Medland also wrote and directed, “The Cost of Love.” “The 2010 film was unique because it was true of incidents which were taking place in Greenwich that year. “It was as if I held a mirror to the gay community and said look at yourselves.” “The film needed to be authentic and know its purpose while being able to connect to its represented communities.” “I love to challenge people’s common beliefs and competencies and I love to show how cinema can be a powerful medium to educate mindsets and to take them on a journey of escapism.”
This year “The Spiritualist” won “Best Feature Film” in the New York Screenplay Film Festival and also in Belfast for “Best Horror Film” and “Best Cinema Photography.” It also won in the Unrestricted View Horror Film Festival for “Best Actress” Jasmyn Banks. It has been released in 33 cinemas in Turkey.
“I like to always put my audience at the heart of everything I do. I like my films to challenge their thinking and to make them in an active view. I don’t like films that are spoon fed where the audience mindset is passive.”
“Paranormal Farm” parts one and two have just been released on Amazon. He works with non-actors and is shot on his mobile phone and is in the style of found footage. The plot is very immersive. It is about an iPlayer Paranormal Investigator searching the disappearance of a Farmer’s daughter. The viewers will feel as if they are holding the mobile phone and embarking on an isolated journey for themselves.
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