The journey of this project began in 2016 when former students of Media and Film Studies from SFX Sixth Form College in Clapham were invited by their teacher Suraj Pillai to form a creative group tasked with writing a story for a independent feature-length film. Intent on bringing their experiences of growing up in London to the screen, the story they devised reflected the issues that the group felt strongly about: mental health, criminal exploitation, absent parents, sisterhood, addiction and the emotional burden of grief. Pillai also wanted the project to be a platform to promote underrepresented groups, including females and young people from BAME backgrounds. The group, featuring Joe Douglas, Isa Ceesay, Shona Phillips and Faisal Dacosta, who would later play the role of Eli in the film, became the starting point of a project that would eventually span 8 years, involve over 150 contributors and become the first independent British feature film based on an original story to be made entirely by a secondary school community.
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After moving to St Michael's Catholic College in Bermondsey as the Head of Film & Media Studies, Pillai pitched the concept of making the film to the principal Ms Corcoran and the governors of the school. He set up Little Tree Productions as a vehicle for the film and the project was given the green light by the school in the autumn of 2018. Much of the equipment employed in the production belonged to the school, including the Canon 6D Mark II camera that was used to shoot the entire film. "I wanted to make this cinematic but on the smallest possible budget," recalls Pillai. "There really wasn't much money available. The little we had was spent on filming permits, travel costs, insurance and catering. No one was getting paid and we were all doing this alongside our full-time commitments so we had to be resourceful. But that challenge made the project even more exciting. It forced us to be more creative in how we planned the production."
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After co-producers Helen Sett-Wong and Rachel Marangozov joined the team, lead and supporting actors were auditioned in the autumn of 2018. Almost all of the cast were students of St Michael's at the time and all were non-professional actors. For many of them, this was their first experience of acting. Leia Wasike-Ginn had just joined the sixth form at St Michael's, studying A level Drama and English. Year 8 pupil Layla Przeklasa was cast as her half-sister and the supporting actors were all Year 7 and 8 students at the time. Teachers were also invited to participate and Lisa Casey, Dennis Nwandison, Nathan Cook, Natascia Brown and Claire Coutain all stepped up to challenge. "In keeping with the traditions of social realism, Suraj wanted actors who would play themselves, roles they undertook in their real lives as teachers and students," said Marangozov, "I think we did that. Every level of the school is represented in the cast: support staff, senior management, classroom teachers and their wonderful cleaner Rita."
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In early 2019 the production crew for the film was formed. Students of Media Studies from St Michael’s were invited to take up work experience placements to develop their skills in film production and learn from the more experienced members of the team. Macy Djelal took on the role of production assistant, Carlos Goncalves was recruited as camera assistant, while Darcy Scott, Andrea Andretta and Nikoletta Varga undertook the role of sound recordists. All five later became editors of the film. Other crew members included Pillai's former SFX students Joe Douglas, the Director of Photography, and Production Designer Isa Ceesay. Former SFX and St Michael's student Pedro Nascimento also joined the project in 2019 as 1st Assistant Director. "I had taught all of these young people over several years so I knew what they could bring to the project," said Pillai. "They really stepped up and I was so impressed by their commitment and enthusiasm. Seeing my students become masters of the craft has been so rewarding, an absolute joy."
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Filming began during half term of May 2019, with most of the school scenes shot during this week. Other staff members from the St Michael's community also brought their skills and expertise to the project at this time with props designed by Peter McCarthy and set design by Rachel Evans. The exam hall and playground scenes required the largest number of background actors while the basketball courts were used as the exterior for the estate where the sisters live. The hospital scenes were also created in the school by converting an office and designing some convincing signage. Other locations included St John's church in Stanmore, the river Lea in Tottenham, Finsbury Park and several sites around Brighton. "Isa's mother kindly let us use her boat," said co-producer Marangozov. "We had to hire a coach for the shoot in Brighton and the Land Rover, which is in several scenes, was used to move the crew and equipment around to all the different locations. That's where a large chunk of our budget went but it was definitely worth it."
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While most of the principal photography was completed in 2019, the production of 'Mule' had to be paused during the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021. As soon as it was safe to do so, the crew returned to St John's in Stanmore to shoot the exterior church scenes. B-roll and establishing shots in and around north London were filmed in the summer of 2021 and in May 2022 the cast and crew celebrated at the film's official wrap party, bringing a close to three years of filming. "It was a huge milestone."explains Sett-Wong. "The pandemic was a devastating time for so many. Some of our cast and crew lost close family members and friends during that time and it put so much into perspective, including the production. We figured that if we could get through a global pandemic, we had to get this film finished."
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Returning to the project as editors, Nikoletta Varga, Macy Djelal, Darcy Scott, Andrea Andretta, Carlos Goncolves were joined by another of Pillai's former students Pedro Labazuy to complete the post-production of 'Mule'. For nine months, every Saturday morning, Pillai's classroom at St Michael's became the editing suite for 'Mule'."The dedication of these young people was so humbling."said Pillai. "They brought an energy to the process that I couldn't have found anywhere else. Most of them had been a part of this project from the very beginning so it felt right that they had the most influence on the final cut of the film." As the edit gathered momentum, music teacher Dave Laurence wrote, performed and recorded several pieces for the film, including the title track 'Christina's Theme'. The project was also gifted permission to use four tracks by hip hop collective Pyraminds Crew. "The inner city scenes needed an edge and the music by Pyraminds Crew was just what we were looking for. We are so grateful to the band for allowing us to use their music."
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On Saturday 29th June, family and friends, colleagues and students of St Michael's Catholic College were invited to a private screening of 'Mule' at Brixton Ritzy Picturehouse cinema. The screening was followed by a Q&A session with actor Devonte Sackity, Joe Douglas (Director of Photography & Colourist), Pedro Nascimento (1st Assistant Director) and Nikoletta Varga (Editing Supervisor).
