“Midwinter Break” Director Polly Findlay Discusses Adaptation

[1:29]Zibby Owens: This is Zibby Owens, and you're listening to Totally Booked with Zibby. Formerly, moms don't have time to read books. In my daily show, I interview today's latest, best selling, buzziest, or underrated authors and story creators whose work I think is worth your time. As a bookstore owner, publisher, author, and obviously podcaster, I get a comprehensive look at everything that's coming out and spend my time curating the best books so you don't have to. Stay in the know, get insider insights, and connect with guests like I do every single day. For more information, go to zibbymedia.com, and follow on Instagram zibby owens. I was lucky enough to host a screening of mid winter break, and I got to interview the director of it, Polly Finley. She is absolutely amazing, a former theater producer turned movie director, and listen to how she conceptualized the whole film, how it was adapted from a novel, and all the rest inside Geek. Enjoy. Welcome, Polly. Thank you so much for coming on Totally Booked. Thanks for talking about your beautiful film Midwinter Break. Congratulations. Thank you so much for having me, and I'm so glad you liked it. I loved it. As I was just saying, I would frame any scene as a photograph on my wall. It was that beautiful. That is so nice of you to say. Thank you very much. That's great. So, actually, we're having a screening tonight when this airs. It will have already happened. But the editor of the book on which the film was based saw my post and is actually coming to the screening.

[3:06]Polly Findlay: Oh, no way. Really? Yes.

[3:09]Zibby Owens: Oh, that's that's quite a big audience member. I'm nervous now. I wanna know what they think. I will let you know. How did this project come to be? Did you read the book and opt like, how did this how did it come to be that this was a beautiful novel turned

[3:23]Polly Findlay: film? Well, actually, as it happens, film four and the producer, Guy Healy, had picked it up a good while before I was on board and they picked it up pre publication and had developed already two drafts of the script by the time that I read it So I had been directing and I've been a theatre director mostly for the last sort of fifteen years or so and Guy I think had seen a couple of shows that I had done at the National Theatre here in London which were also two handers about the impossibility or the difficulty of making contact with somebody even though you might really love them and that were very much about behaviour and very performance based. I think that he thought that that might be a good fit for this particular material. So interesting. And would you mind just explaining a little bit more about the film and what it's really about for people who haven't seen it yet? Of course. So the the film is about Gerri and Stella who are a a Northern Irish couple now living in Glasgow in Scotland, and they have been married for forty years. They very much still love each other but as in so many long term relationships I think there is a sense that for one reason or another they have been drifting apart. There's an increasing distance between the two of them. Stella books a holiday to Amsterdam partly to try and get to the bottom of what this distance might be and during the course of that holiday an event from their past begins to reunfurl itself and to change the emotional the nature of the emotional landscape between them. Beautiful.

[5:06]Zibby Owens: Well, one of the themes I thought of the film was at which Stella says at one point in answer to a different question of what are you doing in Amsterdam? And she says, you know, we haven't got much time left. And I feel like that's another big piece of the story is how do you make meaning out of the time you have left, which is a question so universal that everybody should be asking at one point. Well, how do we make meaning of our lives? What is it all about? Like, is this it? And I feel like she has this sort of later stage questioning and is looking to spirituality, to religion, and sort of grasping around to find the answer. Tell me a little bit about about that and how you portrayed that.

[5:47]Polly Findlay: For sure. For sure. I mean, absolutely. And I think that was one of the things that I was most drawn to. That that sense of exactly what you're describing, I think, is extremely clear in the book and I think was one of the big reasons why I was interested in that is the story. In the book Stella is a teacher of Old English and in the book it says that one of the reasons that she's drawn to Old English is because of the language's ability to move in a blink to the mystical. I think that she is somebody who also has a kind of ability to move in a blink to the mystical, so she is somebody that sees, is conscious of the miracle of daily life. She also has this amazing image where she talks about life being like again with the old English thing like one of those old sort of, I guess, like Viking y dining halls with big doors at either end. And she talks about life being like a bird flies in at one window and flies through and then is gone. It's just the journey of the bird through the building. So there's this sense of life always being on the move, always being ungraspable, always being just ahead of the thing that you can reach or make sense of. Guess that certainly in the book that translates to this amazing sense of longing that runs all the way through it. It's got this real undertow of a sense of somebody yearning for something bigger. And as you say, I think we can all identify with that. There's a bravery in her determination to say, At this stage in my life, I'm going to go for the thing that I think is meaningful. And so many of us don't do that. And I think that's the the heart of what the story is about and and and about certainly, of what Leslie's brilliant performance is about, I think. She was so good. Oh my gosh.

[7:30]Zibby Owens: I mean, just she could just, like, move a muscle. I'm like, does the face have that many muscles? I didn't even realize how many expressions.

[7:37]Polly Findlay: Right? I know. I know. And I mean both of them. Had this sort of joke all the way through filming that I mean because it is a two hander essentially, of course, know, like basically my options when shooting were either point a camera at Lesley or at Kirin or at Amsterdam, and all options were inevitably and consistently excellent. It did certainly make my life much easier.

[8:01]Zibby Owens: Well, the relationship between the two of you and House, there were occasional scenes of them apart where like, at the record store and the bar and, you know, most of the scenes were of them together. But sometimes when they were apart, we got to really understand both sides of the story. And while most of the time, I feel like the viewer is rooting for Stella, right, where, like, in her head a lot, there are a lot of times, especially at that heartbreaking scene at the airport at the end, like, where you really feel like, okay. Well, this is this is what Jerry is feeling too, and it's not always so perfect for either party. And then in one scene where she's talking again about spirituality a little bit and saying how she had believed in this one myth that happened that was in a painting, and she was sort of like, you know, why don't you believe in what I believe? And he was like, but you're not hearing what I'm saying either. Like, I'm entitled to my beliefs too. And it made me stop watching it. Like, yeah, he he is. Like, what do you do when there is that disconnect? How do you bridge that? I don't know. Today's episode is sponsored by Quince. Summer always makes me rethink what I'm reaching for every day. Lighter fabrics, better materials, pieces that just feel good the moment you put them effortless. That's why I keep coming back to Quince. They focus on high quality essentials. Think breathable linen, soft organic cotton, washable silk, but without the luxury markup. It's that rare balance where everything feels elevated, but still easy. Quince has beautiful everyday pieces like 100% European linen pants, dresses, and tops with styles starting at $32. Their denim is soft and easy to wear. I wear my jean jacket all the time. And their organic cotton sweaters are perfect for layering on cool summer nights. Everything at Quince is priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. Quince works directly with ethical factories and cuts out the middlemen, so you're paying for quality, not brand markup. And it's not just clothing. Quince has really become a destination for elevated essentials across home, kitchen, bedding, and beyond, making it easy to bring a more premium feel into everyday life. In addition to my jean jacket, I recently got a white tank top dress with a beautiful cotton skirt that is absolutely gorgeous, and I can't wait for it to be warm enough so I can wear it every day, but it has been a cool spring. Elevate your summer wardrobe. Go to quince.com/zippy for free shipping on your order and three hundred and sixty five day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's quince.com/zibby for free shipping and three hundred and sixty five day returns. Quince.com/zibby.

[12:11]Polly Findlay: Sure, sure, 100%. I think you're absolutely right and I guess you know, I mean when we were making the film and talking to Kieran about Gerry's position, we were always really clear that his position is faith based in exactly the same way. His need to believe that what happened in the past, the outcome of that was determined by something that was rational rather than irrational is no less an article of faith for him. And I guess the film is to some extent about the challenge of and again you know just stepping back from the specifics of this story I think it's something that we can all relate to about how difficult it is sometimes to keep faith in a person when your respective faiths are so different, know, and that's the thing that I think every long term relationship

[12:56]Zibby Owens: will come across at some point in its evolution. Well it also really made me think about that particular age group. Right? They were she must have been in her early seventies or some something like that. Definitely over the 65 because she couldn't get into the other she's too old for something she wanted to do that was 65 and below. So and just how many people are that age and maybe feeling the same thing. And is there something we can do from a societal perspective or something? It just made me think this community needs something more. It should be easier for them to be given the tools that they need. And maybe there's something that we can do, us, you know, younger folk to because we'll be there in a minute too.

[13:38]Polly Findlay: Sure. I mean, absolutely. I mean and and I guess, you know, the the the thing in that that I suppose I find very relatable is this sort of sense of particularly as a woman of that age she spent so much of her time being a mother you know and so much of her identity has been you know that's why to some extent why she hasn't made a change earlier is that she's gone it's my' I think she would phrase it as duty as well as her passion to invest in the lives of her children and now that her son has moved and she doesn't have that kind of physical day to day contact with her child or her grandchild she's sort of looking back at her life and going, oh, is that what I did? Is that what it was? You know? And I and I think that that feels like something that a lot of people I know are going through. It also made me

[14:26]Zibby Owens: want to never reject calls from my parents because Oh, good. That's good. When she calls in the beginning and it goes to voice mail, and she just, like, put down the phone and they were so she was so sad. I was like, oh my gosh. Like, in our busy lives, maybe we don't always pick up the phone. Maybe it's just me. You know No. No. Totally.

[14:47]Polly Findlay: Totally. Again, you know, mean, and this is also very true of the book and it was one of the challenges, I think, in terms of trying to carry it across to making a film. You know, when you look at a situation like that from the outside, the stakes don't seem so high. But when you're the person that's living it and when that's your street view on life somebody not being shown or for Jerry Stellar not taking his hand at the road that's a 10 out of 10 stakes event and that was one of the things that we really wanted to try and get a sense of going into making the film was how these little moments really, really, really matter in the context of a relationship and a a and a life lived. You know? So as a filmmaker,

[15:25]Zibby Owens: how do you approach projects and getting attention to projects when, obviously, the filmgoer has so many demands in their attention? Movie theaters are, like, becoming a thing of the past, and yet here you have this little jewel of a film that should find a a wide audience. And we go through the same thing in publishing. How do you find Yeah. The right audience for your for your creative projects? Like, how do you think about that going forward? Well, you know, I mean, in this case, we again,

[15:55]Polly Findlay: I feel like so much about making this particular project has just been so sort of outrageously fortunate. But we have had Focus features on board right from the beginning. And, of course, there just is nobody better at finding a way of holding that story and the narrative of that story in a kind of wider cultural context but I agree with you I mean I feel like this kind of film is probably quite unusual in the landscape at the moment in that not like the book it doesn't give you a sort of easy out. What we wanted it to be was full of feeling without being sentimental which is not to say that sentimental films are the ones that succeed I don't mean that but I guess it's not a straightforward kind of narrative there's not a moment of instant narrative catharsis which I guess makes things more marketable probably. What we wanted to do was to try and be sort of ruthlessly truthful about the way that those relationships play out in real time or the way that a relationship plays out in real time and hope that that sort of truthfulness was something that would end up speaking to people without us having to say it lives in this particular genre space or something like that. Another

[17:11]Zibby Owens: thing it it made me wanna do is maybe not travel as much. I travel a lot and, like, airport scenes and, like, just the disruption to your life that it brings. I was like, I'm not sure this is such an ad for travel. You know?

[17:25]Polly Findlay: Well, you know, what was great doing it from London was that you can just get on the train to Amsterdam. And I tell you, that that does make it a very a very different experience. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, we did a lot of filming in Schiphol, which was enough to put put anybody off

[17:40]Zibby Owens: airport travel for life. Did they really let you film inside the Anne Frank Museum?

[17:45]Polly Findlay: No. No. And actually, in some ways, I'm sort of glad that they didn't. Were they were very, very supportive and brilliant, they allowed us to film outside, which is not a thing that they always do, I don't think. And I think that there there was you know, they certainly let us go and spend time there and recce it and take everything that we needed to build a replica. But I think quite rightly there is a sense of that building as a sort of almost sacred or religious space. I think that's what we're trying to do in the film, to say that it's like another church in a way, or another kind of religious space. Mean a place that has its own integrity and I think that I would have felt terrible crashing in there with cameras and a crew. So I I I that that was one of the few things that we built and that isn't really.

[18:31]Zibby Owens: I should have known. No. Well, the production line did a really brilliant job, I think, and and it does look just like it. I was I was there. I was in Amsterdam and went there. It must have been three years ago for my in law's wedding. And I was like,

[18:46]Polly Findlay: it looks exactly like it. So I don't know. It is an amazing space, isn't it? Mean, the feeling of walking in there is is like nothing else, really. And, yeah, I don't think I could have forgiven myself if I'd walked in with, like, headphones and a monitor and a thing. It wouldn't it wouldn't have felt like the right thing to do. Drinking coffee and, you know, craft services and and behind the staircase. It's, like, the whole thing. Oh my gosh. So what is your next project after this? Well, I'm not sure if I'm totally allowed to announce every aspect of it but I've written the next one. It's a thriller. So very, very, very different and that's with BBC films and Fable films and Hinterland. So that is a new and yeah, I think we're about to announce it but I probably can't tell you too much more about it just yet. Well, congratulations.

[19:36]Zibby Owens: Well, Polly, I'm I'm I'm a fan. I love your eye for the everyday, for the small moments that matter because that is what life is. It's just made up of those infinitesimal infinitesimal, like, movements and gestures, and that's how we get through our day is interpreting what all of those mean. And that's what this movie does so well.

[19:58]Polly Findlay: Oh, well, thank you. I mean, that really was I mean, what you've just said was sort of entirely my mission statement in going in to make it. So I'm so thrilled that that's what you've got from me. So thank you. That's great. Oh, great. Chuck plus. Exactly. And call me back. Let me do another interview with you.

[20:13]Zibby Owens: All right. Well, you so much. And I'll enjoy this greeting. Can't wait. So nice to meet you. Thank you so much. Take care. Bye bye. Bye. Thank you for listening to Totally Booked with Zibby, formerly moms don't have time to read books. If you loved the show, tell a friend, leave a review, follow me on Instagram at Zippy Owens, and spread the word. Thanks so much. Oh, and buy the books.

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