[PREMIERE] GWILYM LEWIS-BROOKE’S A LETTER TO MY FATHER
The Gwilym Lewis-Brooke Interview: Gwilym Lewis-Brooke has long been a defining force behind the high-octane visuals of the London music scene. As the co-founder of Roll Out LDN, his career began with Tim & Barry, capturing the raw energy of MCs and DJs before transitioning into a sought-after music video director. However, his latest project, a letter to my father, sees him stepping away from the polished conventions of the genre to embrace a more intimate, narrative-driven form of filmmaking.
The short film is a candid, cinema verité portrait of Checky, an exceptional musician from the Craig Town neighbourhood of Jamaica. What started as a trip to direct a Vybz Kartel video evolved into a month-long immersion within the 1 Strapp community. Driven by the raw emotion of Checky’s music—specifically a track dedicated to the loss of his father—Lewis-Brooke captured a story that transcends borders, exploring themes of grief, rebirth, and the unbreakable bonds of community.
Shot with a DIY spirit on handheld cameras and fuelled by the natural humour and resilience of the local residents, a letter to my father marks a significant evolution in Lewis-Brooke’s directorial journey. We sat down with him to discuss the making of the film, the “narrative circle” of fatherhood, and his transition toward feature-length storytelling.
You’ve built a massive reputation for high-octane music visuals. What made you choose a letter to my father as the vehicle to explore a more narrative, short-film format?
Thank you and thanks for featuring the film in VIPER. I’ve always been obsessed with cinema from a young age and I started my career as a teenager with Tim & Barry filming loads of incredible MCs and DJs from the London music scene and beyond. This pushed my love of combining film and music, and meant I could develop relationships with artists and go on to direct music videos.
What really interests me is the real stories behind the artists. As much as I like the genre conventions of Rap and Rap music videos, I’ve always tried to put a twist on them, add some tongue in cheek humour to it, some self-reflection to the glamour. This film actually came about because I went to Jamaica to direct a Vybz Kartel music video for my good friends Chris and Duane who run Star Work Music. For a number of reasons, it took a while to organise and my fixer Mattis, who was such a legend and helped so much with making this film, asked if I was cool to go and chill with his boys, a crew called 1 Strapp from Craig Town.
So, we drove over there and as we turned into the main street Mattis was beeping his horn at everyone and people were coming over to the car to chat to him, and the place just instantly inspired me with its colourful murals and characters. We ended up chilling every day for a month there, just hanging out, and they were really nice to me and welcomed me into their community. Creating this real relationship and bond allowed me to capture this candid portrait of them and one of their members, the exceptional musician Checky.
How did the concept for a letter to my father come together?
So, one evening when we were chilling, a guy called Checky came out and set up a boom box and mic and started performing. And immediately I was blown away by how good the music was and that all his friends knew every word. There was one song in particular, that was about the loss of his father, that really touched me. So afterwards I spoke with him about it and asked if I could make a film about him and his neighbourhood.
Checky is very honest and candid in his songs about the pain he has suffered and I think it is brave to put such raw emotions into your art. I think everyone can relate to losing someone close to them and even if they haven’t lost their father there will always be strong emotions attached to that relationship. So that was the starting point.
And then, this is why you have to be patient and let things happen in their own time, due to this film being completely independent it took me a while to finish as I had to do other work in between to pay the bills. So then last year when I was finishing it, I spoke with Checky again and did some follow up interviews with him. And it turned out that he himself was now a father. So I felt that that completed the narrative circle beautifully.
How did you ensure the film felt authentically Jamaican while still maintaining your signature Gwil Doe directorial stamp?
When I make films, I am more interested in exploring the similarities that we share rather than focusing on the differences. With Checky and 1 Strapp I really connected with their humor. They tell jokes and play tunes the same as people do every day here on the streets or estates or whatever. But as I got to spend more time with them, I was also moved at what a close-knit family they were, and how they all supported each other. Which was extra necessary with Craig Town having issues with violence and them all experiencing losing loved ones.
So, the themes being explored were to do with community and grief but through the lens of music and humor. Because I feel that a lot of times when we see work exploring these themes there is a habit to lean towards the tragic and ignore the joy and lives that are carrying on. It was always very important to me that the film works as a vessel to show Checky’s music to a wider audience. That’s why I keep cutting back to him performing as this is what was so powerful to me, and inspired me to make the film, so I had to make sure the audience can hear and feel that too.
In terms of making this specific to Jamaica though, I would say that comes from it being a very candid cinema Verité style piece. It was all shot with the real people in the place where they lived so everything is genuine. There are no staged scenes or art direction etc. I don’t think I even had any lights. So, it is raw in that sense but hopefully feels authentic for the people involved and the audience.
In the film, Checky speaks on losing his father and becoming a father himself. How did this narrative influence the title of the film?
Checky becoming a father was important to the narrative and the title that reflects this. Because there is a sort of rebirth to it, the cycle of life. Even though he was not able to grow up with his father, and missed him, and felt a lot of pain due to this, in becoming a father himself he can now give his son what his dad was unable to give him. It is also emblematic of his journey of growth and going from being a boy who has lost his father to a man that has a son. As we grow up, we are able to write our own stories and decide our own lives. We don’t have to remain stuck in the trauma of our upbringing. And I think Checky’s character personifies this.
What were the standout moments of filming a letter to my father?
For me the thing that most stands out is the relationships I built with everyone in 1 Strapp and Craig Town. We had a lot of fun together making the film and I still speak to them. One specific highlight was the whole neighborhood coming out to watch Checky perform his show that is featured in the film. People of all ages were there from little babies to grandparents, and everyone knew all the words to his songs. It really felt like Checky was a spokesperson for the community through his music and that everyone felt very connected to it.
You shot the film on 35mm, what camera did you use to film?
I actually shot on multiple formats for the film. I did a photo series of 1 Strapp that acts as an accompaniment to the film and I exhibited last year. All these photos were shot on 35mm on my Nikon FM2. But the film was actually shot on a small handheld Sony camera and a mini dv camera. There was no budget for any of the filming so I just used the few bits of my personal kit that I had brought with me to Jamaica. But it was a good lesson in realising that if you find a story worth telling it doesn’t matter what you shoot it on, just film it.
The sound was recorded on a zoom recorder with a mic attached and different people from 1 Strapp would hold it and help me record sound on different days, depending on who was about. It actually made the process really fun as the people in the film also helped make the film with Llama Strapp, who is Chef in the film, acting as 1st AD shouting, “quiet on set please! Camera rolling. Action!” before every take, which made everyone crease. Then to finish the piece a good mate Cashino made it all sound beautiful and Dan Levy at Rascal did an outstanding job on the grade.
Did any challenges come with shooting on this format in a tropical setting?
I shot in August and it was very hot there. I’d kindly had a flat arranged for me to stay in but there wasn’t any air con so I remember just lying awake all night with a fan on and not being able to get much sleep. Apart from that though we just made do with what we had. It was a very organic process, no crew or anyone, just me and the guys working it out as we went along.
Do you see yourself moving towards more narrative-driven, or feature-length storytelling?
Yes, I do for sure. This has been my passion since I was a child and I feel very grateful that I am able to work on projects that I love and mean so much to me. I am currently working on my second documentary. It’s about an armed robber from West London that moves to Brazil’s favelas to make music and start a new life. But, for me, it is also an exploration of gentrification and the loss of community in London, where I’m from. That will be out later this year and then I have some short film ideas that I am excited to start working on. Then after getting more experience I will move into features. It’s just timing and patience, working hard and staying humble, to be able to make the art that I connect with.
What is the one feeling or thought you want the viewer to sit with the moment the credits roll on ‘Letter to My Father’?
I wouldn’t like to tell the audience what to think or feel. I think my role ends once the film is made and then it is for people to make their own minds up about it. I hope though that they take something away from watching the film and entering Checky’s world. And I hope it inspires them to listen to more of his music as he is such a generational talent and people have a lot to gain from it.
What projects have Roll Out LDN been working on since wrapping up ‘Letter To My Father’?
So Roll Out LDN is a project I do with a good friend of mine Farhad. We’re both very passionate about telling interesting stories and he was very supportive of the film and helped me to finish and release it. Now that this is out, we are working on finishing another documentary. As I mentioned, it is about an armed robber from west London who moved to Brazil’s favelas to find musicians to work with and start a new life for himself. Similarly to a letter to my father it focuses heavily on the music and community. That will be out later this year. Then we’ve been working on some scripts too as we want to move into more narrative work. So it’s exciting times and I am grateful and enjoying the journey.
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