Write Club x Soho Works - 04 Mike Figgis

Write Club is a community of creatives that come together to write and share work. Whether writing is your career, art, self-care or lifelong unrealised dream, we create a space to explore, experiment and deepen your writing practice. On the last Monday of every month at a different Soho Works location, Write Club spends an intimate evening together writing, hearing from an industry leading writer and sharing our words in a welcoming and supportive environment. Write Club is anchored in retreats, supper clubs and digital meet-ups all designed to establish a routine of writing, inspire confidence and create a community for what can sometimes feel like a solo profession. No previous writing experience is required to attend our sessions or join us. Over time and in collaboration with attendees, Write Club X Soho Works will expand to include outcomes such as publications, films, events and retreats. Soho Works X Write Club is free to attend for all Soho Works members. No previous writing experience is required to attend our sessions. Food and drink is provided. If you have any questions about the event please get in touch. _______ In the April's edition of Write Club x Soho Works we were joined by the Oscar nominated director and screenwriter Mike Figgis. Mike was born in Carlisle before moving to Kenya. Relocating to Newcastle as a teenager, he played in rock bands with the likes of Bryan Ferry. Moving down to London he studied music – which led Mike to join the performance group - THE PEOPLE SHOW. For the next 10 years they toured the world and it is during this time that Mike acknowledges he learned everything about theatrical technique. After an abortive attempt to study film, Mike left the People Show to form his own multi media group and began to make films in a Performance Art Genre. REDHEUGH (1980), Slow Fade (1982) and Animals of the City (1984) were critically acclaimed and led to Mike entering the film world. STORMY MONDAY was his first feature film and shortly afterwards Mike made the move to Hollywood where he directed Richard Gere in INTERNAL AFFAIRS (1989) and composed the film's score. After three films and some studio conflicts, Mike decided to break away from the mainstream with LEAVING LAS VEGAS (1994) for which he received two Oscar nominations. An early pioneer of digital technology and its power to demystify modern filmmaking Mike (a renowned film theorist) has written several books on the subject. ‘Digital film making’ & ‘The 36 Dramatic Situations for Film’ ( a film-focused version of Georges Polti's seminal book. His film TIMECODE was the first feature film to be shot entirely in one take and significantly changed the language of contemporary film narrative. After 15 years in Hollywood, Mike felt it was time for change and moved back to London to focus on a wider range of genres as well as continuing his ongoing experiments with film narrative. Figgis is one of the most innovative and iconoclastic writer directors working in cinema today creating new films, both for the mainstream and experimental world. Most recently, Mike completed a documentary about Rolling Stones guitarist, Ronnie Wood ('SOMEBODY UP THERE LIKES ME ). More recently, Mike directed a feature film in Hong Kong during Covid, MOTHER-TONGUE due to be realised in 2022. He is currently in pre productions on two film projects and is in the final stages of releasing to two albums.