The stories of I Am (Tuesday at 10pm on COSMO) could be every woman’s story, and at the same time they are about unique women. Toxic relationships, the pressures of society and expectations, the pain of betrayal… Everyday stories for everyday women who become everyday heroes. The British director and screenwriter Dominic Savage is responsible for this production, which has a different storyline in each chapter and in which he has implemented a particular collaborative creation system that gives the actresses a prominent place in front of and behind the screen.
The lecture comes four days after being awarded “I Am Ruth” (each chapter is titled with the name of its protagonist), the only episode of the show’s third season to win the Bafta for Best Dramatic Chapter and Kate Winslet for Best actress has received . for said episode, in which the actress’ real-life daughter plays the teenage daughter of the protagonist, who is obsessed with social media. “That’s a great claim because every season there have been Bafta nominations. It’s great because it makes you want to keep doing it.” To talk about the origins of this series, Savage harks back to his film The Pursuit of Happyness (2017), starring Gemma Arterton. To write their screenplay, the director and actress met to discuss what they wanted to tell, and she brought in ideas drawn from her own experience. “I found it very refreshing to do a film from a woman’s point of view. There were men, but it wasn’t their story, it was theirs. I liked this way of working with the actors. We didn’t portray it as a feminist film, but in a way it was.” In the end, he was so pleased with the experience that he wanted to repeat it. “This way of writing a story for a woman seemed new to me, I haven’t seen any other drama done this way. Many great actresses have approached me to do this work. They brought their ideas and we made films out of them.” Or actually 50 minute episodes.
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Such is the involvement of the actresses in the “I Am” stories that the protagonist of each episode is signed on as screenwriter along with Savage. For each chapter, he meets up with the actress – a cast of big British names including Samantha Morton, Lesley Manville, Vicky McClure, Suranne Jones and the aforementioned Kate Winslet – to brainstorm ideas. “Sometimes they’ve already thought about an area that interests them, other times it pops up in conversation and most often it’s that it’s related to something that interests us both equally.” But it’s important that there are themes that affect them.” An example Savage gives: Vicky McClure, protagonist of the first episode “I Am Nicola”, about a woman in a toxic relationship, experienced a similar situation as her character.
Vicky McClure, star of “I Am Nicola”.
After these previous meetings, he creates the screenplay while the conversations between the two continue. “We think together all the elements of the story that we add. It’s a fantastic way to work. I’m not entirely sure, but I don’t think anyone else would do it that way. “It’s a very equitable and trust-based process,” Savage continues. This work in close collaboration does not end when filming begins, but during the recording they also adjusted certain aspects of the stories or the dialogues with a lot of improvisation.
According to Savage, the actresses welcome the proposal with open arms knowing how deeply involved they will be in the creative process. “I’ve heard a lot of stories of actresses having to do scenes they don’t agree with, but they can’t change because they’re there to do that job and that scene. If my scene doesn’t work for them or they’re not happy with something, we don’t do it and try something different. It’s about giving the power back to the actor, they have a say in the way we do it. I also think it feels different when you look at it because it’s the woman’s perspective, her mind, her heart and her feelings. “A lot of women who have seen the show feel represented in a way that they don’t have in other dramas,” recalls the director-writer.
Samantha Morton, in the episode “I Am Kirsty”.
I Am differs not only in the conception, but also in the implementation. The naturalistic, documentary-like style with which Savage has shot the seven episodes produced so far is no coincidence. “I come from a documentary background and I like the freedom that comes with it. There aren’t any settings to adjust to like in dramas. I also like to shoot very quickly and this style gives me a lot of freedom in every scene. It allows the actors not so much to act as to almost be these people. We shot in real places and I try to make them places where you can imagine real people who lived in that house had almost the same experience. “I like aligning the universes we’re shooting in with the story,” he adds of his visual style.
The unique creative process initiated by Dominic Savage has resulted in a first class cast of which the director is immensely proud. “I’ve been doing drama for a long time and I find it very actor-centric. There’s a noticeable difference in terms of performance: they’re a lot more real, and I think that’s something the actors are drawn to.
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