Building our fame for film and football
What’s that old saying? You can take the lad out of Tyneside but you can’t take Tyneside out of the lad. Amy Hunt caught up with Steve Bowden, the Benwell-born film producer who is putting Newcastle on the map.
Behind an unmarked blue door next to a charity shop on a city centre street hides the office of Vita Nova Films.
“A film company?” I hear you cry. “In Newcastle?” Well yes, as it turns out, our little city is a hive of film-making activity.
And the brains behind Vita Nova, Steve Bowden, is determined to put his beloved Toon on the international map.
Steve, 34, who is best known for his 2004 film School for Seduction, spent 125 hours flying around the globe last year, promoting his latest projects. But despite him notching up the air miles, his heart remains firmly set in Grainger Town sandstone.
Born in Fenham and brought up in Benwell, Steve spent his childhood climbing trees, falling off walls and dreaming of becoming a stuntman, inspired by Harrison Ford’s exploits in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
His mum was a nurse and his dad a painter and decorator, and he went to Canning Street school, off Elswick Road, the same school as Tim Healy, then Rutherford High on the West Road.
A working class lad from Benwell, he says he’s a great believer in the state school system and later he cut his film- making teeth at the North East Media Training Centre in Pelaw.
His first feature film was 1999’s Nasty Neighbours, which starred Ricky Tomlinson and Phil Daniels.
So how did the kid from the Wild West End wind up as an acclaimed film producer?
“Perseverance,” he says. “There’s only a handful of the people I graduated with who are still in the business. The rest I suppose got a proper job, but I always saw this as a proper job.
“I’ve never done anything else, never waited tables or worked in a call centre. I’ve only made films since I was 19.”
“I always wanted to be in film as long as I can remember. I saw Indiana Jones as a child and wanted to be a stuntman, but I very much wanted to make films as well."
“I’ve always been stubborn about doing what I wanted, since I was a kid. I was brought up to believe I could do anything, people had belief in me and I was encouraged to pursue my dreams.”
“It wasn’t always easy - there were times when I couldn’t even afford a loaf of bread and when I thought “is this really what I want to do?” I started making films at 19, but no one took me seriously until I was 27.
“But I couldn’t see any reason why I couldn’t do it, just because I was from Newcastle. Why not? It’s not some kind of middle class game, anybody can do it.”
Since he spends his time jetting around the world, one assumes it would have been easy for Steve to move abroad, go to Hollywood and have a crack at living the Tinseltown life. But then, why would he want to do that, when everything he needs is right here on Tyneside?
“Newcastle’s always been my home, that’s why I love having my offices here,” he says. “I can see the Grainger Market from the window, where I used to go with my Nana when I was a kid.
“From a cinematic point of view it’s beautiful, it really is. We’re set in this valley with the Tyne, the shipyards.
“I spend a lot of time in other countries - Germany, Hungary, Bulgaria, Austria and now the USA, but I always come back here. And I’m always keen to bring other people to Newcastle. People comment on how beautiful it is.”
“It’s wonderful, it feels like a very cosmopolitan city. It still inspires me. I think as a city it’s still to be exploited form a film point of view.”
Steve sees his upbringing in the West End as a great advantage in making films ordinary people can relate to.
“I’m a working class lad who grew up in Benwell,” he says. “I know the people who are buying cinema tickets because I’m one of them. School For Seduction was set in Newcastle and was very much related to the people of Newcastle.
“I remember the West End of Newcastle very fondly. I though it was a great place to live, full of excitement and opportunity. I would love to do a film there, about growing up in the West End.”
And he hopes Newcastle’s future as a centre for film making can be secured, with a bit more encouragement and a bit more cash.
“There’s a few of us producers who have been around for few years, but I’m still surprised at the amount of new names I see. Skills are building every year."
“It’s potentially the best place to make films, but we need to make more in order to build up skills and we could do with a big injection of cash. I’m always looking for projects that can be shot here or edited here."
“I would like to see a situation where when you mention Newcastle people think of film as well as football.“
This year Steve, who now lives in Ryton, with his wife, writer and director Sue Heel, flew the black and white flag at his sixth Cannes Film Festival. It was his first as head of Vita Nova Films, after he recently branched out on his own. He spent eight years as joint MD of another company Ipso Facto Films, based on Pink Lane. This Cannes was my busiest but best one,” he says. “It’s different every time as you’re working your way up the pecking order. It was kind of strange because I’ve been working under a different banner for so many years, but it was quite refreshing and invigorating.
“I’m pursuing projects that really get me excited and film makers, that I want to work with. It’s given me the opportunity to concentrate on those.”
And the future is looking bright, if busy, for the ambitious producer. He is working with Hungarian director Janos Edelenyi on Prima Primavera, and with director Milan Cieslar on Czech Made. And Vita Nova will also be producing his wife Sue’s next feature film.
“My slate’s probably booked up for the next two years. I’m really excited. The next film I’m doing, Pania, will be in New Zealand…”
His voice trails off, his mind’s off travelling the world. But something tells me he’ll be back on Tyneside before long.
Comedy was top hit
Steve Bowden’s former company, Ipso Facto Films, had its biggest success with the Ł2.5m School For Seduction.
The Tyneside-based comedy, released in 2004, starred Kelly Brook, as sultry Sophia Rosselini , an Italian temptress, passing on her seduction techniques to Geordie lasses.
School for Seduction proved a box office smash in North East cinemas, selling out its first three days of release at Newcastle’s Odeon.
The film, which also starred Auf Wiedersehen Pet’s Tim Healy, and Gateshead newcomer Jessica Johnson, also found plaudits in the USA.
An array of stars, including Kelly Brook, her partner Billy Zane and footballer Paul Gascoigne, turned out for the premiere at the Gate.
Further information
Prima Primavera Official Website
www.primaprimavera.com
