Where did the idea for the film come from?

I knew I wanted to question the extent to which we ever truly know anybody's genuine intentions from the flashes of action we actually perceive. In addition, I am fascinated by the symbolic, highly individual rituals that accompany final farewells, especially the power of such rituals to cleanse us of a host of emotions.

As both a twin myself and with a twin specialist for a mother, I have always been seeped in a vast range of true and fictionalised accounts of the drama that can surround twins and their precarious yet special bonds. There was plenty of provocative material here to house a backdrop for the themes of the film.

Has your brother seen the film? What did he think?

I think he was initially a little reluctant to watch it. I guess he was unsure as to how I might deal with such an integral issue for both of us, living as we always have with others' views of us as a duo, rather than two separate individuals. But he has recently watched it, and I think he genuinely understood the relationship the film explored better than most others could.

How was the experience of shooting on location?

We knew we needed to find somewhere truly special to shoot, providing the bleak, isolated look of the film (a real character in the film), and satisfying a wide range of practical requirements. Following numerous trips across the whole of the South East England, we focussed in on the village of Boyton on the Suffolk coast, finally finding the perfect spot.

The shooting days were very challenging. Alongside pre-dawn starts and post-dark finishes, we faced the usual delights of English weather torrential rain followed by sunshine followed by clouds followed by hail. As a result, the sole path leading to the set quickly became a mud bath, and eventually we had to cope with one van stuck in the mud and two cars in a ditch! Fortunately, there were enough brief moments of calm to get the film made. It was never a boring set!

How did you achieve the specific look and feel of the film?

Our DoP David and I were very clear that the story needed to happen at dusk, so we were aiming for a dark blue magic hour look, with a very subtle darkening as the film progresses. On our budget, we had to rely entirely on natural light to achieve the look, and we therefore had very short windows of time to get all our crucial set-ups completed. Without David's drive and skill, we would never have managed to even get close to completion.

In terms of the camerawork, I never wanted a shaky handheld style, which would have distracted from the crisp stillness of the film and the location. However, I wanted freedom and a quick working method but smoother than 'verite' style, in keeping with the restraint of the film. David pulled this off much better than I expected possible, consistently finding perfect frames within the tight constraints of our shooting.

Can you talk about the post-production process, including the music?

Editing the film was a fantastic experience. Despite our on-set fears, we ended up with a lot of great material to work with, and, after an intense 72 hours locked away in sweltering heat, we had our first (and practically final) cut ready.

However, the film did require extensive grading to perfect it and clean up some of the effects of shooting knee-deep in mud in the middle of a river! I have been blown away by the skill and flair of Jack and Ed, our colourists, who worked long and hard to finish the film, and achieved such amazing standards on such a miniscule budget.

Sound design was crucial for making this film come alive. Neil Spencer Bruce (sound designer and composer) and I had discussed the sound texture before shooting, and our excellent sound recordist Kieron managed to collate a wealth of location sounds to give Neil ample material to pull apart and adjust. Ultimately, Neil intuitively grasped the "less is more" approach needed for the film, and, in my opinion, it is impossible to deny the power of the film's sound, which subtly captures both the bleakness and the intensity of our story.

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