Filmmaker Statement

I first read Thomas’ De Quincey’s Confessions of an English Opium-Eater when I was 18 years old. De Quincey’s work was greatly influential and is commonly cited as launching the fascination with drug use that has occupied numerous artists and writers, from Baudelaire to Burroughs. In 2005 my cousin, Sacha, died from a heroin overdose. I have never been anti-drug use, but ever since his death I find that artwork glamourising hard drug use touches a raw nerve. In many ways I love a lot of art that has stemmed from drugs, but I also know that hard drugs took my cousin from this world. Although I didn’t realise it at the time, I believe that I wrote Confessions of an English Ant-Eater, at least in part, as a way of processing Sacha’s death - I took issues of great weight and complexity and created a simple cautionary tale about the dangers of addiction. But this story is not simply about the dangers of addiction, but also the desire to explore the unkown, despite the risks.