INDEPENDENTS DAY

STARBURST catches up with Rodeo Strange, who owns the production company Rodeax alongside Daniel Lee. Their latest feature THE GREAT CHARADE is hitting the festival circuit in 2020.

- Martin Unsworth

STARBURST: What made you want to make movies?

Rodeo Strange: Storytelling is something we each hold very dear to us. We are both avid readers and find that we naturally bounce off of each other incredibly well when crafting stories. I first began making films when I was around eight years old, creating a series of animations about an adventurous orangutan, and have been on a reasonably steady trajectory from there. I began freelancing when I was still in school and became very involved in Oxford’s filmmaking scene, not only producing videos for clients but also taking part in courses delivered by the likes of the BFI and BAFTA. It was only logical that I ended up attending a film school in Oxford, which was where I met Dan.

Dan came to film by a fairly roundabout route. Initially, he was the lead guitarist of a rock band and succeeded in not only winning them numerous radio plays and headline spots at gigs, but he also managed to secure them a shining record deal. Unfortunately, several members of the band promptly quit, claiming that signing with a record company would be ‘too much work’. As a result, Dan decided to pursue audio engineering, which is how he wound up meeting me. Over the last five years, we’ve produced several different projects together, and through that journey, Dan discovered that his passion lay in storytelling. Thus, by the time we came to shoot The Great Charade, it made sense to co-direct.

What was the inspiration for The Great Charade?