“Bees Make Honey” is a new movie by Kew Media that is both stylish and seductive—not to mention the company’s debut feature-length film. “Bees Make Honey” is a dark comedy murder-mystery (with modern music) that takes place in a haunted manor in 1934 England. The movie follows the exploits of Honey, a young woman whose is determined to solve the murder of her husband.
Jack Eve is a dual citizen of the United States and England. Having been born in Los Angeles, he grew up around show business and graduated from the RADA (The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) with honors.
His first short Film titled “Death of a Farmer” played at the Dinard Film Festival in France and his second film “Lithgow Saint” was shown at the TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto, Canada, before being acquired by UK’s Curzon Cinemas.
“Bees Make Honey” is Jack’s first full-length movie and it has been shown at Cannes 2018, the Raindance Film Festival, and nominated for two awards at the BIFFF (Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film). Jack recently discussed this film and more via an exclusive interview.
Movies, entertainment, and success
Meagan Meehan (MM): How did you initially get interested in making Movies, for instance, did you grow up around the movie industry in Los Angeles?
Jack Eve (JE): Both of my parents are actors and, although they’re English, I was born in LA because they were working there.
I spent much of my childhood until I was eight in LA and, yes, I was surrounded in school by children of people who were involved in making films and TV both in front of and behind the camera. That was a really nice way to demystify the job and the industry and to realize at a young age that it is something possible to do.
Growing up with parents as actors also meant that entertainment was always a major part of my life.
If both of my parents were working in the theater at the same time and if they were unable to find a babysitter or leave me with my grandma of an evening then I would have to sit in the theater and watch the play; I saw some of my parents play many times. I love the world of entertainment and have always wanted to be involved in it.
MM: How did you break into the film business and how did you manage to achieve such success first with short films and now with “Bees Make Honey”?
JE: I’ve always wanted to make films, so I went to RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts) to train as an actor, where I graduated in 2011. I felt that because of my family it was my responsibility to understand the craft of acting so I could best direct actors. At RADA I met a lot of fantastic actors and creatives who I collaborate within everything I've made I've worked with someone I met at RADA. The most important thing is to just make something, so as soon as I finished, I went about making films. Get as much money as you can, as much equipment as you can and as many professionals or friends as you can and go out and make something.
Nowadays particularly - with camera phones - it's as accessible as ever. It’s all about having a good story and getting out and doing it.
MM: “Bees Make Honey” is a unique and stylish film, so how did the idea for the plot come to you?
JE: I became really interested in the idea of a party being recreated to solve an unsolved crime. I was also really interested in doing something period for two reasons: firstly, because I love the language, and secondly because the period genre is often presented in a very earnest way and I wanted to punk that up a little bit and present it in the debauched and hedonistic way that it also was. And the final piece of the puzzle was inspired by the fact that in pre-World War 2 Britain, Hitler was eyeing up private homes that he planned to own when he invaded.
Honey happens to be an owner of one of these homes and Bees Make Honey tells the story of her figuring out how she can solve the crime and keep ahold of her home...
MM: This movie is a family affair with many of your relatives starring in it, so is it fair to say that you’re an entertainment-oriented family?
JE: Yes absolutely. My brother - George Eve - also provided some of the music for the film. So we were all involved in some way.
Citizenship, film festivals, and thrillers
MM: You are a citizen of the US and the UK, so do you feel that being British by blood has any impact on your creative muse?
JE: I'm really lucky and proud to be able to call myself both British and American. I like to think that I’ve been influenced equally by the two cultures.
The awesome thing about entertainment is that it’s a universal language. “Bees Make Honey” is very much an English film in its narrative and setting. We shot it all in Pinewood studios and, in fact, we’re the first film since the “Carry On” films of the 70’s to do pre-production, production and post-production all at Pinewood, which is a particularly cool cinematic history to share.
MM: What was it like to get accepted into so many film festivals, and then win awards at them?
JE: Festivals are a fantastic place to celebrate all the hard work that so many people have done. You get to meet and make friends with fellow filmmakers and enjoy their films. It's a really fun time. It's also an incredible education because you get to see films that come from all over the world and to learn about different ways of making films.
We were very fortunate to be nominated for several awards, however on this project we didn't walk away with any prizes! It’s all about taking part, that’s the most rewarding and humbling aspect.
MM: What were the big challenges of filming “Bees Make Honey” and how long did it take in all?
JE: We were very low budget, so the lack of money was a major challenge for everyone. We also had scenes that had up to 75 background artists at any given time, so that was tough but very rewarding. I wanted to keep a lot of the scenes flowing in a single, long shot, so we had to rehearse and choreograph everyone’s movements; when these single steadicam takes were successfully achieved we had a real sense of gratification on set.
Everyone cheered and celebrated each other. It was awesome. A lot of filmmaking gets done in bits; you collect shots on set and then piece them together in the edit, but it’s sometimes fun to do a scene in one shot - if it serves the narrative - because you’ve just made a bit of the film right there at the moment with all of the cast and crew present. It’s a moment to share.
MM: Are you working on any other movies now and will you stay rooted in the thriller genre?
JE: Bees Make Honey is very much a genre-bending comedy, mystery, romance. The thriller aspect isn’t too prevalent; however, my next project does fit into the more usual thriller tropes. It’s about a young New York male who discovers a disturbing truth when - encouraged by a TV infomercial - he decides to video himself sleeping.
