Albatross Q&A with star Jessica Brown Findlay and writer Tamzin Rafn

Actress Jessica Brown Findlay had not yet been cast in Downton Abbey - the show she is now recognised for - when she auditioned for the role of Emelia in Albatross. She decided to audition for the role by pretending to be like the character Emelia. When she was cast in the role, they were surprised to find she was actually incredibly shy.

The film was shot on location on the Isle of Man - in the middle of Winter. When asked what she thought of the location, Findlay commented that there was horizontal rain but the people were friendly and the landscape "cinematic". "It comes across so beautifully," she said.

Writer Tamzin Rafn said that when she wrote the scene where Emelia runs into the sea, she imagined it being done in Summer, but was horrified when they shot it on a very cold day. But Findlay cannot take credit for this scene as it was actually filmed by a double - someone a little more accustomed to the cold water.

The racy scenes were a far cry from Findlay's Downton character Lady Sybil but she pulled them off with apparent ease. On snogging her co-star Sebastian Koch, Findlay said that her mother was very jealous - and her dad, well he was less impressed. There is also a lot of swearing in the film, which Rafn admits she was a little suprised by. Some of the cast, she said, ad-libbed and she had to explain to her parents that she didn't put quite that many "fucks" into the script.

Rafn also explained that many changes were made from her original script to the finished product - but ones she seems to be incredibly happy with. When she wrote the script, she made it as funny as possible but it is director MacCormick that she claims added the drama. She and MacCormick also worked closely with actor Sebastian Koch, who feared that Jonathan would come across as nothing more than a pervy old man. He requested more takes to make sure it was just right. Also, Beth was not originally such a major character, but it was decided that she had to be more of an equal to Emelia.

So what is next for Findlay and Rafn? Well Rafn still has her day job and will continue writing in her spare time as she always has (for now at least) while Findlay is off to start filming a new adaption of Kate Mosse's Labyrinth so she'll be going "medieval" with her next project.

Special thanks to Lovefilm for organising such a great screening!

Pictures: Copyright CinemaNX