How Family Influences Led Antonia to Life in Film

It’s not hard to see how Antonia Cowan (22), a graduate of South Eastern Regional College’s Northern Ireland Film and Television School, ended up making movies. The young film-maker, whose first full length feature, Tersus, recently premiered at the HER International Film Festival, credits her family influence for her life in film.

Antonia, youngest in the Cowan household with siblings Peter and Manus, grew up with film. She says, “My parents, Roisin and Tom, loved film and had a big influence on all of us, not only in what we watched - from old black and white movies to world cinema – but in making our own films. It seems we were no age when dad had us out with a camera making, scripting and directing our own wee films with our cousins. I have great memories of doing that when we were kids. We would all have roles to play, in front and behind the camera.

She adds, “My brothers Peter and Manus were older than me and later on, they certainly influenced what I got to see. No princess movies for me, but something a bit more action packed and maybe even a little too dark for my age, but no harm done, and I certainly feel it has impacted my tastes in film.

Antonia, who is in her first year of Ulster University’s BA in Cinematic Arts, said, “I went to Ulidia Integrated College in Carrick and had a fantastic teacher, Mrs Mercer, for my A Level in Moving Image where I made The Bracelet, a psychological thriller, which won the Creative Award for the year. I knew from that point what I wanted to do.

“I suppose I was expected to go straight to uni after my A levels but that route didn’t seem to offer the ‘amazing courses’ I was expecting, or was willing to leave home, only to be disappointed. I knew I did not want to do something too academic, what I really yearned was the experience of making a film with other people. So, not finding what I was after, I decided to take a year off, I went to Crete with my brother, Manus. The plan was for to get jobs, but of course we didn’t speak a word of Greek between us. Instead, we spent 5 months exploring Greek islands – it was a brilliant experience.

“It was my mum Roisin who discovered the HNC in Creative Media Production at SERC and encouraged me to apply and from there I progressed to the HND. This was the route for me. I was able to gain valuable production experience and the classes are small, so you bond really quickly and are bouncing all these ideas off each other; the lecturing team, Alison and Pete, are dedicated and come from the industry, it was invigorating.

Speaking about Tersus and how it came about Antonia said, “The HND course at SERC is very hands on. From day one, you are being taught to industry standards, so you know what to expect when you join the industry. My film Tersus is a result of the teaching at SERC. Everyone in the class has to ‘pitch’ an idea and mine was selected. We were lucky in that one of our classmates had a house in Spain which he offered for location. So from September to December last year we were all working towards shooting the film in January 2020 - script writing, prop planning, costumes, shot lists, organising equipment, booking flights and sorting customs, basically everything we would need to be ready to shoot a film, abroad, over a long weekend. We worked 15 hour days, it was gruelling, but everyone was excited and focussed on their role. We even had a behind the scenes crew make a documentary about making the film.

“Tersus is a psychological thriller. Without giving too much away it is about a man who cleans up for mobsters and what happens when he is faced with his own conscience.

“The film was essentially female led, which is why it was selected for the HER International Film festival where it was nominated for the Jury Award and Best First Time Female Filmaker Award. One of the lead characters, Jane McLaughlin, was also Assistant Director and Samantha Davies looked after Sound; Rebecca Harrison played another character and was part of the behind the scenes crew. Of course there were plenty of men involved with Stephen Parker on Camera, Josh Bell, Co-writer and Cinematographer and Colin Bloomer in the lead role as the Cleaner.

The film was also selected for the Black Box Film Devour Festival and has been submitted for the Richard Harrison International Films Festival.

Antonia added, “Tersus is a film which is not expected from a female in what is a predominately male industry. I think it is so important to get out there and make the films that I want to make; the ones that I want to watch and enjoy.

On plans, Antonia concluded, “Right now, I am concentrating on my degree in Cinematic Arts at Ulster University. I am ready for it now but don’t think I would be enjoying it as much if it had not been for the HNC/HND route I took at SERC. I have a wealth of industry experience and I am just getting started.”

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