Ellida

Based upon Henrik Ibsen’s famous play, The Lady From The Sea. It’s set in a timeless period shot south of Norway where Munch painted his masterpiece The Sun. We follow the journey of Ellida’s world of loss, love and passion, heightened with the compositions of Grammy winner Mark Thomas and cinematography of Bafta-nominated Ian James Gray. Leon Mitchell is a British film and television director born in Cambridgeshire, England in 1981. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree in Guildford, Surrey and is a member of the British Film Institute (BFI) and Directors UK. His recent directorial works include the television show Dark Dreamers and the adaptation of the world.

It is our pleasure to interview Katrina Syran, the producer and the lead actress of Ellida. Katrina Syran also known as K-Syran, has seen tremendous success as a singer-songwriter, actress, author, director, and lyricist, not to mention as an impassioned activist for women's rights. As a trained actress at Rada & Guildhall School of Music and Drama, straight out of drama school she got the lead part in the West End.

Her musical career knows no bounds, with previous musical collaborations that include Blue, Sugababes, StoneBridge, and Sebastian Pérez. Her single 'Intimacy' was nominated by the United Nations in the U.K. to be the anthem of international Women's Day, while her album 'Dizzy' has been nominated for several prestigious awards in the U.S. Her self-written play Breaking The Silence won best play at the summit, End Sexual Violence In Conflict, organised by Angelina Jolie.

2023 she is also coming out with her self-produced movie Ellida based upon Henrik Ibsen's famous play, The Lady From The Sea, where she plays the lead role, Ellida. And her role in the U.K. thriller Hounded. With her energetic and versatile live performances as well as an exquisite dress sense, K-Syran continues to amaze fans with her upbeat and infectious style.

What inspired you to produce and work as the lead actress of Ellida? As a trained Norwegian actress from RADA & Guildhall School of Music & Drama, and playing many of Henrik Ibsen’s roles I found his play, The Lady From The Sea, very cinematic. Of course shooting it in Norway’s beautiful landscape gives tremendous pride.It’s been my dream come true to finally have the movie “Ellida” here and of course hearing all the amazing feedback. That my movie touches others makes one feel that all the hard work was worth while.

What genre of filmmaking fascinates you in the film industry and what was the first film project you worked on? The Big Blue was and is one of my favourite movies and strangely Luc Besson was the first film director calling me in for an audition. As a producer my first project was a short film called “Ladies Lunch” based on my experience moving to financial hub Geneva.

What is the most challenging aspect of producing an independent feature film? Dealing with everyone, it’s very hard to make everyone happy. The planning was a great challenge. Making a movie is not a light task, pre production, to finish post production was the hardest work I’ve ever done in my life, thanking the universe for my partner Dan Boots. Need a a lot of passion to want to finish a film. The team of who you surround yourself with is key. What were some of the challenges of producing Ellida? Biggest challenge was time, next project I will have everyone signing a time limit into the contract.

What is it like to be the producer and lead actress of Ellida at the same time? You have to wear two hats . But I find it more exciting though, as you think of the whole project, not only your role.

What is your next film project and what are you currently working on? I have many projects. One is based upon real life stories from the alps in Switzerland called “Verbier Stories “ and the other one I can’t tell yet.

What is the distribution plan of the film and did the film receive any screenings or was it featured in festivals? Still waiting for the right distribution deal and been chosen for many screenings but not accepted any yet.” Ellida”winning tons of different awards so very pleased about that.

What is your cinematic goal in life and what kind of impact would you like to have as the producer and the actress of Ellida? My work is always centred around Women so of course I will continue this path and hopefully create lots of meaningful art.