Words: Ruby Deakin
The end of school feels like standing at the edge of a cliff – no map, no parachute, and no sense of what’s waiting at the bottom. The uncertainty of the first steps can be paralysing, and it takes serious guts to embrace the unknown on the other side of those looming exams. For now-20-year-old Sheffield filmmaker Charlie Levers, that fear was very real, but passion and determination for putting heartfelt, moving narratives on the big screen soon turned fear into fuel for an incredible creative journey.
Since Sixth Form, Charlie has racked up a staggering portfolio of work that would rival that of an established art director. Sitting down with Exposed’s Ruby Deakin, he discussed taking that first leap into a daunting industry, growing and learning with other passionate creatives, and the importance of getting stuck in against all odds.
“I was always encouraged to be creative, doing bits of music and lots of art as a kid,” he said. After ditching one A Level to do Film Studies instead, Charlie quickly realised his passion for filmmaking had been quietly brewing since childhood.
“I think I didn’t realise I liked films as much as I did, and that I’d always been doing it. When I was, like, seven or eight, I was making Lego stop-motion animations. It started there, and then I forgot for a few years that I really cared about it. Maybe it’s always been there, hiding away.”
Equipped with his reignited passion, Charlie immediately became an unstoppable creative force and propelled himself into the heart of Sheffield’s indie filmmaking scene. He recalled the career-launching impact of working as an art director at the British Film Institute’s short Film Academy programme at the Showroom, in which budding filmmakers collaborate to produce their own original film.
“[The Film Academy] is a place you go to make all the mistakes. It’s very much a learning experience. While you’re there you get to figure out how to do it all,” he said. “Art is a big thing where at the start you feel like you’re terrible. With any art, starting is the hardest part, because you’re always going to be bad. You’ve got to be bad for a bit so you can get good later.”
Since then, Charlie has worked on countless productions, mostly focusing on narrative short films that tackle emotional, hard-hitting topics. Accompanying Charlie on his artistic journey is an inseparable group of emerging filmmaking, acting and musical talents, collaborating on a huge portfolio of projects, mutually celebrating their achievements, and challenging each other to aspire to new creative heights.
A breakthrough moment came in 2023 when Charlie and filmmaking companion Dylan Scott won the DIY Filmmaking Challenge, hosted by Film Hub North, after entering on a whim. Collaborating with close friend – as well as emerging West End and screen star – Noah Manzoor, the team produced Sitting With Silence, exploring feelings of loss and humanity’s place in the world as intertwined with nature. Noah narrates a heartfelt, original poem over beautiful footage of exploring the Peak District. Scoring the film is a freestyled organ piece played by another regular crew member, Nate Ozlo, which Charlie and Dylan happened to record a few months prior.
“We filmed all this footage of Nate playing the organ, but we never entered it into anything,” said Charlie. “We took this gorgeous piece and some footage of him playing, and intercut it with Noah’s poem. And with the words of the poem, it all just kind of meshed together into this thing about losing a friend and wanting to return home.”
Hot on the heels of their recent success just six months after finishing A Levels, Charlie and Dylan launched Cave Creatures Productions to give an ‘official’ feel to their ever-expanding portfolio of projects. The pair soon began to work on a new original piece, bigger than anything they’d done before, with their trusty team in tow. A Few More Minutes, Please would become the defining film for the company, receiving critical acclaim at the Fisheye Film Festival as well as the BFI Future Film Festival and the National Film Festival for Talented Youth – two of the biggest youth film festivals in the world.
“It’s about men’s mental health, and the kind of universal experience of feeling lost before you hit university,” said Charlie.
Set in a restaurant, the team got to give Kelham Island eatery Isabella’s a dramatic makeover. The film is full of absurd moments which gave Charlie plenty of artistic challenges to get stuck into, the most iconic of which being modelling a realistic lobster prop that begins to speak to the main character, Cal.
“I took a 3D model of a lobster and printed a bunch of segments – a great excuse to buy a 3D printer,” Charlie said. “It’s there to establish that weird stuff is going to happen. [The film] has got a magical realism aesthetic to it, and so this lobster is kind of the manifestation of Cal being indecisive. It appears and tells him to make a decision, which prompts more weird stuff. It took me ages, but that’s where I thrive when it comes to art – I love doing stuff like that.”
Beyond narrative shorts, Charlie’s keen eye for detail has led him into the world of music videos, creating an intricate set for soulful songwriter Araya’s music to shine. Her track Crowded House, which recounts the experience of feeling lost and overwhelmed at a house party, allowed Charlie to experiment with perspective and scale in one of his most creatively-challenging projects yet.
“I got to make a miniature house for a shot and a miniature basement. I literally got some blocks of foam, carved a bunch of bricks, and painted them all. It’s direct lineage to me as a Lego-obsessed child – I’d always rather build a really accurate Lego house to-scale, so now I just do that but with power tools instead.”
Charlie continues to refine his artistic talents and passion for the craft. But as all artists can attest, Charlie firmly believes he wouldn’t be where he is without the supportive community surrounding him.
“The people I work with I wouldn’t say are my colleagues more than they are my friends, because it wouldn’t work if that weren’t the case,” he said. “It’s all about helping out your friends and growing with them. It’ll never work if someone just runs off on their own, because you need a team behind you.”
When asked about taking those initial steps, Charlie’s message was clear: just give it a go. “If you’ve got a film that you don’t think is very good, just edit it and get it done, because then you’ve learnt from it. Then go do another one.”
He added: “If you want to do anything creative, the only thing you need – and I genuinely believe this – is to care. That’s literally all you need, and eventually all the technical side will work itself out.”
For the latest updates on his work, follow Charlie on Instagram: @charlielevers.
Top Image: Ai Narapol
