Some filmmakers harbour unrealistic expectations for their work, but Aneil Karia is not among them. “I’m not deluded enough to think that it’s going to bring down the government,” he says of his latest project, Vote Gavin Lyle. Yet, as a sharp and clever satire, it just might make an impact. The 16-minute short stars Jack Lowden as a wannabe Reform-style parliamentary candidate for the fictional middle-England constituency of Fletcham and Wold. It expertly skewers the far-right mindset, not through the lens of minority-bashing street thugs, but by targeting the more polished, articulate Farageists who dominate the movement’s leadership.
Empathy for the Enemy
Without revealing the film’s final twist, it is fair to say that there is an element of empathy, even sympathy, for its central character. Karia explains: “I don’t think it’s interesting or useful to look at these people – far-right politicians, councillors, prospective candidates – and just say what nasty bastards they are. What strikes me is that they are just as vulnerable and scared as the rest of us.” He adds, “We’ve slipped into a culture where everything becomes intellectual ping-pong, people yelling at each other. As a filmmaker, I wanted to get under that and observe the humanity beneath.”
Karia brings a personal edge to the film. “I grew up in Ipswich with plenty of people who I still know who probably vote Reform,” he says. Lyle is a memorable creation, with a Partridge-like awkwardness and obtuseness, pandering for attention while harbouring bubbling fantasies beneath the surface.
From Oscars to Satire
The existence of Vote Gavin Lyle is somewhat unlikely. Karia is an established feature-film director who last year released a well-received adaptation of Hamlet starring Riz Ahmed. His 2020 film Surge, featuring Ben Whishaw as an airport security officer having a breakdown, also garnered acclaim. In between, Karia won an Oscar for another short, The Long Goodbye, a chilling what-if drama about violent far-right raids on British Asian families. Vote Gavin Lyle takes a different tack: lighter and funnier, but equally politically committed.
Returning to the short film format may not seem an obvious step, but Karia stresses their value. “I find them creatively rich and a playground for bolder choices and experiments. Comedy hasn’t been part of my journey, so I wanted to try something in a totally different tone.” His strong track record in shorts puts him in the unusual position of being as well known for smaller-scale projects as for features. Besides The Long Goodbye, Karia directed Stormzy’s Big Man, the musician’s first foray into filmmaking, and worked multiple times with rapper Kano on short films and music videos. The pair met while Karia was directing episodes of Top Boy, in which Kano played the key role of Sully.
WePresent: A Unicorn in Arts Funding
One of the more curious elements of Karia’s new film is that it marks another step forward by WePresent, the arts platform of WeTransfer, the file-sharing website popular for moving large files. Karia calls them a “unicorn”, one of the few sources he can approach for backing. Half a decade ago, it was their connection with Ahmed that got The Long Goodbye off the ground.
Why would a successful tech company develop a sideline in commissioned arts? According to editor-in-chief Holly Fraser, it started with designers giving the website’s wallpapers and graphics space to artist and photographer friends. “What started as highlighting artists turned into original commissioning. One of the earliest was a film with FKA twigs, and it snowballed.” WePresent now boasts an impressive roster: along with Ahmed and Karia, it has worked with Letitia Wright, Little Simz, Marina Abramović, Robin de Puy, and Akinola Davies Jr. Their films with Karia show they don’t pull punches politically. “It’s never been a secret what side of the political spectrum we sit on,” Fraser says. “Artists are well placed to decipher the world. I’ve been disappointed in rhetoric that art shouldn’t have a place in politics. I think it’s rubbish.”
What’s Next for Karia
Karia is about to start work on a TV series adapted from Kaliane Bradley’s sci-fi novel The Ministry of Time, inspired by John Franklin’s failed Arctic expedition. Meanwhile, Vote Gavin Lyle is out in the world and will undoubtedly cause a stir. “I want it to be entertaining and thought-provoking,” Karia says. “Hopefully it gets people thinking that often those who purport to be our saviours are as lost and inauthentic as we all seem to be in this moment.”
Vote Gavin Lyle is available on YouTube and WePresent.
