Stratford composer part of BAFTA-winning team behind Jellyfish and Lobster
WHEN you’ve just won a BAFTA for Best British Short Film and celebrated on the red carpet in London, what better way to celebrate the award with colleagues than popping into McDonald’s at 3am for a bite to eat once the party’s over.
That’s exactly what Catherine Hillier, aged 28, from Snitterfield did after she won a BAFTA for her musical composition which appears in the 20-minute film Jellyfish and Lobster.
London’s Southbank Centre was the venue for the main event on Sunday night where Catherine joined up with the team who made the film to receive the award at a star-studded event which featured actors Florence Pugh, Andrew Scott and film maker Christopher Nolan director of Oppenheimer, The Dark Knight and Dunkirk.
”Jellyfish and Lobster is a film about two elderly care home residents who discover something magical that takes them back to their youth. It’s a dark comedy but magical at the same time. This film was pitched to me by the director Yasmin Afifi and I composed the music for it. Sunday was completely surreal. Everybody has a dream and I grew up watching the awards on television but to physically be there is a once in a lifetime experience. I even had to buy some proper make-up for the occasion. There was food and drinks and a party and after that we went to McDonald’s in our ball gowns,”
Catherine is a multi-instrumentalist and orchestrator for film and television and works in a small studio at her home.
Educated at Snitterfield Primary School, she then went to King’s High School, Warwick, where she was able to focus her talent and energy into music and drama where one of her classmates was actress Sophie Turner of Game of Thrones fame.
While drama always featured in Catherine’s life, and she did consider studying it further, it was at Falmouth University that she eventually opted for a BA in music and developed a passion for composing music in the film industry.
Her next stop was The National Film and Television School (NFTS) in Beaconsfield, one of the top international film schools where she studied for a two-year full-time master’s degree which included composing for several different genres like, animation, science, natural history, documentary, fiction, games, television, and many aspects of film.
“It really encouraged you to push your skills and I was part of the team from The National Film and Television School which made Jellyfish and Lobster. It was a project close to our hearts, we all love our work and it was very emotional for all of us and for me because female composers are still in a minority and it was really lovely to be recognised. I’m still processing it,” Catherine said.
Music runs in Catherine’s family.
“My grandad, Frederick ‘Freddie’ Rice was very musical he was president of the Stratford Musical Theatre Company and starred in musicals like Fiddler on the Roof and he was always singing even when I was a little girl I thought he was a singer . My mother Gaye plays piano and my father Lee loves his music history – he can tell you which band played where and on what date.I was playing piano when I was five years old and had a Russian teacher called Olga. When I was seven I learnt to play the clarinet. I’ve always enjoyed playing by ear and I do sing and was in a choir. I’ve just been so lucky to be surrounded by music,” Catherine said.
There are many film and theatre composers Catherine considers inspirational including Jóhann Jóhannsson and Hildur Guðnadóttir who wrote the score for Joker, so what will Catherine’s next move be?
“I’ve got work coming in and my portfolio has grown but I’m still finding my feet outside the NFTS after graduating last March so I’m currently in between projects. I thought about moving to London and do I love London but I love coming home too. It’s a privilege to be in a beautiful town like Stratford. My dream is to inspire and support and make my work accessible to people. I’m just so grateful to be doing what I’m doing and I feel very proud,” Catherine told the Herald.
