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MEET THE TEAM
Award-winning filmmaker Paul Herbert is the founder of Bluejohn productions. He has written, directed and produced seven original short narrative film projects in seven years: Autumn Drift (2014), Winter Will (2015), The Flight of Iro & Casper (2015), The English Lesson (2016), Air Tax (2017), Vegetable Crushers (2019), & The Tryst (2021). He has also directed and produced a music video entitled Bridges by Rock band, Reptiles.
Paul has won 4 awards: For The Flight of Iro & Casper he won Best Science Fiction Short Film at the Near Nazareth Festival 2016 & Best Short at the Open Case Festival in 2015. For his most recent film, Vegetable Crushers, he has so far won awards for Best Narrative Film at the Moscow Film Party in February 2020; and Best Director at the Alternative Film Festival (ALTFF) in Toronto, Canada, Spring 2020. Vegetable Crushers has also been nominated for Best Short Film at the Prague Independent Film Festival, August 2020. All his short films have been selected at a variety of international festivals, including, Canada, Russia, Malta, Romania, Italy & USA. He is currently editing his lastest short film: 'The Tryst' (2021) and he has completed a feature length screenplay, for which he has applied for BFI script development funding. He lives and works in London.
Foad Emrani: Director of Photograph.
With 18 years of experience in cinematography, Foad began his career in Tehran, working for Iranian award-winning Director Rasoul Sadrameli. Foad has worked for a diverse range of British short film projects, and documentaries collaborating closely with writers, directors and producers globally. Foad has made a name for himself as a freelance DOP.
Three years into that experience Foad knew that he had to add qualifications to his on-the-job training and took the entrance exam after dropping out of Industrial engineering which he had no interest in. He contemplated studying abroad, but he was advised to get his BA first and then apply; which he did. Many hurdles later he boarded the plane and landed in Heathrow having been accepted at the University of Greenwich in cinematography and post-production.
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C.J. Lazaretti is a film and video editor based in Glasgow, UK. Since his debut co-editing the documentary The Gospel According to St Derek (featuring Tilda Swinton), he has worked mostly on British short film projects and TV shows. Blue John projects edited by C.J. include short films The Flight of Iro & Casper, The English Lesson and Vegetable Crushers. Cosmico,
his directorial debut, which was licensed by Channel 4's Random Acts platform after winning four awards at international film festivals. Find out more about him on www.cjlazaretti.com.
Comments from Bluejohn Collaborators
'Paul Herbert is a doer. He doesn’t wait for favorable conditions – he makes them. Blue John films are bold and ambitious, on a scale not often seen in comparable productions. It’s a pleasure to work on his projects. Blue John has assembled a remarkable body of work in record time, against all odds. It’s great to be a part of that journey.’ - C.J.Lazaretti, Editor.
‘Working with Bluejohn's team has been an enjoyable collaborative experience – lots of dedicated energy.’ - Tom Sykes, Actor.
"Working with Blue John Productions is an Absolute Pleasure. From the initial meeting to discuss character/concept, to the excellent shoot which was energized, professional, fun, rewarding, I can say with utmost confidence that Paul and the team are Brilliant, with keen creative minds. Would welcome the opportunity to start work again with Paul and his Team of Excellence! - Tommie Grabiec , Actor.
'Working with Writer & Director, Paul Herbert and the team on Iro and Caspar was a great creative experience. The world needs strange and wonderful stories and Blue John Productions deliver time and time again. I’m so happy Paul allowed me to be part of his imagination.’ - Liam Nooney, Actor.
“It was a good experience, working with Paul and his team. He is talented, enthusiastic and hardworking director.” - Foad Emrani, DOP, Editor.
“Working with Blue John Productions was such a great experience. I’ve now been in 3 Blue John films!!! It was such a pleasure to work with Paul and all the crew. They are an extremely professional and creative bunch who produce wonderful short films.” - Laila Rose Bournomane, Actor, Writer.
‘To pull so many rabbits from one independent filmmakers hat is a no small feat and should be recommended. Determined, creative and highly organised, it seems he might make Titanic 2 just with the power of his sheer will alone. I wish the world could have more such resourceful and just nice comrades. It was an absolute pleasure working with him and I will do it again.‘ - Vitalie Perciun, Director, Editor.
'I had a really great experience from a tremendously dedicated and hardworking writer, Paul Herbert.’ - John Gannon, Actor.
'Working with the Bluejohn team has been a fantastic experience. His path to filmmaking is quite unique, and this gives him a refreshingly different perspective on every part of the process. While there are many “outsiders” who dream of a career like this, what sets Paul apart is his ability to actually get things done, consequence of his seemingly endless drive fueled by a burning passion about his projects; and this energy is contagious, letting him assemble cast and crew that buy into his vision. Therefore, each one of his productions is truly a labour of love. I’ve enjoyed working with Paul tremendously, and I can’t wait to do it again.' - Gabriel Gambetta, Actor.
'Paul Herbert is a very talented director, with a clear vision of what he wants, and how to achieve it. He has produced beautifully shot films with a real feel for the different characters. I thoroughly enjoyed working on “The flight of Iro and Casper” with him and would strongly recommend him for any future projects.’ - Eva Von Mitska, Actor.
'The English Lesson has been for me an amazing opportunity to work with a very talented group of people, both cast and crew. It was an experience that taught me a lot about professionalism and about team work, about what it means when a handful of people put all their efforts together for something they believe in. I’m looking forward to a new collaboration with our lovely writer/ director Paul Herbert.’ - Alina Morar, Costume Designer.
Working on “The English Lesson” with Blue John Productions as a colourist here at Sarcoline was an absolute joy. The footage I received was crisp and determined. Director Paul knew the look he wanted and made everything easier for me in post-production colour by working hard during pre-production and production to focus the imagination he envisioned. A few tweaks here and there just to enhance what cinematographer Peter Panoa created was all we needed. Blue John Productions have amassed an able crew that I look forward to working with again and again. - Seamus Cogan, Colorist.
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