EFP 41: Don Boyd on Aria (1987)

In this episode, host Dr Pasquale Iannone is joined by Don Boyd, a Scottish-born filmmaker with more than fifty years experience working in both Hollywood and the UK. As well as directing his own successful features and documentaries, Don produced some of the most bold and boundary-pushing British films of the 70s and 80s - works as diverse as Alan Clarke’s borstal drama Scum (1979) and Derek Jarman’s flamboyant adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest (1979).In this fascinating, wide ranging conversation, Don talks to Pasquale about producing the 1987 film Aria. For this project, Don invited ten internationally acclaimed directors to make a short film based on an operatic aria. The stellar line-up  included Nicolas Roeg, Ken Russell, Robert Altman and Jean-Luc Godard. As well as providing insight into his working relationship with these giants of world cinema, Don reflects on the enduring legacy of Aria and discusses some of the contemporary directors he would approach were he making a modern opera film.