CAE (Advanced Exam) Listening Test 4

Part 3
15 A 16 B 17 A 18 D 19 B 20 C

You’ll hear an interview with a young film director, Lauren Casio, who is talking about her life and
work.
For questions 15–20, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which fits best according to what you hear.
In the exam, you have 70 seconds to look at Part 3.

Interviewer: My guest today is the young film director Lauren Casio, whose first full-length
feature film Hidden Valley Dreams has been well received critically, as well as
achieving box office success. Lauren, was it always your ambition to be a film
maker?
Lauren: I did media studies at college, actually, and had no great desire to go into filmmaking
when I started. As part of the course, I made some short films, and on the
strength of that, some of the staff suggested I went in that direction. I mean, they
were extremely short, three-minute films, but they seemed to see some promise
and encouraged me. I wasn't doing anything ground-breaking, but the fact that I
was able to put images together and tell a story in a very economical way time-wise
was something I think they responded to and wanted me to pursue. So after
finishing that course I enrolled in film school, where I could concentrate on that.
Interviewer: I’ve heard some people saying: ‘Film school’s a waste of time, don't bother with it’.
What do you feel about that?
Lauren: There's young people coming into film-making from commercials, videos, and
television saying that, but what works for one person may not work for another, so
perhaps they don’t need it. I had no family connections in the business, and no
private means so, for me, being in an environment where the equipment was
available and the help was freely given, that opened doors. The fact that people I
was at school with are now making their way in the film world is also testimony to
its value. But I’m not saying it’s the only route.
Interviewer: But it’s taken you a long time to get from your first shorts to your first full-length
feature film, hasn’t it?
Lauren: That was no accident really. I went through a process of making shorter films so
that I could acquire some skills. A lot of people get out of school, make one film,
and want to make that leap into feature films. But invariably, they fall flat on their
faces. Maybe some of them are ready to make the leap earlier; I knew I wasn’t. I
wasn’t prepared to squander time and money doing something I hadn’t yet got the
experience and expertise to carry off. I wasn’t short of offers, even financially
attractive ones, but it wasn’t the right moment.
Interviewer: I think your women characters are very good, but I think your men characters are
incredible.

Lauren: Thanks! But with all characters, trying to find some dimension in them is very
important to me, whatever the gender. Certainly we see a lot of stereotypes in
films, men and women – lookalike representations of a certain common perception.
I've always wanted to create characters with a bit more to them than that: people
with a depth that might allow an audience to see a different side to their characters but not by making them behave in unnatural ways. That just confuses the
audience. So, my male characters are macho, sure, but there’s got to be a
vulnerability there. That's been a very conscious thing, and even the villains need
to have a conscience.
Interviewer: So what about Hidden Valley Dreams?
Lauren: Well, though I can’t deny that I’m proud of it, there's a lot of things I’d change if I
were to make that film again. I remember sitting one afternoon, and just writing it
(the storyline) in about four or five hours. It seemed to be something that needed to
come out. Writing for me has never been that easy since! Perhaps it was a dumb
idea for me to go out and make a 1940s period film as my debut because the
resources and the control I had over the environment – the logistics – were very
limited. I tried a bunch of things a social theme, but a story with a sense of
humor. I just had a gut feeling that it would appeal, and it worked, but don’t ask me
how!
Interviewer: And would you encourage kids who’d like to get into film-making?
Lauren: Why not? Actually, I get invited to talk occasionally at high schools. Although I have
mixed feelings about the whole notion of being someone to look up to, of being a
role model, I think it’s important for kids to see that the things that they’re aspiring
to are doable – that we’re not giving them false dreams. If, through some
conversation with myself, or anyone else who’s worked hard to get where they are,
they can identify with the fact that I'm just some kid from an ordinary background
like them, then that's cool. I can’t pretend I’ll ever be a real superhero to those
young people, but I try to do what I can.
Interviewer: Thank you Lauren, we have to leave it there.