Harv Frost Is Here, Queer and Taking on the Directing Scene by Storm
Did you know that in 2021, a small southern town between Oxford and London called Aylesbury won the UK’s coveted prize for ‘worst place to live’? Probably not, but it did. And today, the director we speak to grew up exactly there. Or, well, just around the corner.
“Shout out Aylesbury,” jokes Harv Frost, director at KODE, when we start our conversation. Fortunately for her, as she puts it, she spent the better part of her childhood in a town just outside of Aylesbury. “Perfectly rural” and at the foot of a massive woodland framed with fields, her childhood home provided for equally rural hobbies – riding bikes around country lanes and hanging out in skate parks till late. This is when Harv would bring a clunky VHS with her and tape home movies of her and her siblings, as well as create music videos for her friends.
“My parents were really supportive of my passion and they fueled it,” says Harv. “Along with my secondary school teacher Miss Ellershaw.” A radical feminist and former punk, Miss Ellershaw taught Harv English and later film studies, and was the person to provide her with her first “primary education in filmmaking.”
Surrounded by inspiration growing up and with a wealth of resources at her fingertips, Harv felt as lucky as can be, even just around the corner from Aylesbury. At 18 she got a job working at a high-ropes adventure course in the woodlands, where she spent her time scrolling through job opportunities. That’s when she first came across a running gig in London.
From there, the route is classic – runner, later PA for about a year, and then a producer in the music video world! “I was working alongside DOPs and art directors that are now household names, for artists like Stefflon Don and Razorlight; it was a great way to foster relationships that I'm now still nurturing today.”
Now a filmmaker, creative and director, Harv’s work combines theatre, sci-fi, comics and graphic novels. It’s an eclectic mix put through a queer prism that she gets to explore while working alongside her favourite artists.
LBB’s Zoe Antonov spoke to Harv about how her personal style has developed over the years, her relationship with the band The Last Dinner Party, and what more awaits her in the future.
LBB> What were the biggest lessons and challenges from your first few years in the industry?
Harv> I credit this time in my life as my ‘film school’, as it taught me how to run a set, and more importantly, proved that this is exactly where I wanted to be. I left this role to go to actual film school as I felt I needed to learn more about directing as a craft, but I realise now that I learnt more in that one year as a PA than in my three years of university. But, the combination has been the right concoction I think.
LBB> How did being a trans director impact both your path through the industry and your filmmaking vision, if at all? How much of your own lived experience do you bring into your work?
Harv> This is always a tricky question to answer, because I have nothing to compare it to, but I think that if anything, it feels like a bit of a secret weapon for me (which I feel so lucky to say). I came out as trans whilst working in the industry, and felt so privileged to be embedded in a world where that was celebrated. All of a sudden I was getting briefs that called for a ‘female perspective’ or a ‘queer perspective’. Eventually, I found a lot of strength in this and I began really trying to implement my identity and point of view in the work I was making.
I’ve been lucky enough to direct for one of my most favourite artists ever, Piglet, delivering two videos that really felt close to home; one that was a very painful video that explores the trans healthcare system and the nightmare of waiting lists. Whilst the other was a sun-soaked love song about T4T (trans for trans) romance. Both feel so genuine to my lived experience, and are really important to me personally, as it's not every day you get to make projects from the heart.
It wasn't until I began working with The Last Dinner Party (TLDP) that I started to implement my own experiences in a more subtle and subliminal way, and in turn started to create work where my trans identity is most present. I have found so much joy in this, and it has helped me carve out what my style truly is. And, if I can give even a morsel of inspiration to LGBTQ+ kids who want to get into the industry, then this was all worth it.
LBB> What was the project that you believe levelled up your career and why?
Harv> After a few years of trying to break into the music video industry, I directed an incredibly expressive and completely unhinged video for Baby Queen, but I was still a really long way out. It wasn't until the first TLDP video that I co-directed with KODE’s Dora Paphides, ‘My Lady Of Mercy’, that people really started taking notice.
Working with the band that day and getting to direct the video was a dream. It gave me a new lease of confidence, and shook off my impending sense of imposter syndrome, because they were so kind and encouraging. I walked away from the shoot with a burning desire to do it all over again, and lucky for me the band would ask me back to direct ‘Caesar on a TV Screen’ a month later.
Six months on, I’m sat with the band, doing a Q&A at my first premiere, for our film ‘Prelude to Ecstasy’. This whole process has taught me to trust my instincts and that I belong here, which might be one of the most valuable lessons I've learnt to date.
LBB> What are your favourite films or directors that shape your filmmaking? Are there other areas of life that shape your expression, outside of film?
Harv> That list ebbs and flows with the tides. I have quite an obsessive personality. Once I like something, I tend to consume everything that surrounds it.
Sofia Coppola, whose films ‘Marie Antoinette’ and ‘The Virgin Suicides’ were greatly formative for me as teenager, is a firm favourite. More recently it's Ti West and Robert Eggers, and what they are doing within the horror genre. I feel like horror is really having a moment with the rise of the sexy, stylish A24 movies (which I’d love a stab at). Obviously, I have been massively influenced by Dario Argento and Andrzej Zulawski in the last year with my love letter to artists like themselves, in ‘Prelude to Ecstasy’ (with ‘Possession’ being a bible for all who were involved).
Other areas of life that really shape my expression, as someone who is chronically online, is internet culture and memes. I think scrolling helps to keep me abreast with the cultural landscape. Although I think the filmmakers who shape my work the most are my industry peers, who are the real cultural thermometers.
My wonderful rep, Claire Stubbs, once gave me a piece of advice, to wake up everyday and watch music videos like you’re reading the daily paper. At the moment, I'm obsessed with NONO + Rodrigo and their videos for Judeline; these inspired me a lot on this latest project in particular. I am also completely head-over-heels for The Reids and what they have done with Mura Masa, Aubie Perrie and his absolutely bonkers work for Fontains D.C and The Hives.
LBB> If you had to define your work in three words, what would they be and why?
Harv> Theatrical: I'm drawn to overt and larger-than-life videos, and I am drawn to creating videos that really focus around performances… preferably over-the-top performances at that!
Attentive: I like to think that the artists I work with have their personality and identity woven into the things we create together. I like to think that this comes through.
Expressive: Because Promonews said that about my work, and I will take their word on it!
LBB> You recently directed the 14-minute-long short consisting of several music videos for British indie rock band The Last Dinner Party. Tell me a bit more about it.
Harv> Yes! I did do that, didn't I?! Sounds crazy when I read it back. To be honest, it started as all good things seem to, in a pub! A friend of mine dragged me out of a video game hole, to attend a gig The Last Dinner Party was playing (thank god I obliged). I got chatting to the band, after having my mind completely blown by their set, and told them that I would be honoured to direct a video for them one day. A year later, Dora and I found ourselves pitching on ‘My Lady of Mercy’. The rest is, sort of history I suppose.
Above: Still from the short
When it came to writing on a third video, I presented this absolutely balls-to-the-wall idea, that was so TLDP-coded I knew they would love it! What I didn't expect, however, is that they would respond with ‘We think this could be a whole film?’. I was completely elated, but also slightly terrified, as they left for a US tour shortly after! Over the next few months I began writing and conversing with the band’s creative idrector, Joshua Mitchell, as well as receiving briefs for each video from the band.
LBB> How long did the shooting of these music videos take, and what were the most exciting moments?
Harv> Four days, if you can believe it! As for exciting moments - there were too many to note! Just walking up to the location and seeing crew and food vans parked out front was exciting to me!
I have to say, shooting the plates-smashing scene in ‘The Feminine Urge’ was a highlight. We shot everything 360, so I was hiding in a corner of the room, curled up in a ball, whilst my DOP Natasha Duursma was dodging flying plates. I had told Abigail to try and block Natasha, and told Natasha not to let Abigail get away from her. The result is a really fun game of cat and mouse! We only had one chance to capture this scene, so the pressure was on for them to nail it (which of course they did).
Another highlight was Lizzie’s audition scene, as I was so, so impressed with their performance! For the scene to work, Lizzie needed to really know the routine inside out. Watching them pull this off from the other room on a monitor was one of my favourite moments of the entire shoot, as I hadn’t seen the choreography in the flesh until we rolled.
My favourite video to shoot was ‘Sinner’. It still feels like a dream, and I would go as far as saying it was my best work day ever. Watching Natasha up to her waist in the lake with the camera floating around on a boogie board, whilst an underwater lighting rig illuminated the band splashing around in the water was an out-of-body experience.
The final highlight that I’ll mention was the intro. We played Thom Yorke's ‘Suspiria’ soundtrack (from the remake), and didn’t tell anyone we were rolling. The result was completely genuine performances from the extras, as they exchanged small talk with each other, just like students on the first day of school. Natural light flooded the room in such a stunning way, and the smell of incense was in the air. I had imagined the world I would create for this film for months, and now I was sitting in it! It was definitely one of those ‘pinch me’ moments.
LBB> Do you prefer shooting on film, like you did for this short, and why? Do you believe there's times when it might not be the best option for you?
Harv> I started shooting on film because of Natasha – they were my gateway into the pleasures of shooting celluloid! We used 16mm on ‘Caesar’ first, as the project demanded a ‘70s filmic look and we wanted it to feel authentic. As for the ‘Prelude to Ecstasy’, it just made sense, because a vintage aesthetic had become such a big part of the visual world we wanted to create. However, I think film should only be used if it's integral to the storytelling and atmosphere of the work. It's not always the best option by any means, it's definitely a privilege, not a necessity.
LBB> What role do sound and colour play in your creative expression and how do you personally like to use them?
Harv> Sound is something I'm still getting to know. In ‘Prelude to Ecstasy’ we used some moments of diegetic sound and I felt like there could've been so much more if we had the time. Music plays a huge part creatively for me, it's always been a guide to find the right visuals and I couldn't imagine creating with it absent.
As for colour, I actually let the location dictate the palette in a lot of ways. I knew I wanted to do something referential of ‘Suspiria’, but felt like the Giallo colour palette of vibrant primary colours could feel too overplayed and come across ingenuine. Instead, I went looking for a location that would influence my palette, and came across Kingswood House where we shot the entire film. It has varying shades of warm brown tones, deep wooden panelled walls, garish yellow ceilings paired with dark blue curtains, and even a mint monochrome room. This is a palette I don't think I would have chosen, and the result is something I couldn't imagine otherwise!
LBB> And finally, what are you most excited about looking at the future?
Harv> I'm looking forward to stepping into new worlds, finding fresh references, and collaborating with more artists. I'm excited to continue to learn from those around me, take risks and make mistakes. This time last year, I had no idea the adventure I would be on with TLDP and I can't wait for more! Everyday I get to wake up and do this job, and I'm excited to see where all this takes me.
Oh, and obviously, to make a feature film. I'm just really thrilled to be here, and to finally feel like I've got a seat at the table. Now I'm here, you are going to have to drag me away kicking and screaming.
