Some facts & questions with Danny Sangra

We’ve long-loved Danny for his ability to turn normality on its head. He’s a master of every medium, and we’re over the moon to have him join the Mr.Frank clan. Read on for some facts and questions with Danny Sangra, the latest director to join our roster.

#Fact: DIY is your creative DNA

I learned to work with limited resources from years of doing my own personal projects. Now, I have clients who are happy to give me lots of freedom and all sorts of equipment, but at the end of the day all that stuff’s not really necessary.

Anytime you think that you need this or that to get started, you’re actually getting in the way of that initial impulse to create something.

Would you tell a little kid that they shouldn’t draw unless they have the proper tools? I started off by doodling on the magazines in my mum’s hairdressing studio. Just work with what you have.

#Fact: Soundbites suck

I remember I interviewed Raf Simons once and the interviewer I was working with just wanted soundbites…but Raf Simons doesn’t talk in soundbites. If you ask him a question he’ll give you an answer but his answers are like 5 minutes long. So I turned to the interviewer and said to him, look, you’re not gonna get what you’re looking for. 

Intelligent people usually like to go into the reasons behind what they’re saying…that’s the interesting part.

#Fact: Everyone should watch The Cranes are Flying

Every shot in that film is incredible…the composition of every shot is ridiculously good.

#Fact: French cinema is unparalleled and Paris is *chef’s kiss*

I do all my best films in Paris. It’s always been good to me. I try to make one French film a year.

When watching your short film La Chambre Champagne, there’s the sense that you’re sort of puppeteering your characters. Is this what it feels like to you?

It’s funny because when I was a kid I didn’t have many toys, but I had a couple of action figures, and all my playtime stories always involved that little group. They were like my first cast.

The weird thing is that the way I write is actually quite specific, like really specific. Most of the time there’s a rhythm to whatever script I’m writing, there’s a rhythm to the dialogue, and it only works if you stick to that rhythm. 

Usually, I’ll work with whoever gets the role to make sure that the dialogue fits them, and I like this part of the process: making small adjustments & working with the actor to get it just right.

When you're looking for new actors, what words do you use to describe what you're looking for?

I don’t look for it – I hear it. It’s all in the voice. Like, if I hear someone with a good voice…that’s what I’m after, more than anything. If I hear a voice I like, I can write a whole story in that voice.

Now for some music recs. What's an album with no skips?

It’s either the first album of the Cars or…Alkaholiks, Coast II Coast. Or Ego Death by the Internet.