Sandra
NFT2; 07/04/06; 8.40pm
A film by
Hazuan Hashim and Phil Maxwell
Music by Michael Nyman

Produced and directed by Phil Maxwell and his partner Hazuan Hashim, this 15mins film celebrates the life of the iconic landlady of the Golden Heart pub, Sandra Esqulant. Adored by everyone around her the film captures a slice of her life in the Pub she has run continuously for over 25 years in the east end of London. Listed as an influential figure in the art world by the magazine ‘Art Review’, her wit and eccentricity leaps out of the screen.

Directors’ note
The Golden Heart Pub has been our local pub for the past 10 – 15 years. Hovering on the border between the East End and the encroaching City it has always attracted a diverse crowd and has more recently become known as a watering ground for artists. Filmmakers often have unfulfilled dream projects.

For the past five years we have talked about making a film about Sandra, the larger than life landlady has managed the Golden Heart for over a quarter of a century through hard and the more recent good times. The closure of Spitalfields as a ‘fruit and veg’ market savaged Sandras customer base but she hung on and now oversees probably the most famous pub in the East End.

The idea of making a film about your local and iconic pub landlady may seem a bit self-indulgent. However it was our dream project as for us she encapsulated east end matriarchy and extraordinary survival skills underpinned by great humour.

My partner Hazuan and myself made the film entirely on our own using borrowed equipment and a zero budget. You could describe us as minimalist filmmakers; I shoot and he edits. It’s a great partnership because we play off each other strengths and ideas. This short film is a taster of a much longer version we would dearly like to make once some investment is available.

Music
We’ve always been fans of Michael Nyman’s music and have been collaborating with him since a chance meeting on the street outside the Curzon cinema in Soho in April 2005. The piece In Re Don Giovanni accompanies Sandra’s world class hoola hooping and Christmas sequence. Dances in the pub are enhanced by Michael’s playing from his score for Michael Winterbottom’s ‘Wonderland’ which is available on his CD ‘The Piano Sings’.