Spotlight On: Ioanna Karavela (MA Producing Discipline Leader)

Since 2004, Film Producer Ioanna Karavela has collected credits on The Chocolate Wrapper, The Impact, and Boris in the Forest, which won Best Short Film at the 2016 Athens International Film & Video Festival.

Most recently, Ioanna has produced the action-adventure Bad Day at the Office. Directed by Chee Keong Cheung, the film was filmed entirely in first-person perspective with the use of GoPros, and is slated to release next year.

On top of all this, Ioanna is our MA Producing Discipline Leader at MetFilm School London, and we were pleased to sit down with her for the next installment of our ‘Spotlight On‘ series…

Firstly, can you share a little about how you got started as a producer?

I actually never consciously planned to work in production. I was working as a camera assistant, having recently graduated from a BA in Film Production, specialising in Cinematography. I was asked to help out an artistic project as a runner, and even though the role wasn’t in the camera/lighting department, I really valued the cinematographer on the team, so I said yes.

Funnily enough, that was my first – and if I remember correctly, my last ‘expenses only’ job. It was a small production, so I was probably given more responsibility than usual as a runner, from booking equipment to handling cost reports. I spent the next two weeks working and interacting with people across all departments, and I loved it!

I must have been good at it, too, as the Production Manager asked me to join another production as a (paid!) Junior Production Manager. That hands-on physical production experience was a great opportunity for me. I never looked back.

What type of projects do you gravitate towards?

I’m an independent Film Producer with experience in physical production, but also in packaging and financing projects, so my involvement can vary.

Generally, I and don’t look for specific themes or genres, but I definitely look for meaningful collaborations. I look at whether I align with the creative, but also with the creatives involved in a project, first.

It takes a lot of time and effort to raise finance for any independent film, so first and foremost, all parties need to want to work together – it’s important that everyone is on the same page in terms of how they see a film proposal evolving.

The other aspect I look at is whether I can produce a project with the resources and access that I have. For example, if a project comes along that needs particular expertise and access that I don’t have available, I may pass – unless I really connect with it, in which case I may fight to be a part of it!

With Bad Day at the Office now in post production, what are you most excited about for the film’s release?

I’m excited about this project because it’s an ambitious and unusual first-person GoPro action adventure chase in London! It’s a film that really pushed my physical production skills to a new level.

We hope that audiences will welcome the style and pace, and that they’ll find it exciting to ride along with.

You also worked with Director Chee Keong Cheung on Redcon-1. For you, what makes a creative collaboration successful?

Chee Keong Cheung is a Writer/Director/Producer with strong ideas. We met at film school, and our way of going about film production in the independent space ‘matches’, if you will. Since our first major collaboration, when I worked as Production Manager on an earlier film of his, we’ve continued working together – it’s a collaboration that really works.

We both grew up watching similar action and martial arts movies, and there’s something about his ambition that is exciting and commendable to me. Every film is a challenge, bigger in scope, vision, and responsibility, and that’s really appealing.

Alongside your work in the industry, what made you decide to tutor?

It keeps my feet on the ground. When I was studying, it was specific tutors that inspired me to keep going, and to believe in the possibility of making a living doing what I love. I thought my somewhat ‘unconventional’ path may be of use to students today.

I’m not from the UK – I came here 23 years ago, wanting to make films, and in the last five years, I feel like it’s started coming to fruition. I thought that the knowledge I’d collated across this journey, with very few resources or financial stability to fall back on, was worth sharing.

Plus, the whole ‘tutoring’ thing runs in my family – so that may have something to do with it! My mum and grandmother both taught in primary and secondary education, so that probably has something to do with my interest in education as a whole.

And finally, how has tutoring influenced your career? What have your students taught you about film?

In class, I’m a student as much as I am a tutor. I learn from my students every time. Producing isn’t a glamorous job – it can be complex and challenging, and that makes it tough to get young people to engage with certain topics.

In that way, it challenges me to be a better communicator – something that’s been invaluable in my own professional development, where I regularly need to relay and communicate with both teams and individuals.

And not being cheeky, but they effortlessly help me to have a better understanding of what younger audiences are actually interested in watching!

• Ioanna Karavela is the Discipline Leader for MA Producing in London. This course is launching in Berlin from September 2024.
• Attend our MA Virtual Open Event to explore our full range of MA Degrees in London, Berlin, and Leeds.