Lighting the Frame: Craft, careers and a changing film industry
Join us at POST for a rare opportunity to hear three accomplished filmmakers from different generations of the industry in conversation. Legendary gaffer John ‘Biggles’ Higgins ICLS, whose credits include Skyfall, Children of Men, Gravity and 1917 and award-winning cinematographer Angus Hudson BSC (Ridley Road, Mary Queen of Scots, The Life Ahead) sit down with rising director of photography Hayley Grant for an evening exploring life behind the camera.
Bringing their extensive experience and perspectives together in one room makes this a unique chance to enjoy first-hand stories from the set, gain insight into how some of cinema’s most memorable images are crafted, and reflect on how the film industry has evolved over the last four decades. Together they’ll discuss the realities of working in film today, offer practical advice to aspiring crew members, debunk a few myths about life as a cinematographer or gaffer, and ask whether the next generation learns best in film school, on YouTube, or simply by getting out and making films.
Whether you’re a devoted film buff, an aspiring filmmaker, or simply curious about the creative process behind the screen, this promises to be an entertaining, illuminating and timely conversation about the future of filmmaking at a moment when the industry is undergoing profound technological and economic change.
John “Biggles” Higgins ICLS is an Irish-born gaffer renowned for his work in cinema lighting and long-standing collaborations with leading cinematographers including Roger Deakins and Emmanuel Lubezki. Over a career spanning more than four decades, he has worked on over eighty feature films, beginning with Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984), photographed by Roger Deakins. His many credits include Children of Men (2006), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), Skyfall (2012), Gravity (2013), 1917 (2019) and Mickey 17 (2025). Affectionately known throughout the industry as “Biggles”, a nickname inspired in part by his distinctive moustache and trademark style, he is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and respected gaffers working in film today.
https://britishcinematographer.co.uk/john-biggles-higgins/
Angus Hudson BSC is an award-winning British cinematographer whose career spans more than four decades across film, television, and commercials. After cutting his teeth making music videos in the early 1980s, he went on to work with many of the industry’s leading cinematographers before himself becoming a Director of Photography. Alongside his work as second unit director of photography on major productions including Mary Queen of Scots, Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Angus has predominantly enjoyed shooting smaller independent films such as The Life Ahead, You Should Have Left, Ridley Road and The Hippopotamus, as well as occasionally collaborating with artists and embracing the creative freedom that such projects can offer. A member of the British Society of Cinematographers since 2015, he served on its Board of Governors and was awarded the BSC John Alcott Memorial Award in 2024.
Hayley Grant is an American-Australian cinematographer based in London. She began her career in the electrical department, working as a lighting technician on high-end film and television productions including The Crown and Mickey 17. A recent graduate of the National Film and Television School’s MA Cinematography programme, her work has been BAFTA longlisted and screened at leading international festivals including the Cannes Film Festival, BFI Flare and the Rhode Island International Film Festival. Bridging hands-on industry experience with a new generation of image-making, she is quickly establishing herself as a distinctive emerging talent.
Location
POST, Second Floor, Industrial House, Conway Street, BN3 3LW