Incredible Women Of 2024: Debut Writer-Director Molly Manning Walker
Next up in our Incredible Women of 2024 series – in which we celebrate the trailblazers whose talent, energy and impact are defining the year – is the writer-director MOLLY MANNING WALKER. Her debut feature, How To Have Sex, is one of the most essential films to see this year. She speaks to ANNABEL BROG about taking its consent messaging to schools, her un-Hollywood motto, and telling stories that really resonate
There was a moment at the start of filming her debut feature, How To Have Sex – a film that asks its audience to examine social, emotional and sexual safety, set on a formative, end-of-school vacation – when writer-director Molly Manning Walker wondered if it was all a mistake.
“We shot all the party scenes the first week,” she recalls. “I hadn’t realized what that meant – 300 people, the noise, trying to get them to dance to no music, trying to keep them happy.” Those first days of filming in Crete included one of the pivotal consent moments, where male lead, Badger (played by Shaun Thomas) takes part in a sex game on a club stage. “Directing that scene in front of 300 people…” she trails off. “The other assault scene – because I talk about it as an assault scene [which features the film’s protagonist, Tara, heartbreakingly played by Mia Mckenna-Bruce] – was a private, closed set. But Shaun had to perform in front of 300 people. And it was a delicate performance. I remember throwing up on the second day and being like, ‘What have I done? This is terrible.’”
How To Have Sex is a cinematic unicorn – a critically acclaimed, independent movie with numerous award wins and nominations, that cuts through to a mainstream audience regardless of age and gender. A neon-hued nightmare, it showcases six teenagers’ relentless commitment to a ‘good time’ on their post-exam beach vacations. “Best holiday ever”, they repeatedly reassure each other. It’s so authentic, it feels for the most part like a documentary, or at the very least, unscripted improvisation. In fact, Manning Walker storyboarded every moment.
She developed a helpfully un-Hollywood motto: “‘It’s just a film, no one’s dying’. I really had to pick myself up at the end of the first week, and be like, you’ve got to enjoy this because you might never get this opportunity again. You’re on a Greek island, making a film with your mates – how bad can it really be?”
It was only when they started screening the film that she realized just how impactful it was, with audiences heatedly debating the meaning of consent after the lights went up. “We’ve had people stand up and be, like, ‘She didn’t get out the bed, she didn’t say no’, and we’ve had [people] feeling seen by it, like it’s their story. We are desperately trying to show the film in schools – that is the plan.” It has since been announced that UK charity Schools Consent Project will be screening the film for students, alongside lawyer-led workshops around consent.
“We’ve had [people] feeling seen by it, like it’s their story. We are desperately trying to show the film in schools – that is the plan
”
Manning Walker grew up around the industry (both her parents work in film; her brother is a musician) and started making films at 19 while still at film school, working with the then-unknown artist Frank Lebon on low-budget music videos and a short film about the moral compass of dogs: “It never felt like a hierarchy [with Lebon]; it felt like a magical collaboration.”
She cites their breakthrough A$AP Rocky video for Sundress as one of the high points of her career. “Once that [video] broke, we started getting the deals and the Gucci campaigns, but A$AP was the first time someone gave us lights and a proper camera. We were 21 on this huge set and the whole crew were our mates, and I remember thinking: ‘I just want to make films with my friends for the rest of my life.’”
The feeling of camaraderie remains her priority. Several years ago, she founded Babe City FC, a soccer team for women and non-binary people in the industry – now a club of 270. “It’s a community where everyone helps each other out and gives each other jobs. Stuff like that gives me maximum joy.”
So, when she decamped to Crete to film How To Have Sex, Manning Walker took the community spirit with her. For the first six weeks, during pre-production, the cast and crew played soccer every Sunday. “At the end of the first day, we all knew each other’s names ’cause we were, like, ‘Yo, pass the ball.’ By the time we started shooting, we were already a tight-knit crew. There’s a lot of crossover between football and filmmaking – the fact you have to play as a team, pass the ball, communicate.”
She is now working on a new script. “Looking at what we want in the world, considering it’s on fire, I want to tell stories that resonate,” she says. But, rather than relishing the freedom that typically follows critical and commercial success, she’s wary of it. “There’s a really interesting thing that happens. When you’re a first-time filmmaker, everyone’s, like, ‘Oh my god, this [much] money, we need to scrutinize every decision.’ Then, when you make something people like, everyone’s like, ‘Do whatever you want.’ I don’t want that to happen; I think that’s dangerous for everyone involved.”
Being on set, says Manning Walker, is her “super-happy place”, and she’s keen to get back there – but she is also keeping her door open: “I quite like switching up the old career,” she says with excitement. “So maybe [I can be] a radio presenter. Anyone wants to give me a radio-presenter job, I’m here for it.”