"I sat and wrote the first-line when Andy Murray won Wimbledon! I was the only person who was not actually watching that, but instead writing this. We finished the final sound-mix this Wimbledon. So it was a twelve-month process..."

In terms of casting considerations - they are very talented and it reflects throughout the film. How did you chose that particular cast?

The reason why I did it that way, if I go back to my first film that I made with actors. Is that you spend so much time putting in eyebrows movements and lines is that as a director you don't actually get to see the film as you are too busy doing different bits. So when we came to do The Man Who Married Himself, we decided to go with a proper actor and we were lucky enough to get Richard E. Grant. What I found from that process was that the film process itself became so much easier, people returned your calls, the cast came so much easier, the crew came easier, and actually when you filmed it, it is also easier. I meant you have to deal with a big star - which is different. But the process is slightly easier.

So when we came to do Retrospective, I wanted to take the same strategy. We had a couple of people in mind and Charles Dance was on top of the list. I was lucky enough that my producer knew him, and had worked on a film with him before. So we found out where he was on location shooting Game Of Thrones, so we sent him a script. After hearing nothing for over two weeks, apart from a text message saying I am not so sure. So we were like 'oh dear, this isn't very good...' - but then he sent back a charming letter saying that he would like to do it, but he would like to work with you on it. So he spent a lot of time with the dialogue and helping with his input. Once you got your main actor, the rest sort of follow in. So Emelia, I knew who luckily would carry on with this film as well. Charles brought Vincent [Regan], so bringing the hard-man with him as it were.

Then we had a real hunt for the angry-Arab. A couple of people that we approached were too busy doing feature films, and this and that. Then somebody came and said what about Omid [Djalili]? Did you see him in this film? etc. I had only ever knew him as a comedian. Funny enough, we actually sent him the script and he never got it, because we sent it to his daughter's house. But three-weeks later, he did actually come along and say I really want to do this film.

Overall, what message would you expect audiences to take from the film?

I think that the way we consume information, online, or certain TV channels, I think the stories get reduced down to a very small snippet, they are either a victim or you not. You are either evil or good - the people and locations boil down to a very small thing. You don't really get to understand the story, you don't really understand what is happening, but only the top line. So I wanted to take this picture, which on the surface of things looks like one thing, but over the course of twenty-minutes to examine both viewpoints, and the illusion it swings from his view to his view until the conclusion.

With the cast, had you seen much of their work in previous projects that drew you to choosing them, or did it involve any research?

I had seen Charles in lots of his films, I had particularly liked him in Aliens - which is one of my absolute favourites with him, and Thrones, I think he is amazing in that at the moment. Vincent I had seen a couple of films, in particular Lockdown, he is very cool, and charming to work with. What I love about actors is that they come with their own ideas to make it better, and Vincent was like that. He was like 'what about if I do this' or 'what about if I do that?' and he was just amazingly full of ideas. Obviously I had seen Omid in a couple of things, Gladiator etc but only little snippets. He was much more of a leap of faith. But he was amazing and grew into the part. By day two he had as you can see on the screen was very angry.

This is an opinion-based sort question. What would you say is the best outlet for short-films? Whether they should be best shown before feature-films again, online or their own cinema screenings. As unfortunately they do not get as much attention as features?

I wish that they were at back at the beginning of feature films, because I always remember watching a ten-minute teaser of something before the main event. It is a bit like an appetizer. I think that online has been amazing, because people consume short-film content now, on their phones or tablets going into work. So short-stories and short-films are becoming much more popular because of those devices.

This is a question that is often very popular online, but do you have any advice for aspiring young film-makers?

I would say that the first thing to do is really find a story that you believe in, that you really love and want to share with the rest of the world. Because it is twelve to eighteen months of your life - and you don't want to fall out of love with it half-way through. The second thing I would say is to not take no for an answer, you really have to believe in yourself and never give up and keep going and say that there is a way that I can do this. Because there is a thousand reasons why you can't do, but in the end there is one reason why you can - and that is you. It is your film, and you have to drive it, you can't expect your producer to drive it, or your DoP, it is you who has to make it. The last bit would be to pick a date, once you have got an actor, one of them - as you need to give them a date. Then pick that date and stick to it. Then you can shape the finance and locations around it, because you can then get your hands around it and make it doable. Before then, it is like walking in and around quicksand!

Retrospective will be available via Shorts TV and iTunes in December: