EPISODE 4 NICK BROOMFIELD & DAN SMITH

Legendary documentary maker Nick Broomfield and singer-songwriter and Bastille frontman Dan Smith talk to Charlotte about Nick’s film Marianne and Leonard: Words of Love, and how it came to inspire Dan’s own songwriting.

DON’T MISS

  • Nick’s Broomfield’s extraordinary insights into how Leonard Cohen’s songwriting skills were helped by a diet of speed and sandwiches.

  • Nick Broomfield’s insider tips into how to find the narrative drive and best interviewees to make a compelling documentary.

  • Dan Smith’s hilarious anecdotes of co-writing songs on zoom during lockdown.

CHARLOTTE ON NICK AND DAN

“I met achingly cool documentary maker Nick Broomfield at a film festival in Spain, and it is no exaggeration to say that we literally talked all night. And we’ve been talking ever since.

A few years later, I met the insanely talented Brit award-winning singer-songwriter, composer and creative force Dan Smith. He invited me to writer a theatrical response to his album Doom Days, and at our first meeting we talked so much, the uber driver I’d booked to take me home left in a huff.

What Nick and Dan share is a glorious spirit of enquiry, coupled with an extraordinary capacity to find the humanity in every person they encounter. They also share a passion for film. Dan’s love of cinema inspired him to write a song based on Nick’s movie, Marianne and Leonard: Word of Love. So what a joy to bring Nick and Dan together to discuss why this film resonates so deeply with them both.

I cannot wait to share this episode with you!”