Amy Ramsden is the winner of the Best Young Actress Award for the title role in Vixen

Amy kindly agreed to an interview at Movie 2001 when she arrived with a large group from Channel 7 Productions. To my shame I failed to operate the mini-disc recorder properly so what follows is based on my recollection of our conversation. - Dave Watterson

At 10 years old Amy Ramsden is a confident young woman, willing to talk about her work and ambitions. She has taken part in a musical theatre production for Peppercorns Performing Arts.  Following tragic floods which drowned all the adults of a Fenland village the surviving children established a form of society with the distant blessing of the church.  One child, however, is abandoned to live like an animal in the woods and is accused of having caused the tragedy through witchcraft. She is called Vixen. The young community hound her as the scapegoat for all their problems.  This true story was presented as part of the millennium works by Peppercorn.

The musical was written and produced by Steve Muzolf. Darren Lalonde had recorded the production on tape and was enthusiastic about the idea of opening it up as a project for Channel 7 Productions.  Steve and Darren wrote and directed the drama which was to become Vixen.  Though Amy had played on stage the part of Vixen she had to audition to get the part on film.

Work on Vixen was fun but also tough going.  Shooting took place over a week including some overnight sessions.  In her "wild girl" costume Amy was only too aware of how cold it can get.  She remembers the worst part as her scene in the stream.  She had to lie in the water and mud with artificial blood on her for what seemed ages until the director was satisfied with the shot.  Another tough time came when she had to be beaten by enraged village children.  The plan was for her to take six blows but as the cameras rolled she got eight.

Amy was very much part of the team of young actors whose enthusiasm and honesty makes Vixen so powerful. Although she was singled out for an award she says no one else expressed jealously.

When her character is captured Amy had to be trussed like an animal and carried back to the village - a picture from the rehearsal is shown here.  This she also remembers as an uncomfortable experience.

Since Vixen has had no formal education and learned language only by eavesdropping on lessons the part calls for her to speak a fractured, pidgin English.  Amy makes light of the problems involved in learning those lines.  In fact she makes few comments on the inevitable tedium of a location shoot where actors must wait for the camera and lighting team to set up before doing their part.  She is complimentary about the other actors and says she enjoyed the movie making experience.

Since then Amy played the part of Control from Starlight Express in a Peppercorn Productions tribute to Andrew Lloyd Webber.  She is involved with Jennifer Says a new Channel 7 production about four girls who are held in a Mental Asylum at the beginning of the 20th century. (The illustration shows her in rehearsal.) It is obviously early days for career decisions but at present she sees her own future as an actress.

As to the experience of watching herself on screen, she admits that though she was so familiar with the script she still found herself crying at its poignant ending.

The production and rehearsal stills are courtesy of Channel 7 Productions' excellent web site which has details of all their work, performers and crew.  

The Movie 2001 Competition awards

Page updated on 18 May 2009

Authors' views are not necessarily those of The Institute of Amateur Cinematographers

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