An aspiring poet confronts the cruelty of fate after a chance encounter with a lost lover.

In It Was English, director Brian Petchers crafts a poignant tale of love, fate, and the weight of missed opportunities. The film follows an aspiring poet who, through a chance encounter with a lost love, is forced to confront the delicate balance between destiny and personal choice. As memories resurface and emotions reignite, the story delicately navigates the intersections of romance, regret, and the paths we leave behind.

Starring Charlotte Hope (Game of Thrones) and Ian Nelson (Teen Wolf), It Was English is a deeply personal reflection on the small decisions that shape our lives. Inspired by his own journey into fatherhood, Petchers explores the interplay between nostalgia and the present, encouraging audiences to embrace their emotions and take the bold steps that truly matter. Through tender storytelling and evocative performances, the film serves as both a love letter to the past and a gentle push toward the future.

The film delves into the themes of fate and missed opportunities. How did your personal experiences inspire this exploration?

Riding the subway I looked into a passing train just for a brief moment before it disappeared, and the concept of misconnections developed. It made me reflect on my own experiences and the idea that millions of tiny decisions and non decisions have led me to the present moment.

Your film captures both romance and personal reflection. How did you balance these emotional tones without letting one overshadow the other?

I view this as a story of romance wrapped in the concept of self reflection. It’s a slightly different interpretation of a traditional love story because it’s a visualization from a single characters’ perspective, and is intentionally idealistic. Being conscious of and leaning into this aspirational, dreamlike tone motivated the romantic elements in a way unique to this story.

Charlotte Hope and Ian Nelson bring a lot of depth to their characters. What was the casting process like, and how did they help shape the story?

Krista Minto, the film’s producer, did an incredible job of getting the script in front of both Charlotte and Ian. We were fortunate that their scheduling lent itself to our production. Creatively, they both resonated with the material because of personal experiences, so they were able to bring big parts of themselves into the inspiration and development of their characters.

The film beautifully portrays the concept of ‘what could have been.’ What was your approach to writing and visually depicting the bittersweet emotions tied to missed chances?

My goal was to depict an alternate universe that was so lushess and inviting that it felt cold in the return to reality. I did this through the poetic language of dialogue and voiceover, the fluidity of the camera movement and the warm color palette. All of these elements are contrasted at the beginning and end of the film with a rigid and off-putting structure to the framing, as well as the character’s talking over one another – unsuccessfully trying to achieve a natural cadence.

The story revolves around a chance encounter with a lost lover. Did you draw on any specific films, books, or personal moments for inspiration in crafting this reunion?

There was not a specific film that inspired this project although reflecting back now I think 8 ½, La La Land, Lola and Inception all influenced some of the creative decision making.

The film invites viewers to reflect on their own lives. What do you hope audiences take away after watching this story?

I hope the film invites people to gently explore the complexities of their own lives while encouraging them to act on what they feel is important, even if it requires a little bit of courage.

The cinematography captures moments in an almost poetic way. What was your vision for the visual style, and how did it enhance the storytelling?

The visual style was intentionally poetic – I wanted to move from moment to moment in a way that memory does, and in the same way poetry can. Poetry offers fragments of the whole without being overly literal, while still conjuring an essence – and that was the feeling I was after for this project.

As a new father, what has changed in your approach to filmmaking and storytelling?

Do you find yourself drawn to more personal themes now? Fatherhood has given me the opportunity to see things more clearly from multiple points of view, which can be valuable and rewarding as a filmmaker.