New Wave In Conversation: Blair Gyabaah on Evol and the Art of Filmmaking

Conversations between “creatives” can sometimes feel stifled. 

The saving grace is the opposite kind of conversation; the ones that make you want to go home and make something.

This was one of those.

New Wave sat down with Blair Gyabaah — actor, director, producer — to talk about his new short film Evol, nerd out about theatre, and explore what it looks like to stop waiting and start building.

Blair trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, starting in 2018 and graduating in 2021.

Since then, he has spent years in theatre and film, gaining experience. 

Like many performers, his formal training coincided with a period of disruption across the industry. With funding models shifting, theatre attendance fluctuating, and  contention with streaming platforms, he graduated into a changing landscape, and the opportunities available ended up looking slightly different to the ones he had imagined when he first chose this career.

But the story our conversation keeps circling isn’t about getting cast. It’s about creating a table instead of waiting to be invited to one. If the traditional routes are becoming ever narrower, then you have to build parallel ones. 

A: Do you still think of yourself primarily as an actor?

Blair: Primarily. I’m a storyteller first. Acting is one way I tell stories. Writing, producing…it’s the same impulse, just different tools.

A: What shifted?

Blair: Control. Not in an egotistical way, in an ‘I’m obsessed with my craft’ way. As an actor, you come in, do the job, leave. As a creator, you develop the entire world of the story.

We speak at length about theatre, and he speaks with a depth of affection and clarity; it’s clear he loves it.  He enthusiastically assesses my level of theatre nerd — I think I just scrape a pass. Blair still wants the big stages, but he also sees a gap between institutional theatre culture and the audiences he knows. 

Blair: Theatre is important, but it’s not always reaching the people I grew up around.

Filmmaking feels like a bridge.

Blair: Film travels. It circulates. If you want people to find your work, you have to meet them where they already are.

Instead of waiting for the industry, Blair and a friend birthed Ignorance Prevails, a production company that serves as a way to collaborate, and build something sustainable.

The belief is straightforward. Audiences are smarter than we give them credit for.

A: What do you think people respond to most when they watch something?

Blair: People don’t need to be spoon fed. They want to figure things out. When I’m watching something good, I’m predicting. I’m asking what’s really going on. When I start thinking, what would I do in this situation…that’s when it’s working.

A: Tell me more about Evol.

Blair wrote Evol in 2020 during lockdown. It began as a script, shared with friends, developed slowly. 

Two years later, a trip to New York changed his perspective.

Blair: New York has mad hustle. Everyone I met was making something. Not talking about it…actually doing it. Me and my friend were like, we need to stop talking and start doing.

When he came back to London, they pulled together a team, found producing support, and made the film. They handled everything from the shoot to festivals and screenings.

Blair: That was wild. You’re telling people twice your age what to do. But you learn fast.

The story centres Elijah, a young musician who has been dropped by his label and believes his life will finally start once he reaches America. Blair has seen that dream everywhere. Music. Film. Creative work in general.

Alongside him is a young woman from a more affluent background, whose relationship to blackness is tempered by class and proximity. She’s drawn to Elijah’s spontaneity and his risk-taking; she is not ready to live the consequences with him.

Blair: Part of [Elijah] knows it won’t happen. But the fantasy feels safer than the truth.

The film runs just under fifteen minutes. Viewers often ask for more.

Blair: And we’re like…nah. That’s it. It ends where it needs to.

A: You write like an actor.

Blair: Yeah, because I am always thinking about what can be shown instead of said. You don’t need to explain everything.

He talks about space, body language, details that carry meaning sans dialogue.

He also talks about letting go.

Blair: The script isn’t sacred. It’s a guide. Once it leaves your hands, it belongs to the team. Everyone is solving the story together.

He says “we” a lot more than he says “I”, which feels telling.

Near the end, Blair is clear about what he doesn’t want this to be.

Blair: I don’t want this to be yet another industry complaint. I’d rather talk about what we’re building.

He sees a shift. Trained performers becoming creators, making their own work.

He’s already in post-production on another short. There’s a new feature in development.

A: So this is just the beginning?

Blair: Yeah.

Watch EVOL here.