An aspiring film maker is taking inspiration from his Epsom roots as he attempts to make his name in Hollywood.

Paul Kowalski, 34, is following his American dream after moving to Los Angeles to take up a scholarship with the American Film Institute (AFI).

His debut feature film, Breathe, which he wrote and directed, is a psychological thriller about a neurosurgeon haunted by his wife’s death.

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Paul was born at Epsom General Hospital and attended St. Christopher’s School in Epsom, then later Chinthurst School. In the 1990s his family moved abroad and he lived all over the Middle East, North Africa and Asia.

He said: “The nomadic lifestyle meant I was an outsider wherever we lived. I mean that in the most positive sense – my youth was full of adventure, novelty, and absorbing new cultures.

“Probably my original desires to tell stories were born out of a need to make sense of everything I was experiencing, to try to find some kind of universality among the differences.”

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Paul has fond memories of growing up in Epsom and running freely on the Downs with his brother. His experiences at British schools are the inspiration for a supernatural drama he is developing set in a UK boarding school.

He added: “My early schooling in Epsom definitely shaped my psyche. British schools have more tradition and rigour. It might have been a bit ridiculous as a nine-year-old to put on a blazer, cap and tie, and take your briefcase into school every day, but I realise now how the discipline, decorum and respect helped shape me as an adult.

“I know that English gloom and rain have also played a role in sprouting my penchant for dark, psychological films.”

Paul describes filmmaking as a “mysterious process” – a modern art form, but also following an ancient tradition of storytelling.

“My films never start with something I am desperate to say, or a theme,” he said. “They start with a feeling, an image, or a piece of music, and the narrative coalesces around that.”

Paul’s family still lives in Epsom but for now his future is in Hollywood, where he thinks being British can be an advantage.

“On the whole, I think Americans are curious about, and often fetishize, British culture,” he said. “In this sense, perhaps being British helps you stand out.”

Breathe was recently awarded the Audience Choice Award for Best Short Film at the Beverly Hills Film Festival. It will be screened at Derby Film Festival in the UK on Sunday May 8.

See the trailer at http://www.paulkowalski.com/film-breathe.html