Rye Lane: Casting Director Kharmel Cochrane on Reframing Your Definition of Success

03/22/23 • 37 min

Kharmel Cochrane is one of the most recognised casting directors in the British film and television industry. Her latest project, the newly-released Rye Lane, is a rom-com set in South London over the course of one day. Directed by Raine Allen-Miller, this heart-warming, upbeat film caught the attention of critics when it premiered at Sundance and is coming out on Disney. The film owes much of its success to the fantastic central characters, expertly selected by Kharmel.

Rye Lane is just one of an array of films that Kharmel has worked on. Having casted projects such as The End of the F**king World, The Lighthouse, Mothering Sunday and Emerald Fennell’s upcoming project Saltburn, Kharmel is one of the most recognised casting directors in the British film and television industry.

At just 25 years old, she set up her own casting company, and in the time since has developed her own unique casting process which she tailors to each project. She’s also harnessed the ability to listen to her gut, noting that her fingers start tingling when she knows she’s found the right actor for the job.

Kharmel also shares her insights into the pressure that the film industry places on women, and her advice for reframing your definition of success; her own definition has evolved from wanting to win awards to being able to take a holiday without having to justify herself.

In this episode, Kharmel shares her advice on:

Setting boundaries between work and your personal life
Amplifying your voice
Discovering your own definition of success to experience true creative fulfilment

Please note that there may be some spoilers relating to the film in this episode

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Women Behind the Scenes is hosted by Eloise Singer and produced by Ben Weaver-Hincks for Singer Studios.

Executive Producers - Eloise Singer and Cathy Anderson

Production Manager - Hannah Alexander

Post Production - Matt McGuinness

Editing, Mixing and Mastering - Tom Fred Bradshaw [iGame.Audio]

Music - PremiumBeat.com

Production Assistant - Lucy Davidson

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