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November 14, 1999

ONEGIN'S FAMILY LINE

Just when you thought there were already enough members of the ubiquitous Fiennes family in the showbusiness world, another one pops up to demonstrate her talents.

Martha Fiennes is the sister of Shakespeare in Love actor Joseph and The English Patient star Ralph, and she is about to follow in the footsteps of her famous siblings with her big screen directoral debut, Onegin.

What's more, she has opted to keep it firmly in the family - as it is eldest brother Ralph who takes the lead role in her first film and younger brother Magnus who has written the musical score.

And all the work has appeared to pay off as Martha, 35, was named best director at the Tokyo International Film Festival on November 8 - and Ralph was the first to congratulate her.

But judging by their candid account of working together for the first time it wasn't always a case of brother and sisterly love on set.

"The official line is that it was all sweetness and light," smiles Martha, glancing cagily at her brother. "But with a sibling of course you have moments of tension and resistance."

In fact, despite their "moments of tension", Martha and Ralph are endearingly close, sharing a light-hearted banter and glowing respect for one another's work. Martha can thank Ralph for giving her her big screen break as it was he who insisted that she should direct him in Onegin, an adaptation of the Russian classic, and a project he has been developing for more than six years.

It was, however, no mean feat for Martha, as Onegin is based on the epic verse novel Eugene Onegin by Alexander Pushkin and widely regarded as one of Russia's greatest works of literature.

Some Russian critics were appalled that a pair of British film-makers should tamper with the revered work and Martha, whose only previous experience had been as an award winning director of commercials and music videos, admits she also had her doubts.

"It was daunting," she confesses. "I'm human. I'm aware of the stakes one is playing for here. However, when one has worked on something for so long and invested so much into it and you feel that you know it very, very well then the nervousness is more like an adrenaline and acute concentration and focus."

Onegin is set in 1820s St Petersburg and tells the melancholic tale of a jaded young man who rejects the love of a beautiful young woman only to discover years later that he has made a terrible mistake.

Martha clearly enjoyed working with her brother and the pair haven't ruled out the possibility of doing it again sometime. That's if he can take any more of her little indiscretions.

Asked if Ralph has ever appeared in any of her commercials, she quickly responds: "Not mine, but he did do one where he had to step out of a shower - looking terribly handsome of course."

"Er ... yes, I think that's quite enough of that Martha," he says, swiftly bringing the interview to a close.