A man dying of Aids narrates his reflections of hurt about the woman he loves as his own life slips away
The Production
In my capacities as Vice-Chairman of Wide Angle Productions one of the measures we introduced was that each member of the crew be interchangeable. It often required additional training and internal workshops. The result was that in just under two years I worked uncredited on over twenty short films as: Cinematographer; Sound; Cameraman; Production Manager; Script Supervisor; Line Producer; and Art Director. I took this invaluable experience with me into my own Production Company Amber Films formed shortly after I left Wide Angle, where we soon began work on The Stars & The Stones.
As Writer/Director I had chosen to tell the story using black and white photography instead of film. Photography that was captured on 35mm and not digital.
It was shot on location in Brighton over the course of two weeks between the hours of 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. to ensure complete frame isolation for the Actress. The photograph used for the one sheet alone took two hours of light rigging before we had the shot I wanted for the film.
When complete we developed by hand over 160 images in our dark room.
Having just wrapped on a mainstream Television Production, the lead Actor was cast a few weeks after finalising these stills. The narration was recorded in a professional studio where the film was also edited.
It premiered in Oct 2000 at the Calgary Film Festival where it was hailed as “a cinematic poem.”
