Anton H. Gill

FULL SCREEN VIEW

Director's Statement

FERSISS © 2009 | PRIVACY POLICY

Seated in the audience of the play on which the film is based, I had no intention of going into production. But as the performance progressed, I found myself so entertained that the prospect of a filmed version seemed compelling even before the lights came up. Being from Trinidad where British programming dominated my childhood television viewing, I revere dry humor and this play held such moments in spades to say nothing of the distinctive musical lyrics and of the underlying ode to relationships, heterosexual and otherwise.Luckily, the theatrical cast accepted my invitation and attached themselves early on so principal casting was resolved in one fell swoop. But for me, apart from the other elements of pre-production, one of the most acute tasks at hand lay in building trust among all parties. Up until that moment, I had only written and produced a few shorts (and dramas at that), had never directed a film, and had never adapted the work of another writer. Luckily, we all made immediate good-faith efforts in this direction. For her part, Nicole suggested I adapt the script and offered to vacate the lead role for a male actor, offers that I in turn, declined. Having Nicole adapt what by her own admission was her most cherished work would, I felt, help her retain the comfort of creative control. And frankly, I felt that the play might suffer if the lead role were not played by a woman. Gender-bending was never so much needed, but you’ll see what I mean.Next came locating scouting. I was intent that the finished product should not hint at its theatrical origins and therefore be as cinematic as possible. My search began immediately knowing one thing - there would be no film if I didn’t find what I needed. Due to budgetary constraints, I wasn’t willing to build what I envisaged. Suffice to say that a great set presented itself and the rest, as they say, is history.All in all, my greatest personal challenge lay in breaking down the script and ensuring that my shots were appropriately motivated, and provided the visual leverage to showcase the story. LIke any new endeavor, I simply poured hours into preparation, specifically into my shot list and storyboards until I could “see” the movie in my mind’s eye. In many ways, I feel that the cosmos conspired with us to realize this film, a trend that continued well into post-production with the exhaustive efforts of several individuals including Aaron, my editor on this and all my preceding narrative shorts, Judith who did post-sound, and to Erin and Kristian, my two producers. And I will forever be indebted to the collective “herd” at Scary Cow Productions. In my view, I accomplished what I set out to do - honor the original play and as a result, reaped the benefit of a small, but significant milestone in my filmmaking education and experience.