The film EFA is an idea i came up with over the course of a week after brainstorming and wanting a film idea of my own to present. I was inspired by a story of an old man who had escaped his care home, which i had read about earlier in the year.
The story was about a man named Bernard Jordan, an 89 year old D-Day veteran living in a nursing home in Portsmouth, who wanted to attend the 70th anniversary commemorations in Normandy but was not granted approval to make the journey as the trip could not be organised properly for him. So, Bernard took matters into his own hands, hiding his war medals under a raincoat he told his carers he was going for a walk before boarding a coach to France. By the time staff at the care home had realised he was missing in the evening, Bernard was already checked into a hotel in Normandy. The whole event did spark a frantic missing person search, but once he was made known to be safe and helped back on his journey home the story became quite a humorous one for news reporters and Bernard was given a hero’s return.
I noticed from this story, people really seem to root for a person in this perculiar kind of position, as it went viral on social networks and various news websites. It seems that the general public enjoy following a character who, no matter what their age or physical/mental limitations, still has some fighting spirit in them to succeed and no matter how small the task may seem to an everyday person, you know that it means a lot to them and so it becomes heart warming to read about.
As this was to be a short film, i had to make sure that i take considerations with story and how it would follow a structure that would fit in a 10 minute sort of limit. I decided to do some research into short films to see which i favoured and the structure they followed to see how i could cross reference this with my own.
I found https://www.youtube.com/futureshorts to be a great resource of short films. This was where i was first inspired by short films 5 years ago, when i came across “The Black Hole”
I was mesmerised by the creativity and intelligence in story. Revisiting this short film i realised how much i would love to create a short film that is “clever” and contains a sort of twist at the end for the audiences enjoyment, hopefully being un-expecting.
I was mesmerised by the creativity and intelligence in story. Revisiting this short film i realised how much i would love to create a short film that is “clever” and contains a sort of twist at the end for the audiences enjoyment, hopefully being un-expecting.
Upon further research into this sort of genre of short films i discovered the Bombay Imagination Series. Run by Bombay Sapphire, this series was all about sparking imagination. An Oscar winning writer, Geoffrey Fletcher was asked to write a short script stripped of any stage direction. Using Fletcher’s dialogue (which they were not allowed to change), screenwriters were called upon to infuse their own brand of imagination - such as genre, location, situation, characters, etc. - to make Fletcher’s words come alive in whatever story-world they could dream up. The five most imaginative film entries were picked, produced and premiered at Tribeca Film Festival.
Title: Room 8 - Winner of the BAFTA for Short Film 2014
Winner: James W. Griffiths
Title: Water Song
Winner: Paul Frankl
Title: The Mrs
Winner: Shekhar Bassi
Title: Crab
Winner: Cadi Catlow
Title: Concrete
Winner: Alexis Barroso Gasco
The reason i enjoyed these films and found them to be a good reference is because they were all shot with limitations. The script was half decided for them and to be honest isn't that strong and quite ambiguous, however, it has to be for it's purpose so that it can be adapted. This means that all the films had the chance to be as creative as possible in visuals and imagination of interpreting the story in different ways. I believe as a 3rd year university student who hasn't had much experience in narrative film or scriptwriting, this is more or less what i would be expecting to produce (albeit they have quite seemingly high production values) and provides a good aim.
I am inspired particularly by Room 8 as a short film. I finished the film feeling so excited by the story and had to watch it again right away, as i felt it was so clever and wanted to see it from a second time viewing perspective, knowing the ending. I really want to be able to evoke this feeling in my own audience when they walk away from the film and almost give a reason to want to watch it again, spotting little details that would make sense, a slight satsfaction. For this reason i started to experiment with the thought of working in some sort of cyclical theme to Efa, having the beginning link to the ending. Below is how i aimed to achieve this:
In text:
1) Efa arrives to care home in small car in the evening. Does not know where she has come from, we do not see the driver.
- The film opens with a average looking car driving into a country-house driveway, we do not see the passengers or driver. A care nurse walks from the house doors to where the car parks and opens the door. She greets the old lady who steps out of the car and ask's "How was your journey", the old lady in confused about said "journey" and this is the first hint that the old lady has some sort of memory problem though it is never said what exactly throughout the film. We are taken into the country looking house which we find out is a a residential country nursing home of not many guests, all of whom are sleeping. Efa is taken to her room, where all her belongings are already placed
2) Learn of story about EFA and her adventurous past. Family to her is just her son, whom since a young boy, every month would take to a sentimental spot to keep fit and bond together. He has a family of his own and can not look after her, she only remembers what he looked like as a young boy. Her husband has passed away and so she does not have visitors.
- Through conversations with the other people in the home/nurses we learn about who EFA is and her story. The idea is that she is portrayed as having a somewhat adventurous past, always on her feet climbing and walking. Efa has pictures to show some of these as well as much younger pictures of her son and husband, she remembers these old times so well but never speaks or seems clear of recent events. She does not seem to mention much about her family, only that her husband passed away many years ago and her son grew up with a family of his own. Her true passion is just to be outside and so she tries to be outside when she can and is fond of her walking boots.
3) EFA plots a day escape as the end of the month is approaching and she can’t accept not sticking with her ritual of visiting the spot she always has seen with her son. The plan is then put into action.
- With the carers being used to Efa wanting to be outside she realises, though she would get in trouble, that she could plan a day escape to return to the spot she is so fond of and it's only one day of the month so Efa doesn't see it as a big deal, she's not escaping for good. Her plan of route and timings is set in place, she packs a packed lunch and other bits and bobs for along the way as well as a bit of money for the bus. The next day she will put it into action.
4) After leaving the care home, she begins a short half day trip to the location, travelling by bus and taking a steady pace realising she is getting older and not as fit as she once was. Once at the spot she takes in the air and reminices. She also meets a man who’m she tells her story to and why she is there, he listens fondly and asks if they can take a picture together. He also offers her a ride home as it is not a short trip back.
- Being a small town, the hike for Efa is not that huge, still a significant walk, but no mountain, however for an old woman we see how it is exciting for her to feel like she is doing something a bit mischievous and at the same time re-living young memories as she traces steps along the way. There is not too much time spent focusing on the actual journey itself and we are taken to the sentimental spot where she comes to reside for some time before being approached by a man wondering what an old lady is doing on her own so far from the road. Efa introduces herself and tells the man a short story of why she is where she is and why it means so much to her, being the spot she spent so long with her son watching the sunrise and set throughout the years, a time for them to bond and talk about what is going on in each others life. The man asks how her life is, how she is feeling and after a little talk offers her a lift home.
- We see the two getting into and driving in the car together, during the drive Efa asks the man about his life and he tells her about his family and after a while we see Efa has fallen asleep due to the tiredness. She is woken up when the car comes to a stop and her door is opened by a carer greeting her, asking how her journey was, still a bit tired and confused Efa is not sure what journey this nurse is talking about. She takes Efa in and we see the two walking inside. The man inside the car smiles and once again, drives off.
The story becomes a cycle.
Visual Inspiration:
A lot of the visual inspiration that has inspired me when going through the though planning and brainstorming for Efa came from the film Philomena.
"The film follows the story of Philomena Lee, who after becoming pregnant as a teenager in Ireland in 1952, was sent to the convent of Roscrea to be looked after as a “fallen woman”. When her baby was only a toddler, he was taken away by the nuns to America for adoption. Philomena spent the next fifty years searching for him. Then she met Martin Sixsmith, a world-weary journalist as cynical as Philomena was trusting. Together they set off for America on a journey that would not only reveal the extraordinary story of Philomena’s son, but also the powerful bond that grew up between Philomena and Martin."
I really enjoyed the cinematography throughout Philomena, it felt very close to the subject a lot of the time, really capturing emotions well. The lighting and colours always felt very "real" and true to portraying british landscapes and homes. Due to this "realness" Philomena ends up feeling like good old cinema at it's best, where shot composition, natural lighting, and film stock are used as a tool to tell the story and create a feel, not using computer generated effects to compensate. The majority of the film was shot on the Arri Alexa and then Super 16mm utilised for the 1950s flashback scenes, it worked wonderfully well to convey time change and a feeling of saddened loneliness. The whole film feels like it has the basis for the style of Efa and there are many scenes and shots i would love to try and transfer across to my own film.
Locations:
The locations that would be needed for this would be:
1) Exterior to front of residential country home, minimal shooting needed here.
2) Interior of home - This can be broken down to room by room and is not actually necessary to film in the same house.
1) Efa arrives to care home in small car in the evening. Does not know where she has come from, we do not see the driver.
- The film opens with a average looking car driving into a country-house driveway, we do not see the passengers or driver. A care nurse walks from the house doors to where the car parks and opens the door. She greets the old lady who steps out of the car and ask's "How was your journey", the old lady in confused about said "journey" and this is the first hint that the old lady has some sort of memory problem though it is never said what exactly throughout the film. We are taken into the country looking house which we find out is a a residential country nursing home of not many guests, all of whom are sleeping. Efa is taken to her room, where all her belongings are already placed
2) Learn of story about EFA and her adventurous past. Family to her is just her son, whom since a young boy, every month would take to a sentimental spot to keep fit and bond together. He has a family of his own and can not look after her, she only remembers what he looked like as a young boy. Her husband has passed away and so she does not have visitors.
- Through conversations with the other people in the home/nurses we learn about who EFA is and her story. The idea is that she is portrayed as having a somewhat adventurous past, always on her feet climbing and walking. Efa has pictures to show some of these as well as much younger pictures of her son and husband, she remembers these old times so well but never speaks or seems clear of recent events. She does not seem to mention much about her family, only that her husband passed away many years ago and her son grew up with a family of his own. Her true passion is just to be outside and so she tries to be outside when she can and is fond of her walking boots.
3) EFA plots a day escape as the end of the month is approaching and she can’t accept not sticking with her ritual of visiting the spot she always has seen with her son. The plan is then put into action.
- With the carers being used to Efa wanting to be outside she realises, though she would get in trouble, that she could plan a day escape to return to the spot she is so fond of and it's only one day of the month so Efa doesn't see it as a big deal, she's not escaping for good. Her plan of route and timings is set in place, she packs a packed lunch and other bits and bobs for along the way as well as a bit of money for the bus. The next day she will put it into action.
4) After leaving the care home, she begins a short half day trip to the location, travelling by bus and taking a steady pace realising she is getting older and not as fit as she once was. Once at the spot she takes in the air and reminices. She also meets a man who’m she tells her story to and why she is there, he listens fondly and asks if they can take a picture together. He also offers her a ride home as it is not a short trip back.
- Being a small town, the hike for Efa is not that huge, still a significant walk, but no mountain, however for an old woman we see how it is exciting for her to feel like she is doing something a bit mischievous and at the same time re-living young memories as she traces steps along the way. There is not too much time spent focusing on the actual journey itself and we are taken to the sentimental spot where she comes to reside for some time before being approached by a man wondering what an old lady is doing on her own so far from the road. Efa introduces herself and tells the man a short story of why she is where she is and why it means so much to her, being the spot she spent so long with her son watching the sunrise and set throughout the years, a time for them to bond and talk about what is going on in each others life. The man asks how her life is, how she is feeling and after a little talk offers her a lift home.
- We see the two getting into and driving in the car together, during the drive Efa asks the man about his life and he tells her about his family and after a while we see Efa has fallen asleep due to the tiredness. She is woken up when the car comes to a stop and her door is opened by a carer greeting her, asking how her journey was, still a bit tired and confused Efa is not sure what journey this nurse is talking about. She takes Efa in and we see the two walking inside. The man inside the car smiles and once again, drives off.
The story becomes a cycle.
Visual Inspiration:
A lot of the visual inspiration that has inspired me when going through the though planning and brainstorming for Efa came from the film Philomena.
"The film follows the story of Philomena Lee, who after becoming pregnant as a teenager in Ireland in 1952, was sent to the convent of Roscrea to be looked after as a “fallen woman”. When her baby was only a toddler, he was taken away by the nuns to America for adoption. Philomena spent the next fifty years searching for him. Then she met Martin Sixsmith, a world-weary journalist as cynical as Philomena was trusting. Together they set off for America on a journey that would not only reveal the extraordinary story of Philomena’s son, but also the powerful bond that grew up between Philomena and Martin."
I really enjoyed the cinematography throughout Philomena, it felt very close to the subject a lot of the time, really capturing emotions well. The lighting and colours always felt very "real" and true to portraying british landscapes and homes. Due to this "realness" Philomena ends up feeling like good old cinema at it's best, where shot composition, natural lighting, and film stock are used as a tool to tell the story and create a feel, not using computer generated effects to compensate. The majority of the film was shot on the Arri Alexa and then Super 16mm utilised for the 1950s flashback scenes, it worked wonderfully well to convey time change and a feeling of saddened loneliness. The whole film feels like it has the basis for the style of Efa and there are many scenes and shots i would love to try and transfer across to my own film.
Locations:
The locations that would be needed for this would be:
1) Exterior to front of residential country home, minimal shooting needed here.
2) Interior of home - This can be broken down to room by room and is not actually necessary to film in the same house.
- Efa's room
- Living room/Communal Room
- Hallway
- Kitchen/Diner
3) Landscape that Efa will be walking through, with some sort of landmark where she will end up.
Potentially Belle Tout Lighthouse in Eastbourne. It has a beautiful cliff view to look onto, a lighthouse which can be the sentimental destination and a huge open landscape for Efa to walk along as her "adventure".
Also there would need to be considerations about vehicles:
4) Bus or Train depending on what transport Efa uses to get to the location.
5) Car which she is driven home in
To conclude:
I realise that for a student film, the way it stands is rather ambitious. I think presenting what Efa is at the moment as a rough idea for the film has a good concept and could produce a really nice end product. I am looking forward to hearing from others and having some constructive criticism on how to move forward and make this a reality. I think the story definitely needs some development and then a script to be created so that it is all down on paper and can be understood clearly. Though my interests do not really lay in scriptwriting i would consider taking this up to push Efa forward and that is where i would concentrate. However, if possible i would rather co-write the film and be able to concentrate more on the cinematography.
