Flies in May

Aim

Flies in May follows Etne and his journey through the surreal events that take place after his visit to the doctor’s office.

After seeing an x-ray of his skull, Etne spirals into thoughts of his death. Etne’s mind conjures up a death myth to deal with his fear of death, manifesting itself as a man of ice rowing on a lake.

No longer able to distinguish dreams from reality, Etne needs to navigate his subconscious mind in which he deals with the loss of himself, his family, and his relationships.

As the film progresses, Etne builds up the death myth, and by the end, he finally surrenders to his thoughts. Going through a fireplace, Etne meets the man of ice. Just as he thinks he has found peace, his fear returns. Finally, Etne opens his eyes and finds himself in a boat on the lake. With faith or not, his life on earth will end at some point, and he has no choice but to row on. His only option is to keep on living.

Flies In May explores the fear of death and its relationship to us personally and those we love. How do we think about death and its consequences? What will people think of you after you are gone? What constitutes your death, is it physical or mental?

We find Etne, an archetypal "modern" man with a conviction in science. This conviction brings him to the only logical conclusion that there is nothing after death and that the body returns to the earth. Although he is willing to let go of his possessions, the thought of losing his experiences and relationships scares him.

Flies In May is a surrealist film, heavily inspired by early experimental cinema by Maya Deren, Luis Bunuel, and Chris Marker, as well as modern films by David Lynch and William Kentridge. Being a surrealist film, it relies heavily on symbolism and experimental filmmaking, such as sequences made of photographs, unrealistic lighting for symbolic purposes, and surrealistic production design.

We are making the film as death has become a more significant part of our lives than it usually is during this last year. In earlier times, and even in the 20th century, death was much closer to the public in the western world. Today, the topic has become very sensitive, even though it is a vital aspect of life. We believe that thinking about one’s death is healthy, and this film reflects on the topic.

The cinematography for Flies in May alludes to the dreamlike subconsciousness of the main character while affirming it is as real as his conscious reality. The borders between the two are often washed and unclear. To achieve this effect, inspiration has been taken from Lynch’s Inland Empire, where camera angles distort the face. We have also looked at Fellini’s 8 ½ for the famous floating camera effect, which will help us construct a dreamlike world. Moreover, as the film deals with themes of the ephemeral in our existence, we have decided to use 16mm film to tell the story. The reason is not only that all of our inspirations are shot on film and we want to stay true to them, but also film looks and feels more organic, it is a material that exists outside of the digital, it is real.

Taking inspiration from artists like Luis Buñuel and Francesca Woodman, we want the design to deviate from reality as we know it and yet exist unquestioned, similarly to a dream. The spaces in Flies in May are interactive, they both torture and provide comfort for Etne’s restless mind. As we see a grand landscape covered in snow and mist, we can connect with it emotionally and feel its liberating powers. However, Etne’s struggles continue, and he finds himself surrounded by anxiety-inducing symbols. 

In our designs, we hope the dark aesthetics of the film will correlate to the clothing effectively. The melancholy and abstract feelings of the text will shine through in our visual harmony. To fit the themes of decay and stagnation in the film, the costumes include breakdown techniques such as patch dying, torn fabrics and ragged textures. The surrealist aspects of the film give us lots of creative freedom. For example, the Ice Prince is an otherworldly character, meaning that there is room for an ethereal costume. Alongside the careful consideration of visuals in collaboration with the scenography and lighting, we hope to prioritise sustainability where we can within the funded budget.

For the edit of this project, we will be taking a very visual approach, storyboarding every last scene until we have a thorough perception of how the sequences will play out. Firstly, this is because we will be shooting on film and therefore need to be considerate of expenditure on the celluloid we’ll be shooting on. Secondly, because the director’s vision is loosely based on experimental films like Chris Marker’s La Jetée, where a lot of still imagery is used to tell stories thus meaning we’ll be relying on carefully chosen compositions that will hopefully in themselves tell a story and edit together cohesively and in rhythm with the main message of the story - a leap of faith into the unknown. 

Beneath, you can see an example of how we storyboard with the storyboard for the crowdfunder trailer.

Every donation, however big or small, will help us towards our goal of making this film a reality. In our budget we have allocated as much money to each department as possible in order for everyone to be able to make the best of their work in this project. You can see how we’ll use our funds raised by Crowdfunding in the pie chart below.  

If you’re unable to donate at this moment, don’t worry, you can still support our project by sharing our Crowdfunder, Facebook and Instagram. Every support – either financial or sharing the word of our project will be a huge help for us!

Stories and myths have a prevalence in nearly everything we do. It is the way we communicate our experiences and emotions with each other. This is why, to me, storytelling is such a worthwhile pursuit. I love filmmaking, as it is always the way these stories have manifested themselves in my head. Having been an editor in my years at AUB, I have been hardwired to create and understand film language, which has always helped me in directing projects. Having directed multiple short historical documentaries, a couple of fictions, and one alternative, I believe I have the creative and leadership skills required to direct an ambitious film such as Flies In May.

The idea itself came to me after reading the existential novels by Sartre and Camus, both dealing with characters struggling with the absurdity of their lives. There is something surreal about thinking of our death, which led me to construct this film as a surreal film. If anything, cinema is surreal in itself, as it is a way for us to portray our dreams in reality. With this film, I did not want to provide an answer to a significant problem, such as the purpose of life in the light of mortality. I don’t believe art’s task is to provide answers. Instead, I wanted to frame the theme in a way that enticed people to interact with it. In the last year, humanity has been quite close to death, which has affected all of us. I believe Ugne, my co-writer, and I wanted to bring this topic to the forefront so that it could be discussed and become a part of our mindset rather than seeing it as the end of all things.

Hi, I’m Mari and I’m the Producer for Flies in May. I’ve been making videos and films for some years now. I love the whole process from idea generation to it being made into script to finally seeing the story on a screen unfold. Film is a great tool to use to tell stories of any kind and to get the message across to a wider audience. In the past I’ve produced a few shorts and have also tried my hand in different smaller producing roles both in UK and in Estonia.

Filmmaking is my passion and I love to be involved in the whole process, from developing the idea into a coherent story and script to working out all the problems during pre-production, production and postproduction. I joined this project in September as I saw the potential and a really good story behind the idea. I love the concept and the idea of using both live-action as well as stop-motion to tell the story both in real life and on a subconscious level in the protagonist’s head. I’ve never worked on an alternative film before so that’s something new for me but I believe that together with our amazing team we’re going to make something unique and great out of this! I find this project very unique as we’re very ambitious with our plans, but with determination and teamwork, I’m sure we’re able to make this idea into a great alternative short film that helps us to tell the story we want to tell.

Meet Benjy, the Co-Producer for Flies In May.

Since arriving at AUB, Benjy describes having been taught the importance of creating films from stories that are worth telling. He says “we have been encouraged to not shy away from making films about difficult topics, but instead use film as a way to engage in conversations about different social, political or ethical issues”. He continues: “All of this whilst simultaneously creating an emotionally immersive experience to captivate audience members feelings”. 

His previous experiences working on both professional and AUB film sets has given him the confidence to be able to help bring Flies in May to the silver screen. Benjy describes being able to be involved from the preproduction stage all the way to final delivery as “an extremely rewarding process”. 

Benjy continues: “Ugne & Hans have not shied away from a difficult topic. By exploring death anxiety, the two have created a gripping tale of Etne’s existential crisis”.        

Hi, I’m Svetla and I’m the Director of Photography for Flies in May. In my teenage years I discovered that film is where my heart really is. After many films watched and some years passed, I decided to study film production at AUB. As a specialist cinematography student, my interest in filmmaking is mainly in the part where we translate all ideas and words into visuals. I’ve had the opportunity to work on many university film productions over the past two years, which has helped me develop my skills and vision as a cinematographer. I intend to give my best for this project as it is an extremely personal one. It is an alternative film, inspired by surrealism and vanitas, the symbols of death. I believe this film is important because fear of death is something natural that we always feel the need to repress instead of accepting. Flies in May breaks this convention and validates the fear of the inevitable. It makes more people feel seen and understood.

Hello, I’m Ugne, and I am the co-writer and production designer for Flies in May. Throughout my studies at AUB I have explored the film medium by working on various alternative projects. However, writing and directing with Hans has been one of the most rewarding experiences so far. Collaborating with Hans once again has encouraged many honest conversations and brave ideas. As Etne’s existential dread manifested in absurd scenarios, I could feel myself sympathizing with his experiences and the film grew to be more and more personal.

As the inevitability of death becomes more apparent in our daily lives, Flies in May encourages us not to suppress the fears surrounding it. Instead, the film offers comfort to those who are afraid. I am very passionate about this project and feel very grateful to see other people believe in it too.

Meet Elijah, our sound designer for Flies In May.

“I’m excited to bring a soundscape uniquely crafted for this unique film. This film offers the exciting prospect of mixing mediums visually and I’m excited to create a playful soundscape that isn’t bound by typical conventions.” 

Elijah continues: “the film balances melancholic images with viscerally driven scenes, and with this, I aim to subtly compliment the dark narrative themes with a soundscape that is equal parts haunting yet beautiful.”  

Hi, I’m Luke and I will be editing Flies in May. I’ve wanted to make films ever since I was around 8, storyboarding zombie films partly for entertainment, partly to map out what my plan of action would be should this then seemingly inevitable world crisis occur. Gradually, I have developed a deep passion for the part of editing where strictly conventional rules are not adhered to, rather meaning is formed through music and images, therefore, letting audiences extract what they will from a particular feeling I am trying to convey, hence why I am so excited to work on this project. Exploring the human psyche placed in catastrophe (be it a zombie apocalypse or Etne’s fear of death) is where I thrive and to be able to visually convey my take on death through Etne and his evolution into a more fully realized person by means of editing is an experience I cannot wait to embark on. This project is partly based on Søren Kierkegaard’s leap of faith- the idea of suspending our rational reasoning for a belief in something bigger, the something ‘bigger’ in this case is the feeling we want to impress on the audience- an acceptance of our innate fear of death; with your support, we can hopefully make that a reality.

It is absurd to describe lighting within literary forms. The fluidity of it eludes every possible attempt to describe it in words; although - feelings and emotions are present in it, as well as they were present in myself once I paved my way through the script of «Flies in May».I believe it was once said - a man is more a man through the things he keeps to himself than through those he says. So far, the light was the obsession of mine both in film photography and in motion pictures, something I attempted to capture continuously. On streets, on humans’ quirky faces, in narrow pathways, damps, wet streets, abandoned houses - bizarre musty places and dissolving people. All that light was too complex to make sense of. But now is the time to recreate all those places from within - outwards. To emit light, to be put shortly.

Hi, my name is Sara and I am the Camera Assistant for Flies in May. I have worked with cameras since I was in primary school, however I did not really get into film until after I had finished school. Since starting university however, I have been passionate about cinematography and camera work which is why I am so excited to be working on this project. The topic really resonates with me as I have always had a deep fear of death and the unknown. I believe most of us rationally know that death is not something to be afraid of, however it is such an incomprehensible concept that somehow many people still have intense anxiety about it. Flies in May is such an exciting project because it does not mock anyone that may be dealing with the same feelings Etne is struggling with, instead sympathizing with the audience. I hope you can support us in making this project a reality!

Thomas Zapata is an aspiring filmmaker from Falmouth Cornwall with an immense love for the craft and practice of making films. Toms keen eye for experimentation in film, as well as his interest in abstract genres, sparked his interest in being a part of this project. He’s extremely excited to be a part of the team and to help create the film through the role of script supervisor.

Hi, my name is Helix Green and I am one of two Costume Designers for this awesome film. I’ve had a fascination with stories and subsequently bring stories to life for most of my time on this earth, although it wasn’t till half way through secondary school when I became impassioned for the craft of Costume Design and the artistry behind the stage/screen. I’ve grown a love for colour and texture, alongside dressing for people with voices smaller than the rest. I hope to bring a spirit to the costumes of Flies in May along with my knowledge of fabrics and pull the characters’ souls into frame. Please support us in our endeavour to bring art to life, even just sharing our concept will help us get to the finish line.

My name is Cas, and I’m one of the Costume Designers for Flies in May. At AUB, I study Costume Design for Performance, and I hope to graduate in June with BA (Hons). I enjoy designing contemporary and fantastical costumes that are pleasing to look at, carefully considering how the clothing will be perceived by audiences. I’m looking forward to collaborating with my classmate - Helix, and with the rest of the crew. The dark themes of this film, such as illness and decay, call for horror elements and abstract metaphors to be displayed in the costumes. Since there are some inhuman characters, there can be lots of creative freedom in the designing process. The protagonist is supposed to be a person that anyone who has experienced grief can relate to, and I hope the costumes will help to insert yourself into his bizarre perspective on death.

Meet Bethany, the makeup designer for Flies In May. 

Bethany is currently in her final year of study and hopes to pursue a career in TV and film once she graduates. “Over the last year, it has been difficult as a makeup artist - with very few opportunities and restrictions it has been hard to find inspiration and motivation. When I read the script I was instantly inspired by the characters in the story and the vision that Hans and Ugnė have”.

Bethany continues: “The story is unique and compelling, encouraging us to face our fears surrounding death by viewing it from another perspective. I think this will be a great experience; I look forward to collaborating with everyone and bringing the characters to life and I hope that with your support we can do that”. 

Thank you for your interest and support in our film, on behalf of everyone involved with Flies In May!

This project successfully funded on 16th December 2021