Landing - short film

*Segue in italiano dopo le immagini*

Landing is a short film about identity and reconnection that was shot in Perthshire.

I am a theatre and performance practitioner (UAL MA Performance Design and Practice graduate) and a AHRC-SGSAH-funded PhD student at the University of Edinburgh and University of Strathclyde (Glasgow).

During the pandemic, I embraced and expanded my practice in and with other media;  my lockdown moving image works were exhibited through Fabrica (I), the Centre for the Less Good Idea (SA) and the College Art Association Annual Conference (NY, US).

Creatives

With Landing, I am once again collaborating with composer Lucas Jordan and I have started a new collaboration with character animator Nicky Francis.

Lucas is an innovative flutist and composer, in search of ever growing expressivity in both fields. Born in Brazil, Lucas studied flute at the Royal Academy of Music after studying flute and composition at the Zurich University of the Arts . He is recognised for developing projects such as “dsharpgents | re:staging music” and “Wenn heute sich mit gestern vermischt” (2009 - 2011; with support awarded by the “momento stiftung”), he is the Artistic Director of “das kurze festival” in Zurich, Switzerland (https://www.lucasfjordan.com).

Nicola Jane Francis is a London-based character animator with a passion for narrative. Since graduating from MA Character Animation at Central St Martins’ and BA Animation at London College of Communication, Nicola has been working as an independent director on self-produced projects, and as a freelancer in top London studios (http://www.nicolajanefrancis.com).

The making

Whereas many find it useful to create different compartments for their practice and family life, during the pandemic I felt the urge to de-compertamentalise my life and to include my family in my creative life. 

The narrative frame of Landing was born from my younger one's homeworks during the first lockdown homeschooling in 2020: the character we created was a boy with a pink dog who had inherited a house. In those same weeks, in a facebook group, two women wrote a post about their lost sister who they had not seen since they were little, asking for help to locate them. I was really moved by this search for lost connections in this time of separation and isolation that forced us all to think about our own roots and identity. Informed by these two elements, the script slowly emerged by writing down some of the conversations I had with my children before bedtime.

What next

We raised funds to support the making of the original soundtrack and the character animations. 

Any additional donation will go towards the applications to the main European Festival for short films.

To see the Rewards, please scroll down!

Rewards

The rewards that are unrelated to the film are things that were born during the lockdown, we hope they will find a new good house.

The An Stùc Reward

For donations of £10 or more we will send you a poster.

The Meall Garbh Reward

For donations of £35 or more we will send you a framed Cyanotype

The Glen Lyon Reward

For donations of £60 or more we will send you a photo album portraying the beautiful scenario in which we shot the film - and containing some Easter eggs!

Weems Woods Rewards

For donations of £100 or more we will send you a framed embroidered welcome for your guests, saying "Take the damn shoes off" - only one available

Falls of Acharn Reward

For donadions of £150 or more we will send you a framed embroidered invitation saying "Pull the fu*king toilet seat down"

Kerrowmore Woods Rewards

For donations of £200 or more we will send you a trilogy consisting of two cyanotypes and an embroidered sentence saying "Mi piego ma non mi spezzo" [I bend but I don't break]

Ben Lawers Reward

For donations of £550 or more we will send you a big duvet-cover/tapestry saying "Clean conscience".

E adesso in italiano

Landing è un cortometraggio che parla di idetità e riconnessione. È stato girato in Scozia, nella regione del Perthshire. 

Sono una regista teatrale, con un master ottenuto dall’University of the Arts of London in Performance Design and Practice e attualmente una dottoranda presso le univeristà di Edimburgo e Strathclyde (Glasgow), sponsorizzata dall’Arts and Humanities Research Council via Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities.  Durante la pandemia ho sviluppato la mia pratica nelle arti multimediali; ho esibito i miei lavori tramite Fabrica, il Centre for the Less Good Idea di William Kentridge e la College Art Association Annual Conference (NY, US).

Il gruppo creativo

Con Landing, collaborerò nuovamente con il compositore italo-brasiliano Lucas Jordan e inizierò una nuova collaborazione con l’animatrice Nicky Francis.

Lucas è nato in Brasile, ha studiato presso la Zurich University of the Arts e la Royal Academy of Music di Londra ed è il direttore artistico di “das kurze festival” a Zurich, Svizzera (https://www.lucasfjordan.com).

Nicola Jane Francis è un’animatrice con un master dall’ MA Character Animation alla Universit of the Arts of London. Lavora a progetti indipendenti e come libera professionista in alcuni dei maggiori studi di animazione di Londra (http://www.nicolajanefrancis.com).

Il processo 

Mentre molti trovano utile creare diversi compartimenti per la propria pratica artistica e la vita familiare, durante la pandemia ho sentito il bisogno di eliminare queste divisioni e includere la mia famiglia nella mia vita artistica. 

La cornice narrativa di Landing è nata dai compiti del mio figlio minore durante il primo lockdown: il personagio che abbiamo creato era un bambino con un cane rosa che ereditava una grande casa. In quelle stesse settimane, in un gruppo facebook locale, una donne ha chiesto aiuto per rintracciare la sorella, da cui erano stata separata decenni prima quando era stata data in affidamento. Ho trovato molto commovente questa ricerca di riconnessione in un periodo di isolamento e separazione, in cui tutt* abbiamo ripensato alle nostre radici e alla nostra identità. Questi due elementi sono confluiti nel ‘copione’, che raccoglie molte conversazioni avute con i miei figli prima di andare a dormire.

Il futuro

Il cortometraggio è già stato processato da una colorista, abbiamo raccolto dei fondi per supportare la creazione della colonna sonora originale e le animazioni. Tutte le donazioni andranno ora a coprire le iscrizioni ai maggiori festival europei per cortometraggi.

Ad ogni donazione superiore ai £10 corrisponde un omaggio, che verrà inviato entro fine dicembre. I prodotti che non sono legati direttamente al cortometraggio (come il poster e l’album fotografico) sono dei lavori nati durante i lockdowns.