An absurdist comedy short film by Solomon Bowden.
Starring Richard Strange (Batman, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Gangs of New York) and Mary Woodvine (Bait, Enys Men, Breathtaking) to be shot in Penzance, Cornwall in early 2025.
Mark Jenkin: "Solly’s last film Lady, What’s Tomorrow blew me away. The enigmatic dialogue, the discombobulating structure, and the uncompromising vision at the heart of this hugely cinematic piece of work made me immediately intrigued as to what he’d do next. I am also forever in his debt for pointing me in the direction of 2 rare Bresson films that I’d never seen. Legend!"
Hello, I’m Solomon Bowden, a filmmaker from Cornwall. It’s been a long, winding road, with a chorus of don’t bothers and it won’t work outs, but last year, with only a sincere dream and what really is pennies even in comparison to most student films, I managed to make a homegrown feature film Lady, What’s Tomorrow a film made by people running on only the pure passion for storytelling, my vision brought to life by golden people who understood my vision and believed I was worth investing their time in, all pouring their own money into the project to make it work.
I premiered Lady, What’s Tomorrow at the historic Acorn Theatre in Penzance, attended by family, friends, and a handful of school teachers from years ago who didn’t think I was just some madman growing up and knew I had a vision rattling in me. The screening, much to my stupefied glee, was also attended by BAFTA winning Cornish filmmaker Mark Jenkin and his partner and frequent collaborator Mary Woodvine. This was a night so life-changing and affirming to my soul - which I’m convinced is tangled around a camera - that I went home and wrote Prince of Tears, took a deep inhale, and offered the role to the incredible talent that is Mary Woodvine. She accepted and saw something truly special in the project, so with that and the support of Maestro Mark, I’ve taken the big swing to make the film for the budget that’ll allow me to fulfil my vision beyond my dreams.
Prince of Tears is a film about the absurdism of relationships, how they make petulant kids of us, whining, snot dribbling down our faces, how our outer case may wither but some of our souls stay in this stasis of immaturity. And how some think filling our infantile souls with books, music, philosophy, dense cultural references, makes us something more than this, above the absurd and the petulant, but that thin facade comes tumbling down when we don’t get our own way.
This is studied through the character of Wilson (Richard Strange), a composer/conductor, perhaps the most powerful job of all, being the maestro of time, shaping it, curving sounds with a thin stick, who returns home to tell his wife Monika (Mary Woodvine) he’s leaving her for a much younger woman, but when the power slips from his grubby hands, this monumental figure, this human metronome begins to unravel.
Life is utterly absurd, relationships are a mad thing, a silent contract, why must we bind ourselves to others, why do we desire to be witnessed in life by another? There’s no better way to explore this than through the lens of a bonkers, claustrophobic comedy. This will be a medium short film - a chaotic half an hour in the monumental ego-death and unravelling of Wilson and the muddied, confused dynamic of power in his relationship with wife Monika.
Prince of Tears will be a gloriously bombastic film, full of fantastic cutting lines, long winding takes, and rich performances.
Your money will help pay what our fantastic cast are worth, aid in transport, food, accommodation, props, costumes, and help get our film seen - all the inglorious things which are essential to help a piece be as terrific as it can be.
Prince of Tears prides itself with championing Cornish talent as both the writer/director and the director of photography were born and bred in Cornwall and both view their art as incredibly intwined with Cornish culture.
Produced by Johnny Stanley.
Director of Photography Coco Bond.
An à REBOURS production.