The Motion of the Sun
A pair of extraordinarily lonely people overcome their solitary tendencies and their differences in age, race, and social class to embark on an unlikely romance. Their bliss, however, is cut short when secrets from their past resurface, threatening to tear them apart forever.
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Marc TaurisanoDirector
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Marc TaurisanoWriter
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Keren SeolProducer
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Marc TaurisanoProducer
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Chris WightKey Cast
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Sagine VallaKey Cast
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Justin Walker WhiteKey Cast
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Project Type:Feature
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Genres:Drama, Romance
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Runtime:1 hour 15 minutes 44 seconds
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Completion Date:June 2, 2016
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Production Budget:40,000 USD
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Country of Origin:United States
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Country of Filming:United States
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:RED
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Aspect Ratio:2.35
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
Marc Taurisano has lived in New York City since 1994. His short fiction has appeared in such literary journals as "Wilderness House" and "Fugue," and three of his short plays have been produced by the Players Theatre of Greenwich Village. His original screenplay "Cold Falls" was a semifinalist in the American Zoetrope Screenplay Contest and a quarterfinalist in the Blue Cat Screenwriting Competition. His current projects include what he hopes will be his second feature film, a coming-of-age sports drama about cross-country running called "5,000 Meters."
"The Motion of the Sun" began with a specific and perhaps unusual challenge that I set for myself: to write a script for a feature-length narrative film that would be, above all else, producible. This to me meant that it would adhere to a strict budget, involve a minimal number of actors, and be set exclusively in a handful of easily accessible locations.
With these constraints in mind, I went about imagining the story I would compose. I have long been intrigued by the idea that there are two alternative methods to creating a narrative: “architecture” and “gardening.” The “architect” plans meticulously, waiting until she is confident in her outline (or “blueprint”) before starting her first draft. The “gardener,” in contrast, uses a more organic approach. The narrative to her is something she nurtures but doesn’t fully control, and sometimes it grows in unexpected ways and takes her places she didn’t anticipate. Over the course of my writing career, I have used both methods with varying degrees of success.
For "The Motion of the Sun," I soon learned that I would need to be more of a “gardener.” I developed the script slowly over time, letting my principal characters reveal themselves to me through their lengthy exchanges of dialogue. While I generally avoid using a non-linear time structure, I felt this was a rare instance where it served the story well. Once I committed to the use of flashbacks, I made the unorthodox decision that principal photography would be broken up into separate phases that were staggered across several months, thus allowing our exterior scenes to unambiguously show a change of seasons and the passage of time.
But unlike screenwriting, filmmaking is of course an inherently collaborative medium, and no aspect of this experience has given me more satisfaction than seeing the way my initial idea has flourished thanks to the indispensable contributions of each member of our creative team. Now that "The Motion of the Sun" has grown into a completed feature film, we look forward to sharing it with audiences.