Private Project

Everyone Writes Memoir

Upon returning home from a business trip, Mia confronts her partner, Daniel, about his troubling online dependency and the affect it is having on their relationship; stealing him away to a mediated electronic other world, oblivious to its consequences. But are they seeing each other clearly, or are they both trapped behind a display, living in a distorted version of their realities? Yet, during a heartfelt encounter, Mia will struggle with the weight of her own honesty as they fight a bitter realization about their relationship.

  • Alexander Campbell
    Director
    45rpm, Mangrove
  • Mark Solter
    Director
    The Underwater Supermarket, Fear Abides Nightly Glistens, The Moon Smells Like Gunpowder, Tin Matchbox Empty, Fear Up Harsh, Twins and Wives, 45rpm, Mangrove
  • Alexander Campbell
    Writer
    45rpm, Mangrove
  • Alexander Campbell
    Story by
    45rpm, Mangrove
  • Mark Solter
    Story by
    Fear Abides Nightly Glistens, The Moon Smells Like Gunpowder, Tin Matchbox Empty, Fear Up Harsh, Twins and Wives, 45rpm, Mangrove
  • Alexander Campbell
    Producer
    45rpm, Mangrove
  • Mark Solter
    Producer
    The Underwater Supermarket, Fear Abides Nightly Glistens, The Moon Smells Like Gunpowder, Tin Matchbox Empty, Fear Up Harsh, Twins and Wives, 45rpm, Mangrove
  • Gloria Blake
    Key Cast
    "Mia"
    Loner, Renters, Darkest Light, Three Wise Cousins, Sione's 2: Unfinished Business
  • Anthony Crum
    Key Cast
    "Daniel"
    The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Foam, The Wilds, Krystal, Hush
  • Norm Skipp
    Composer
    The Moon Smells Like Gunpowder
  • Runtime:
    37 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    April 1, 2023
  • Country of Origin:
    New Zealand
  • Language:
    English
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Alexander Campbell, Mark Solter

ALEXANDER CAMPBELL trained at the School of Fine Arts, Auckland University, New Zealand, MFA Hons., and the Drama Action Centre, Sydney, Australia. He has a broad range of experience as a director in the areas of documentary and dramatic filmmaking, mix media performance art, and experimental film. Alexander has also worked for many years as a professional actor, training and working both in Australasia and Europe.

He was the director of the visual art video production company, Constructur/list [production], NZ. 1990—94, producing media-artist work and producing and directing documentaries on the visual arts. He established the actors’ training organization, Act_World_Wide, in Paris, 2000—2005. He lectured at the School of Visual and Performing Arts at Charles Sturt University, NSW, Australia, teaching Directing for Film and TV, Screen Acting and Devising Theatre, 2008.

Since 2009 Alexander has been a producer and director with PaXifica Moving Image Production.

MARK SOLTER is a cinematographer and director working in narrative, commercial, and branded content. Mark has collaborated on a number of autonomous films worldwide, including The Underwater Supermarket, Fear Abides Nightly Glistens, The Moon Smells Like Gunpowder, Tin Matchbox Empty, Twins and Wives, Fear Up Harsh, and Most People Think Other People Die.

A multiple film festival award winner, he is currently developing several scripted properties including Gentleman Crook, Or Current Resident, A Pen For The Blind In The Knife Drawer, Wolf of Seven Young, and Total State Machine.

marksolter.com

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Director Statement

A background in theatre brings a preference for dramas that comment on current social concerns. Stylistically, the film goes some way toward a comparison to Kammerspiel and Bergman’s Chamber Films. As a visual artist, I have an attraction to the work of Caravaggio and chiaroscuro. Chiaroscuro to enhance volume and depth, deep contrasts, as in the candlelit scene, heighten a sense of drama and atmosphere and the use of the warmth and richness of colour to influence mood and physiological reactions. All in the endeavour to capture a sense of beauty even when dealing with sad and uncomfortable circumstances. On the edges, the unity of time and action are subverted, and a sense of uncertainty sits juxtaposed to the issue of Truth. The layering of references not only intend a diversity of impressions but encourage revisioning of the ideas put forward for debate within the script itself. The film concludes with Daniel confronted by his image in the darkened window. To see “through a glass” — a mirror — “darkly” is to have an obscure or imperfect vision of reality.
- Alexander Campbell

Everyone Writes Memoir, for me, became an experiment in a slower current when people grow apart and a behavior in the spirit of concealment ensues. Consequently, it was important to experiment in degrees of hiding and veiling, with a layering of time frames and allegory, to get to the heart of Daniel’s and Mia’s insolvent relationship. A bond tested by shifting expectations, the convenience of distraction, and a perception of self-awareness gutted through device dependency.
- Mark Solter