Private Project

I Used To Love Him

In a dystopian Cape Town, a retired policeman on the run from the authorities visits a jazz club to confess a murder to his estranged lover.

  • Brandon Clarke
    Director
    Letters To The Man I Love, Estranged, Nothing Is Real Except This One Thing
  • Brandon Clarke
    Writer
    Letters To The Man I Love, Estranged, Nothing Is Real Except This One Thing
  • Sarah Blanchard
    Producer
    Hand Off
  • Chelsea Art
    Producer
  • Jefferson Jīnlóng Lan
    Key Cast
    "Joshua/Walter"
    Warrior (HBO)
  • Inge Beckmann
    Key Cast
    "Eilleen"
    The Soul Collector, Ludik
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Sci-Fi, Drama
  • Runtime:
    19 minutes 24 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 28, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    10,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    South Africa
  • Country of Filming:
    South Africa
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital, ARRI Alexa, Anamorphic
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.39:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Brandon Clarke

Brandon is a writer and director based in Cape Town. In 2019, they worked as a production assistant at DO Productions, gaining valuable insight into the film production. They have also directed four short films, as well as being a finalist at the 2022 Bokeh Emerging Creative Talent for a short fashion film. Brandon has a passion for telling stories in interesting and creative ways.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I’ve always been fascinated by what-if scenarios. Because of our current political and economic climate, and as a person coming from an disadvantaged background, the story of I Used To Love Him presented a chance to explore a world collapsing to the stronghold of a fascist authority. New Cape Town is a reality of the Cape Independence Movement under the gaze of a police state. The film places the viewer in the moral ambiguities of a former cop whose life is torn between fighting the system or giving into the privilege it suggests. Though the city offers an allure to those outside its hellish realm, wealth feed the upper class, while those at the bottom are left with nothing other than the false ideal of creating an equitable society — they are the tokens for greed. Do we fight against oppressive systems, or do allow them to distort our world by being silent? I Used To Love asks these questions while also proposing a dystopia that could very well become a reality.