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Tamesis Trilogy I

Tamesis Trilogy I is the first of 3 collaborative, experimental short films that enlists the voices of unlikely characters and surreal imagery in story telling around the history of the River Thames. The ten minute piece is set to an electronic music soundtrack (that can be performed live) inspired from director Dennis Da Silva's work with electronic music pioneer John Foxx from 2007 - 2009 in the presentation of his pieces, 'Tiny Colour Movies' (involving found footage) and The Quiet Man. In an alternate reality, it engages obliquely with factual themes of the 'consequences' of plastic pollution / the environment articulated through the auspices of a collective of camp Spanish, Seahorses* called Sammy - 'Guardians of the Water' as protagonist - via inter-dimensional portals around the Albert Bridge area of the river. Shot on various high definition video formats including iPhone X / iPad Pro, underwater and drone photography, it is also Director Dennis Da Silva's first use of animation in filmmaking. He writes, shoots, directs, produces, edits and also produced the soundtrack / sound design with collaborations from Sorrow Stories / Tina Forlorn and Philip Spalding. The piece was selected for screening and received its London premiere at the Totally Thames 2019 Festival, in a special live music event in a barge on the river Thames! *Since 2017 two species of seahorses have made their home in the river.

  • Dennis Da Silva
    Director
    Gustav, Apophanista!?, Sonus
  • Dennis Da Silva
    Writer
    Gustav, Apophanista!?, Sonus
  • Dennis Da Silva
    Producer
  • Richard Pearce
    Key Cast
    "Sammy"
  • Philip Spalding
    Key Cast
    "Baker "
  • Ernestas Jefremovas
    Key Cast
    "Plastic Devil"
    Apophanista!?
  • Herb Wright
    Key Cast
    "(Voiceover)"
  • Dennis Da Silva
    Key Cast
    "(Voiceover)"
  • Ash Connaughton
    Crew and photography
  • Benjamin Field
    Crew and photography
  • Ernestas Jefremovas
    Crew and photography
  • Ben Foong
    Crew and photography
  • Anton Fredric Selvaraj
    Effects and Post Production
  • Benjamin Field
    Effects and Post Production
  • Jeremy Scott
    Effects and Post Production
  • Dennis Da SIlva
    Effects and Post Production
  • Sorrow Stories (Tina Forlorn)
    Soundtrack and Sound Design
  • Philip Spalding
    Soundtrack and Sound Design
  • Dennis Da Silva
    Soundtrack and Sound Design
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Experimental, Short
  • Genres:
    surreal, Art, Animation, Music, Electronic Music, Performance
  • Runtime:
    10 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    September 29, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    3,000 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Totally Thames 2019
    London
    United Kingdom
    September 29, 2019
    UK / London
    Official Selection / London Premiere
  • Cult Critic Movie Awards
    Kolkata
    India
    October 21, 2019
    Indian Premiere
    Best Experimental Film Award Winner
  • Exploding Cinema Museum
    London
    United Kingdom
    November 9, 2019
    Live performance premiere
  • Alternative Film Festival (Award Winner)
    Toronto
    Canada
    Best Experimental (Short Category) Winter 2019
  • Berlin Fast Film Festival 2019 - Official Selection
    Berlin
    Germany
    December 3, 2019
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Dennis Da Silva

Dennis Da Silva has a background in production for TV, stage and film with his career be- ginning in 1991 as Assistant Producer (Dennis Seepaul) of the feature length documentary, Saddam’s Iraq - a Channel 4, Dispatches Special, produced and directed by Jeff B. Harmon. In 1993 he directed the West End musical revue, Nothing Dirty Going On moving on to work with father and son director team Paul and Jamie Annett (Eastenders / Red Dwarf) on pop promos and infomercials. In 1997 he produced The Dream Ball, an 80s themed fundraiser in association with Sir David Puttnam, featuring appearances by Ultravox, Malcolm McLaren, Martin Fry (ABC) and the Balanescu Quartet at the Hammersmith Palais.
He enrolled to study Fine Art at Central Saint Martins in 1998 whilst continuing to work in TV and video freelancing for networks including MTV and Tokyo Broadcasting Systems. In 2007 he founded the multimedia arts organisation ArtHertz and curated a group exhibition at Fulham Palace to relaunch the career of electronic music pioneer John Foxx. In 2009 he curated DNA - a group exhibition at the Horse Hospital featuring contributions by Ian Emes (Pink Floyd animator), Alex Proyas (Director I Robot, Knowing), Makota Tezka (Japanese animator) and Nick Rhodes (Duran Duran). In 2011 ArtHertz/Dennis produced in association with Ridley Scott Associates, SONUS - an experimental short premiered at BAFTA. In 2012 he co-curated the Arts Council funded group exhibition, Ghost Station at Bletchley Park, the home of the codebreakers in World War II. He wrote, directed and produced the short, GUSTAV that premiered at the Enigma Cinema in Bletchley Park with multiple screenings in Cannes London, New York, and specially selected for the Imperial War Museum Short Film Festival. In 2013 he wrote, directed and produced, Apophanista!? as part of a group art exhibition at the Jonathan Ross Gallery that was later screened at Cannes and in London. Since 2014 he has been working for the Dairy Council’s ‘Milk It’ campaign as a writer, director and producer of short music promo styled videos. In September he premiered his short film, Tamesis Trilogy I as part of the Totally Thames 2019 Festival - a music and surreal short film concept piece.
He continues to work in music and filmmaking as a writer, producer and executive producer as well as Creative Director and curator of ArtHertz.

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Director Statement

Music is always the first point of contact for my creativity although no fan of musicals. Believer that, Reality is indeed far stranger than fiction and life always imitates art. It's important to be professional and it's crucial to be nice.