Director Georgia Parris
Cast Bobbi Jene Smith, Phoebe Nicholls, Madeleine Worrall & Peter Singh
Producer Emma Duffy

Choreographer Maxine Doyle
Production Company Small Town Films

Discovery Award & Breakthrough Producer longlist nominee - BIFA 2019.

Inspiration came in the form of Abstract painter Sonya Delaunay, Ernst Kirchner, as well as looking at Charleston and Monk's House - the famed home and meeting place of the Bloomsbury Artists.

I hoped to demonstrate how we create a strong sense of Mari ' The Artist'. The interiors I referenced were way earlier than the period we are looking at, but I think they serves as a good reference in terms of a creative space or the home of an artist. The Bloomsbury group embraced colour, pattern, print and also textiles. I think that given the age of the location, its not a bad thing to be looking to some older references like this, whilst still making sure it doesn’t look overly period, or TOO ARTY!

We attempted to resolve how we marry the very bright modern feeling paintings with a character in her eighties! Sonya Delaunay is great inspiration for this.

The idea for Mari's house was basically to avoid granny-cliches and pale pastels - and to embrace colour in the same way that the character does in her artwork.

Kitchen

I thought about TERACOTTA walls, that would work in harmony with the vast amounts of cream which exist in the kitchen, but are still very much in our 'Mari' palette. All sets will feature vibrant accent colours such as pink and turqouise - in a similar way to the paintings

Lounge

Initial thoughts were to go with an Ochre which is bold and yet a colour that can often be found on the walls of many period home. As a secondary option however, we have developed a vibrant/jade green option, which perhaps feels more enegrgising, and would be better suited for the dance scene.

Bedroom

This will be a bold pink - not a wishy-washy pastel!

The idea for Mari's house is basically to avoid granny-cliches and pale pastels - and to embrace colour in the same way that the character does in her artwork.

DETAIL

In terms of detail in the house we aimed to create a sense of 'The Artist' - ie pots of brushes, paint in evidence, lots of art work on the walls, interesting textiles etc.

In addition, we captured the sense of 'thriftyness' that that generation had - 'life hacks' that we simply cannot comprehend today - saving crosswords, recycling or finding a new purpose for EVERYTHING, the yoghurt cups catching water drips - its that whole wartime mentality, which will disappear forever with that generation. I think this is something we tried to reflect in the set - in the sense that Mari has spent many years in this house, and had kept, collected, and recycled all sorts of things. As mentioned previously I wanted the house to feel eclectic, without getting too bohemian. I think it is imperative that there is that 'layer' of ephemera to really give it a lived in feel. I also think plants were helpful.

Here for trailer