Saturday 9 January 2010

A Shot In The Dark

This is a film I was in last year.

It was a collaboration between the London Film School and the National Gallery, where students picked a painting in the gallery to write and a direct a 3 minute short around. Sohail, who wrote and directed it, chose Bartolomé Bermejo's painting Saint Michael triumphs over the Devil, painted in 1468. In his words: "I was intrigued by the way the Devil is depicted by the painter. A small helpless figure who, even pinned to the ground, seems to laugh at man´s attempt to defeat him. The painting tackles the classical theme of good versus evil, and something with evil at its centre is always very dramatic. I therefore wanted to translate the image to a disturbing supernatural thriller. In my film, the Devil takes the shape of a child. The juxtaposition of human innocence and mythological evil is perhaps an equally classical element from films of this genre. In this form, the demon child taunts the protagonist through his pictures. Photographically I explored the contrast between light and darkness, mixed with fiery red light in the dark room where the Devil prevails."