Dalstonian

  • Will Webb
  • George Magner

Clinging to a fleeting connection they felt years before at university, Sophie and Franklin reconnect and spend a long weekend together in London.

Transferring Dalstonian’s interiority, focus on the psychology and speech patterns of the characters, and deterministic worldview to film was a challenging task. Rather than avoiding the issues of the film- long, repetitive, static dialogue scenes- I confronted them head on, taking inspiration from Hou Hsiao-hsien and Mati Diop with master wides, limited movement and unending conversation. Long shadows and weak rose-tinted sunlight flood the film, providing a sense of the passing of time. Trains also run throughout, a natural punctuation often overheard in London- and implicitly a reminder of the slow journey towards nothing both characters are on.

Throughout, the work of Allie Sanders and Alexander Jeremy, the two leads, helps communicate the psychological realism of the film. The support of producer Syd Heather was also invaluable, as he drew on his experience of producing award winning short Textual Relationship and co-producing BAFTA long-listed Gypsy’s Kiss to provide the best possible circumstances to make our film in.

Dalstonian premiered at London Short Film Festival in 2019. The film was supported by the Hospital Club Emerging Creative programme.