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Most Anticipated Sundance Film: 'Keep the Lights On' by Ira Sachs (Weekend)
Aloysius J. Gleek:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/231960347/keep-the-lights-on
KEEP THE LIGHTS ON
A Narrative Film project in New York, NY
by Ira Sachs
Click for video of film's concept reel
About this project
I began working on Keep the Lights On with my co-writer Mauricio Zacharias because we were both frustrated by how few films exist that reflect life as we have known it as gay men living in New York City. I also wanted to make a very personal film, in the vein of some of the filmmakers that I have most loved, artists like Jean Eustache, Jacques Nolot, Chantal Akerman, and that great film-memoirist Ingmar Bergman. Inspired by the ten years of my last relationship, Keep the Lights On tells the story of two men torn apart by addiction and secrets, but bound together by love and hopefulness. It's a story fueled by shame that I intend to make shamelessly. My hope is that when completed Keep the Lights On will be an honest new work that can be added to the short list of dramatic films that have been made about the contemporary gay experience.
What's the story?
1997. Ben is another gay man in New York trying to make a connection through a phone sex line. He meets Nick - closeted, handsome and with a girlfriend attached. From the start, this casual encounter extends itself into a hopeful moment between potential lovers. As Ben negotiates life as a documentary filmmaker, his relationship with Nick, a precociously young lawyer in a prominent publishing house, becomes more than just a fling. Nick breaks up with his girlfriend and soon the two men move in together and start to build a home. But over the years, they discover that it’s easier to get out of the closet, than it is getting rid of its shadow. Nick’s drug use gets out of control, as Ben becomes increasingly sexual compulsive. After 10 years together, Ben realizes that it’s not the relationship he needs to save: it’s himself.
Why Kickstarter?
Hard as it is to believe, a film about gay life in contemporary America is rarer today than it’s ever been. Films like Brokeback Mountain and The Kids Are Alright were not, unfortunately, followed by a flood of new movies in our cinemas depicting queer relationships. From the start, we knew that to tell a story like this we would need the support of friends, families, gays, straights, filmmakers, film-lovers, the socially-committed, the generous-minded.... any one who would be interested in seeing a frankly explicit film about intimate relationships like this one get made. Thus, Kickstarter!
Keep the Lights On has recently received an Annenberg Grant from the Sundance Institute, as well as generous support from local vendors and institutions, and many, many individuals. But having successfully raised a good portion of our budget, we are now at the point we really need your help. If we can reach our $25,000 Kickstarter goal we will reach our funding needs, and can start shooting our movie this summer. With your help, we are confident you'll see the movie at a theater near you in the year 2012! And when you buy your popcorn, and the lights start to dim, you'll have the extra satisfaction of knowing that you were a real part of bringing this new work to the screen.
We thank you in advance for considering being a part of this project. All of us who are working on Keep the Lights On feel grateful for the community that we are a part of, and for the support that we continue to receive.
Ira Sachs, co-writer & director
Mandy21:
This sounds like it will be interesting. Certainly, the writers seem inspired. I found this you-tube interview link on the Sundance website, but I don't know how to imbed it into this post. John, maybe you can help?
~~~
http://www.sundance.org/video/meet-the-artists-12-ira-sachs/
Aloysius J. Gleek:
--- Quote from: Mandy21 on January 18, 2012, 12:27:46 pm ---This sounds like it will be interesting. Certainly, the writers seem inspired. I found this you-tube interview link on the Sundance website, but I don't know how to imbed it into this post. John, maybe you can help?
~~~
http://www.sundance.org/video/meet-the-artists-12-ira-sachs/
--- End quote ---
Thank you, Mandy!
Here you are:
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erIwNbOaIqY&feature[/youtube]
&feature
Uploaded by sff on Jan 3, 2012
Ira Sachs describes how a past relationship served as the starting point for his striking new film, "Keep The Lights On," in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.
Aloysius J. Gleek:
Plot Summary for
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2011953/
Keep the Lights On (2012)
It's 1997 and New York City is in a state of intense flux when documentary filmmaker Erik Rothman (Thure Lindhardt) first meets Paul Lucy (Zachary Booth), a handsome but closeted lawyer in the publishing field. What begins as a highly charged first encounter soon becomes something much more, and a relationship quickly develops. As the two men start building a home and life together, each continues to privately battle their own compulsions and addictions. A film about sex, friendship, intimacy and most of all, love, Keep the Lights On takes an honest look at the nature of relationships in our times. Written by Anonymous
http://filmguide.sundance.org/film/120092/keep_the_lights_on
KEEP THE LIGHTS ON
Keep the Lights On chronicles the emotionally and sexually charged journey through the love, addiction, and friendship of two men. Documentary filmmaker Erik and closeted lawyer Paul meet through a casual encounter, but they find a deeper connection and become a couple. Individually and together, they are risk takers—compulsive, and fueled by drugs and sex. In an almost decade-long relationship defined by highs, lows, and dysfunctional patterns, Erik struggles to negotiate his own boundaries and dignity and to be true to himself.
Keep the Lights On is shot with a grainy beauty that transports us to its late ’90s setting. It resonates with textures of New York City, accentuated by disco beats and a mournful cello, both from musician Arthur Russell’s eclectic catalog. Director Ira Sachs’s fearlessly personal screenplay is anchored by Danish actor Thure Lindhardt, who embodies Erik’s isolation and vulnerability with a gentle presence. Harrowing and romantic, visceral and intellectual, Keep the Lights On is a moving film that looks at love and all of its manifestations, taking it to dark depths and bringing it back to a place of grace.
- K.Y.
Thure Lindhardt and Zachary Booth
Aloysius J. Gleek:
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydNMHKl9ma8&feature[/youtube]
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