One man's journey from a sordid past to an uncertain future is captured on film as local writer/filmmaker social worker Curtis Good debuts My Unwanted Guest Thursday, June 7 at 7 p.m. at Art Space.
The story was written in 2005 and filmed in 2007 but the final cut was finished just a couple of weeks ago.
Issues with the film started early, having the original footage transferred into an uneditable format. With that challenge behind them thanks to the help of local editor Stephen St. Laurent, most everything else went smoothly, said Good.
"The inspiration for the film was I knew a local artist here and I knew I wanted to do something with pictures to carry a film," said Good. "The original idea came from just walking along Fort George Park and looking at the location and with my work as a social worker I started with a character and I just asked what would happen if a mentally ill man discovered his soul mate had passed away and he only had five days to get to her funeral. What would happen to this person? What would their story be?"
The film opens as Daniel is released from a 12-year stint at a mental institution after being found not criminally responsible for committing a crime.
"He discovers his soul mate has passed away and he has to get to the funeral in the next city in five days," said Good. "Along the way, he becomes stranded at the bottom of a cliff. Daniel brings with him poems and pictures that he's written and drawn and sent to his grandmother while he was institutionalized."
Daniel is left to open these letters as his grandmother never did. So while he's trying to figure out how to escape from the bottom of the cliff he is taking a mental journey as he opens each letter. This gives a bit of back story while his soul mate Grace is heard in voiceover throughout the process.
"Each picture gives an exposition of his past and slowly Daniel comes to terms with the truth," said Good.
The very small cast includes August Horning, who plays Daniel, and Lorna Kozak, a voiceover actress from Vancouver, who plays Grace. Wendy Framst is an artist whose pictures play a big role in the film. Erin Dunphy did the makeup and cinematographers Jonathan Grove and Sheldon Pearson worked the camera. The score was written by local musician Jeremy Stewart.
"I would like to thank everyone who helped me with the film," said Good.
Tickets are $8, including pop and popcorn, at Books & Co., 1685 Third Avenue or at the door.
