Acquiescence
I have some very exciting news.
A film I started making nearly four years ago is now, finally, available. Tom and I wrote and filmed Acquiescence with Michael Stamp and Stephen Lewis for Control and Reform in the summer of 2007, but the process of editing and finishing it has been a long and drawn out one (with some spankings along the way!). I haven't seen the final cut yet, but Michael Stamp has just sent me a trailer and the news that it's ready. Click on the picture to download the five-minute video preview:
This remains one of my favourite projects, and I'm very proud of it. It's a dark, psychological interrogation thriller set in a dystopian near-future. My character is dragged from her bed and into a state van in the middle of the night, and taken to a secure facility where she is questioned and isolated. She was never particularly political and her arrest comes as a complete and total shock. She has no idea what information they after, and (apart from references to certain forbidden sexual habits) she is never accused of anything more specific than "sedition". Her interrogators are verbally aggressive, but never touch her; and during the night and the long periods of solitude she is frequently hauled from her cell, blindfolded and shivering, and beaten by anonymous figures who never speak a word.
Then one day, a new interrogator arrives; a smooth-talking, civilised, quiet man who offers her bargains, playing increasingly complex mind games with her in an effort to undo her sense of time and identity. As the beatings and the interrogations escalate, she retreats inwards, clinging to whispered mantras as she escapes inwards to the safe space inside herself. When the final reckoning comes, she doesn't even know which side her interrogators are on. Are they trying to break her, or are they double agents, trying to re-make her as an activist with a renewed sense of purpose, strength and justice?
While this film is a Control and Reform production, it's not currently available to download from their website - new updates aren't being added at present, pending its re-launch as a members' site. Drop me an email if you want more info about the DVD release.
This looks like an interesting film.
ReplyDeleteA mind fuck is always good.
I hope to see more eventually.
(Call me shallow but picture 18 shows the cutest dimples on your bottom!)
Regards
Fred
WOW This looks amazing Pandora, would love to see it in full when its released
ReplyDeleterichard
I'm generally no so into dark scenarios, but this looks *very* hot!
ReplyDeleteFred - I love mind fucks. We were blatantly nicking ideas off Closetland and V for Vendetta with this, but with the deepest regard for the originals!
ReplyDelete(The dimples are oft remarked upon - I've become quite fond of them myself!)
Richard - It's already available, just not to download. I'll drop you an email with information about how to contact the vendor.
Indy - It's a fun fantasy. The kind of story I love when it doesn't have spanking in, and always wish it did. I love dark scenarios (DARK LIKE MY GOTHIC SOUL), but I love them best of all when the 'victim' wins out in the end by strength of will or just being in the right.
This really does look a very interesting movie - I'm definately looking forward to seeing it in full!
ReplyDeleteI love kidnap/interrogation scenarios and I love the idea of this that the people holding and torturing you may not be the "bad guys" - it's an interesting twist to see the victim questioning this fact... Stockholme syndrome setting in, or are they really acting in her best interests?
Wow! This trailer is really quite amazing! I keep viewing it again and again. I just finished my 3rd viewing and had to comment.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of her being persecuted for her political viewpoint and involvement. That appeals to my attraction to women martyrs, as well as the guilty thrill I get from seeing the innocent victim persecuted.
I too, have been a fan of the more noire films. A dark edge is always and intriguing and, of course, I'm often disappointed that some form of traditional corporal punishment is not part of the typical torture or interrogation scene. I love the fact that one can see by your character's reactions, that the pain of protracted spanking, caning, strapping, etc. is truly intense. I've often wondered if scenes like this didn't exist more often in mainstream films either because the writers/directors didn't feel that someone being punished on the buttocks would be seen as intense and painful as, say, an upper back whipping (which scenes I appreciate also) or thumb screws or whatever. Or perhaps it is that they realize that it might be taken as sexual or exploitive and miss the point of their story. I think both those lines of reasoning are wrong-headed and I think your film shows that you can get the important meanings out there through the effective use in the story of traditional corporal punishment methods.
I'm looking forward to seeing the entire film and look forward to more in the future. I'd love to see if there's some way I could be involved in producing future films like this. It's inspiring.
Best Regards,
Franklin