|
Emily Sweeney... |
|
The Unhappy Medium |
|
Directed by Chelsea Spear
Set in a New England mill town in the 1920s, the film portrays a contentious relationship between fraudulent spirit medium Fay Stinson (Emily Sweeney) and Tom Lane (Ian Cardoni), her nephew and ward. Tensions mount during a seance held to contact the daughter of a well-to-do couple, in which Tom exposes the ways in which his aunt truly speaks with the dead.
The Unhappy Medium has been screened at: Lumen Eclipse in Harvard Square Knitting Factory, NYC Malden Access Television Medford Public Library Women in Film & Video/New England film series PAN 9 in Allston Regent Theatre in Arlington, Mass.
Press clippings
Boston Phoenix (May 2006)
Brooks Estate News (Fall 2004)
Cinematical (August 2006)
The Boston Globe (January 2005)
Imagine Magazine (September 2004)
Pixievison Films recently wrapped production on their latest short, THE UNHAPPY MEDIUM in West Medford, MA. The film will be distributed online and at local and regional film nights to raise money for a feature of which this is a part.
“I wanted to bring a stronger narrative to my character-driven approach,” says writer/director Chelsea Spear. Set in a New England mill town in the 1920s, the film portrays a contentious relationship between fraudulent spirit medium Fay Stinson (Emily Sweeney) and Tom Lane (Ian Cardoni), her nephew and ward. Tensions mount during a séance held to contact the daughter of a well-to-do couple, in which Tom exposes the ways in which his aunt truly speaks with the dead.
The short-which was shot on 16mm-will primarily be distributed online as a way of raising money for Spear’s feature. “I wanted to take an elemental approach with this, which you really can’t get with DV,” she observes. “Since the story is set in the 1920s, film would be more period appropriate. Plus, it just looks better.” Based on the Celtic ballad “Tam Lin”, the feature portrays a friendship between two troubled adolescents in the years before the depression. Director Chelsea Spear has directed several short films. ALPHABET, her best known short, has played in festivals from Austin (Texas) to Zurich (Switzerland), and was hailed as “very very beautiful” by acclaimed director Guy Maddin. Emily Sweeney (Fay Stinson) previously appeared in the silent film satire FLAPPER! (I HARDLY KNEW HER!), which screened at the Coolidge Corner Theatre. Ian Cardoni makes his film debut as Tom Lane. The young actor has cut his teeth in stage productions of Les Miserables and Peter Pan, and in environmental theatre events with Pastimes. Founded in 2001, Boston-based Pixievision Films has also produced THE HIDDEN. The company aims to give voice to emerging female filmmakers through production and networking opportunities.
- Imagine Magazine |
