Some Riot

Back in the dim and distant past I had the opportunity to do a little bit of mentoring with an A-level student from Wickersley Sixth Form called Joshua Glenn. He stood out as a really capable and talented student, moreso in film about which he was incredibly passionate. He’d already taken to making mini-trailers and movies for his school and in 2010 he created short film called “Some Riot” about a man trapped in limbo between life and death who had to accept his fate and go with Death into the underworld.

Not a cheery topic to be sure, but his initial film showed a good degree of talent. It had Bergman-esque themes and style and although it was technically lacking it had a vast amount of potential. I suggested at the time that he remake the film for Eye Films but it wasn’t until the late Spring of this year that we actually set the wheels in motion.

We both spent a lot of time thinking about the subtler meanings, sign and symbols in the film – the representation of the Underworld as a lake of water for example, or a butterfly as the spirit and soul of the dying man. Joshua did quite a bit of reading and research into ancient myths to help him refine and develop his ideas further, add a bit of polish to them as it were. I suggested various things that lended themselves to strong visuals- Death standing on the water, for example – and he took these ideas with aplomb.

The resulting film is visually gorgeous. Stunning cinematography by Vish Vishvanath and fabulous sound design and score by Dave Walker (yet again he pulls out all the stops and delivers 100%+) along with a perfect performance by Liam Rooke has created a film that I’m proud to be associated with.

“Some Riot” is a somewhat arty and experimental film. It’s what I’d regard as “pure film” – communicating meaning and ideas in purely visual terms – and on that level, as on many, I think it is spot on. It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea because it’s not a linear storytelling narrative as most people are used to, but I feel really passionately that there is a place for it and I’m in really pleased with the end result. Hope you like it too.