stella41b
Posts: 4258
Joined: 10/16/2007
From: SW London (UK)
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I originally was going to title this thread 'I've broken my leg' but decided to be a little more obvious. And so begins what I feel is my entry into the film industry, at the bottom, independent films.
But this time it appears that it's finally coming together with who I am calling the original new cast. This all started before Christmas but months previous I had originally wanted to work and film 'Switch' before my bigger film project 'Death' - both of which are pretty straightforward adaptations of my stage plays. The stage play for 'Switch' started life as 'Odrzucona' (Polish for 'rejected') and was first presented in Warsaw in December 2002. It changed slightly it's theme in 2004 when I changed the title and the context, setting it in the BDSM community after I discovered that I only needed to make minor adjustments to the text and dialogues to be able to cover more issues.
However this 'indie' film project required seven casting calls, and I received over 200 applications for the three roles. I'm starting from scratch here and feeling my way, and one of the first lessons I have learned is that independent film making is different from alternative theatre - it's far more transient. The project doesn't receive any funding, it's a non-budget film and therefore for actors it's a 'low pay/no pay' speculative proposal which for many actors nowadays is something of a luxury. Independent films serve mainly to provide actors with showreels and even well known actors and actresses apply for such roles not for payment, but in the hope of getting a better or paid role.
I originally offered one of the roles - that of the domme - to Shirley Barton Gunning who will be in the film, but after reading the script she turned the role down feeling that she was too old, and so I opted for another actress who worked with us through pre-production but who then left for personal issues. I had offered Shirley the role in my other production 'Death' which she took on, then rejected and finally I persuaded her to rejoin the cast of 'Switch' together with Jennifer Clayton and Martin Butler.
The cast work well together, we get on with each other and we're all it would appear as committed and excited about the project, which is not just this film but the project as a whole. Having walked away from the entertainment industry five years ago - which I've never really regretted - I'm no longer interested in 'breaks' or 'making it' (which is the major selling point of independent film festivals) but in simply promoting the people who work with me and finding an audience.
My own excitement is for two reasons, firstly I'm about to reveal a side of me which has been hidden or subdued for some years now, but also I'm looking to find a different pathway towards success which others are also trying to find through using the Internet, multimedia and word of mouth as opposed to publicity, the media, and getting involved in celebrity culture.
We managed to come up with a video trailer to promote the film, which is here as a sort of first edit to provide feedback for everyone which will help us develop further the creative process of the film.
But what is instrumental in the successful development of this film is the practical help and support we, and I by extension, have been afforded by people known to us from within the BDSM community, not least Master Cosmic and those who run the London Alternative Market which is one of the bigger monthly events in London and it is here at this event where I have decided to have the first screenings and world premiere (rather than at an independent film festival) because it also marks my 20th anniversary of artistic work (15 years since my 'explosion' into Polish culture) and I would rather celebrate this event with people from the community, those who know me, who have supported me, rather than any bigwigs at a film festival.
I'm hoping that we can manage it for the LAM in May, and am posting about it here so that it can be a get together and meeting for people in London and the UK to get together as some of you do in the States, just as I hope, even in some small way, that this film helps to remove some of the stigma and stereotypes that wider society attaches to what many call 'the lifestyle'.
Below is an image of the cast, Jennifer Clayton, Shirley Barton-Gunning, and Martin Butler, during the final working of the script.
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Switch - after the first day on location - 
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