AUTOCHROME (2007)
Not all revolutionaries are in camouflage......
Isabella Berretta: Artist, sophisticate and would-be terrorist. A Londoner through and through, her contempt for the city runs as deep as her passion for it. Isabella decides to take drastic measures to convey her ideas to the people of present day London - a dark video diary in which her world of sex, cigarettes and revolution are captured in 24 recordings each representing one hour of her day.
Isabella effortlessly moves between her plots to overthrow the city and its establishment and her most intimate thoughts as a Londoner, as an artist and as a woman. She chooses when the camera records her actions to create her dark video masterpiece - or does she? As the story re-folds the intentions of the hired filmmaker become ambiguous; is his curiosity understandable or underhanded? Can the trust of a woman so distrusting be exploited?
AUTOCHROME was conceived in April 2007. By late July 2007 it was a completed feature length film. Shoot in 72 hours on a budget of £800 pounds. The team of two collaborated on every aspect of the production, appearing in front as well as behind the camera. Autochrome is unique in many ways including being shot in 2.40:1 Anamorphic on a minuscule budget - a signature of Astbury Films.
Isabella is very aware of all that has past. In an ironic twist, smoking was banned in public places in London by the time the film went into production, yet Isabella presents a darkly glamorous ‘old school’ image of cigarettes, lighting up in nearly every scene. As the film reveals however, there is reason for everything she does, smoking being no exception.
As Londoners we live in dangerous times - Autochrome is 24 times a revolution.
Credits:
Written & Directed by Jake Astbury
Featuring Isabella Berretta and Terra Millar
Technical Specifications:
Mini-DV using an ISCO-OPTIC Anamorphic Lens.
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Sound: Stereo
Colour and Black and White
UK
Duration: 72 minutes
