Locations

One of the elements that John and I discussed at great length is the look of the locations. We didn't want the film to be area specific. Indeed we wanted to confuse people to where the film is located as opposed to recreate anywhere else. Casting Eeva (who is Finnish), Raul (Spanish) and Laura Mengozzi (Italian) helps create this confusion within the titles also. We shot one scene previously in the Christmas market which looks decidedly German, and the intention is to keep other areas relatively vague also. I intend to have them read foreign books as well, as a cheeky little tease about the lack of language.

The film is divided into two time frames. The first is the present day, which I have no problem illustrating as the UK. It is made obvious by the Birmingham night scenes and the currency that Rosie is paid in. The present day will be filmed upon mounted cameras.

The second time frame is the flashbacks of the past, which are handheld, and exploit the ambiguity of their location. I plan to film some of the interiors in my own apartment blocks largely because they are fairly non-descriptive and not particularly architecturally 'British'. It is a reversal of my previous filmmaking experience of "Watching & Waiting" in which Galway was the obvious location, and was required to be so by the Fleadh organisers. Similarly Libya and Morocco landscapes play a major part within the African documentaries.

This challenge is another welcome one.