MARIANNE

a film by tomisin adepeju

O n February 16^thand 17^th we took over the Round Chapel in Hackney. With a 16mm camera assembled, director, Tomisin Adepeju set about turning this unassuming chapel into a retreat for a West African Pentecostal Church.

Marianne is a film about the last-ditch hope of a couple faced with terminal illness. When Marianne is suffering from an incurable cancer her partner, Moses, turns to the religion of his childhood in an effort to find salvation for them both.

Tobi Bakare (Kingsman: The Secret Service) and Vivienne Bell were cast in these key roles. The film has strong dramatic credentials and is carried by the on-screen chemistry of these two actors, tackling a weighty subject.

Written by Adepeju the short film has had its own fair share of struggles. After narrowly missing out on its crowd funding target of £5000 and with an non-negotiable production deadline, filming was going to be tight. When I was attached to the project as a script supervisor, the tribulations were far from over.

In time for shooting a crack squad of film makers were drafted including, award winning director of photography, Mark Hamilton. However with most more used to filming on video the process was slow moving and expensive. Without the assistance of video playback there was an added dimension of challenge to using celluloid. This was film-making by instinct.

Lovely graded rushes from Paul Dean @CinelabLondon with @Frame24Ltd #Kodak. Good luck editing @TAdepeju @Tobi2baks pic.twitter.com/TA9cikLkCU
— Mark Hamilton (@MarkHamiltonEsq) February 26, 2015

The dramatic climax of the film was to be shot indoors in the Round Chapel. The setting seemed at odds to the African church ceremony, complete with congregation chanting in Yoruba. “I wanted to set it somewhere no one would expect,” Adepeju said. The ‘exorcisms of bodily sickness’ were caught in eerie candle light that translated beautifully to film. Cine film was a gamble but it paid off, perfectly capturing the feel of this surprisingly Gothic location.

After four days of shooting, the canisters were sealed and sent off to the lab. It was not until the film was developed and processed that long suffering Adepeju could breathe easily.

“ We want to thank all our friends and financial backers for their continued support, we also want to extend our gratitude to our brilliant, talented & hardworking cast and crew for their relentless work over the four days of principal photography. We can’t wait for you to see what we have created.” said the director, earlier this month.

The film has its official screening in April.

Adepeju’s film The Good Son is currently showing at Sardinia and Washington film festivals