‘From life’
A film by Mela Hilleard
Art, Experimental, Independent, Author Cinema
40 minutes, Colour, Super8, 24 fps, 4:3, English, UK/POLAND 2027
TEASER
LOGLINE
Reborn through creativity.
SYNOPSIS
The film is about being reborn through creativity when reaching middle age and beyond.
The film is inspired by Julia Margaret Cameron, one of the greatest photographic portrait pioneers of the 19th century, who started her career at 48 years old and in her 12 years career created around 900 photographs.
The gift of the camera become a tool for founding a higher purpose in life – photography. She wrote in her manuscripts: “The gift from those I loved so tenderly added more and more impulse to my deeply seated love of the beautiful, and from the first moment I handled my lens with a tender ardour, and it has become to be a living thing, with voice and memory and creative vigour. Many and many a week in the year 63 I work fruitlessly but not hopelessly.”
Julia Margaret Cameron engraved in history as woman caring little for conventionalities of her time, who lived her life according to her own will, who fought against the class and gender dynamics of Victorianism and freedom from patriarchy.
Her life becomes a parallel story told through filmmaking and photographic eyes of mine inspired by her, in my 48, in the 21st century, woven like separate strands of hair into one plait.
ARTISTIC STATEMENT
The film will content a photographic wet plate collodion portraits taken by Julia Margaret Cameron of the poets, the scientists, the artists, an ordinary people and contemporary mature characters “given second chance in their life” taken by same type of box camera she used.
There will be a 8mm film footage shoot in the stylistic of the photographs, related to Julia Margaret Cameron places of life – (Kolkata/India), Paris/France, London/Freshwater, Isle of Wight/UK, Kalutara/Sri Lanka – portraying the characters and their life as she used to do, by “feeling the emotional significance of appearance of every person and moment”.
There will be also a 8mm film illustration of the turning scenes in Julia Margaret Cameron life, referring to her first period of work devoted to religious, symbolical and allegorical subjects in the stylistic of films by Jean Cocteau.
Narrative will consist of Julia Margaret Cameron manuscripts, the interview with the characters about their process to found a true purpose in life and what brought them to the place where they are now, the poetry of Julia Margaret Cameron inspiration – Alfred Lord Tennyson and VO of the Narrator.
When I was 48 and I felt stuck with my life, my friend brought hope that it is never too late giving me a book about Julia Margaret Cameron saying “you should give your friend what you love the most”. He also brought a 8mm camera which reborn my tired of digital photography eye into the analog way of seeing.
Despite a centuries of difference, we both with Julia Margaret Cameron share the same approach to the photography treated as an art and poetry with an admiration to unperfected, layers, traces, out of focus. Also the worship towards photographed people and “finding pearls in every ugly oyster.”
Another similarity is identity and searching for own place, constant journey. Julia Margaret Cameron was born in Calcutta, her grandmother had Bengali roods, she lives in London, then moved to Isle of Wight, died on another island Sri Lanka. Although I was born in Poland, my grandmother was Ukrainian. My first memories of childhood is Kolkata, I traveled for 4 years through South East Asia. I have lived in London for 17 years and a visit to the Isle of Wight brought me a dream to move there one day and just devote myself to creating.
I hope the story will brig hope to others – especially women. When as a woman you reach middle age, you have to face that something in your life definitely ended. It’s a difficult proces, very lonely, still a subject of ‘tabu’. I wish Julia Margaret Cameron and all people who gave her wings of inspiration and support will remind that the real meaning of life can wake up any time and also that we are not alone and being ourselves is our biggest strength.
Mela Hilleard [Elzbieta Piekacz]
I am filmmaker, photographer and actress.
I studied filmmaking at the London Film School and photography at the European Academy in Warsaw.
At the moment I am working on my new art film ‘From life’ following in the footsteps of pioneer women photographer, Julia Margaret Cameron.
I am a director of independent documentary ‘HOME’ premiered during the Kinoteka Polish Film Festival at the ICA in London. The film was awarded Best Feature Film at the KOIFF and at the same time it received a special screening at the Center for Contemporary Art in Warsaw.
My graduation film ‘At Dawn the Flowers Open the Gate of Paradise’ had its premier during the Edinburgh International Film Festival as part of the Main Programme: “Shorts: Dream Images”.
I received Best Actress Award for the feature film ‘Double Portrait’ and I was also co-writer and camera operator of this film rewarded at the Gdynia Polish Film Festival.
As an actress I collaborated with Warsaw Theatres after studying at the Wrocław Theatre Academy.