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FILM
The audience as intruder
If there was one title that seemed to be on everybody’s lips at the recent
Durban International Film Festival (DIFF), it was Shirley Adams, the first feature film
from Cape Town-based Oliver Hermanus. Shirley Adams went on to win three awards
at the festival – Best South African Film, Best First Feature Film and Best Actress
(Denise Newman).
By Joanna Sterkowicz
CLOSE-UP – Denise Newman as Shirley Adams
CREATING BUZZ – Oliver Hermanus
PRODUCTION CREW
Centropolis Entertainment,
London Film School, Dv8
Executive Producer:
Roland Emmerich
Producers: Jeremy Nathan,
Michelle Wheatley
Director: Oliver Hermanus
Writers: Oliver Hermanus,
Stavros Pamballis
DOP: Jamie Ramsay
Production Designer:
Nick Mostert
Editor: Gareth Fradgley
Make-up: Naeema Clayton
Shot entirely in close-up on a
50mm lens, Shirley Adams is an
intimate portrait of a woman
whose life is falling apart; a
Mitchell’s Plain housewife abandoned
by her husband and whose son is
severely disabled after an act of
gangland violence.
Director and co-writer Oliver
Hermanus’ stylistic decision to show
Shirley’s struggle to hold everything
together in close-up was to underscore
how isolated a character she is. “The
close-ups invade her personal space and
make it chaotic. So the audience feels
uncomfortable and guilty about being
in her house. From a practical point of
view, because of the close-ups, you don’t
really see where the film is shot, a fact
which helped reduce production costs
for locations,” said Hermanus at DIFF,
the day after the film’s première.
The reaction from the screening was
very positive, with the audience
applauding the film’s style and content.
A big talking point has been that there
are lots of sequences with Shirley
shown from the back. “Everyone has a
different view of why I did the back of
the head thing, all of them sort of
valid,” responded Hermanus. “My
reason for doing it isn’t that complicated
– it was a stylistic choice and not a
loaded decision. Shirley is a character
who is extremely private in her house
and doesn’t want the rest of the world
to see that she’s struggling. I wanted
people to crave to see her face.
However, there’s was a fine balance to
make sure that the audience engages
with that and doesn’t become removed.
Luckily, so far they’ve seem to have
been engaged.
“Shirley’s life is falling apart around
her and she is totally focused on caring
for her son because he can’t do anything
for himself. While I was shooting the
film I unconsciously kept leaning my
head while watching the video monitor
to try and see Shirley’s face. I thought
the audience would do the same. The
net effect is that when you do get to see
her face, it has more impact.”
Shirley Adams has been in Hermanus’
head for 10 years, inspired by a story his
sister told him when he was 15 years
old. “My sister was studying
occupational therapy at the time and
dealing with a family that was going
through a similar situation. In my
Masters year at the London Film
School (LFS) I co-wrote the script with
fellow student Stavros Pamballis. The
script has been through about 30 drafts
and I finished it only very recently and
changed the plotline. If I had to shoot it
over, I’d probably change it again.”
Any film-related conversation with
Hermanus (he also took part in a
workshop session at DIFF) reveals him
as intensely film literate. Years of study
have informed this young filmmaker –
a BA in Film & Media Studies at
University of Cape Town during which
time he was offered a scholarship at the
University of California. In 2006
Roland Emmerich (10,000 BC) offered
Hermanus a scholarship to complete
the Masters course at LFS. Emmerich
is executive producer of Shirley Adams
with his Centropolis Entertainment the
major investor. Producers of the film
are Centropolis, LFS and Jeremy
Nathan and Michelle Wheatley of
South African company Dv8. The
R3m budget includes a grant from the
National Film and Video Foundation
of South Africa (NFVF) and the
Department of Trade & Industry
(DTI) rebate.
Casting
Denise Newman, who has delivered
innumerable fine performances on
stage and screen, was suggested by
Nathan to play the lead role. Hermanus
admitted that he was reluctant at first.
“I wasn’t keen simply because she’d
played so many bereaved mothers
before. But I met Denise and she
convinced me – she was desperate to
play this role. Denise was absolutely
fantastic and worked extremely hard.
She is in every frame. It was a hugely
emotional experience for her as we were
shooting two minute long takes.
“Shirley’s son is played by Keenan
Arrison – he and Denise instantly
bonded and became like mother and
son. Keenan is massively talented and
his character is the motivation for the
whole film. He’s very brooding and
commands the screen. Emily Childs
plays the occupational therapist. Cape
Town has fantastic actors. As a director
you have to make sure that the
performances are true and honest. The
actors create characters that live
forever.”
The shoot
Hermanus and DOP Jamie Ramsay
(Triomf, Lullaby) shot on Sony
XDCAM at 2k resolution. “It’s a cost
effective format and was able to fulfil
our stylistic choices,” explained
Hermanus. “And it allowed us to use
35mm prime lenses to ensure depth of
field, as well as shoot dozens of takes. I
think our shooting ratio was about
17:1.”
Ramsay and Hermanus worked very
closely to make the visual style of the
film work. It has an underlit look, with
subdued key lighting and all light
motivated by natural sources. The
strong compositions place Shirley in the
corner, favouring negative space.
“There is lots of visual language in
the film,” continued Hermanus. “The
relationship between a director and his
DOP is like a marriage, so Jamie and I
got ‘married’ on this film. Jamie
operated the camera as well. At the
DIFF screening the audience seemed
blown away by the cinematography.”
The film was shot in November
2008 in four weeks – mostly on
location in a private home in Mitchell’s
Plain, with the rest in Cape Town.
Hermanus considered himself lucky
as he had a crew of “extremely talented
young people”. Because he himself is
young, his mandate was to give young
people a chance. Both production
designer Nick Mostert and make-up
artist Naeema Clayton made their
debuts with this film. Hermanus noted
that the Mitchell’s Plain community
were very supportive of the project.
When asked about the challenges of
making the film, Hermanus responded
with one word: “Everything!” He
continued by saying that it is very hard
to make a film and for a first timer the
pressure is just to complete the film.
Shirley Adams will be released in
January 2010 on the local circuit.
SCREENAFRICA – September 2009