Set across two decades, You Are My Sunshine follows teenagers Tom and Joe, who first meet in the 1970’s. The 90-minute film was written and directed by Darlaston film maker Dave Hastings and produced by Troy Dennison and Kaush Patel. The story follows the two young men as they try to navigate their way through an uncompromising time in history. The audience witnesses the day they first met to the present day, which brings further conflict as well as a potential change in the air.
Production
Filming just finished on the movie, at locations around Rhyl and the Black Country including Barr Beacon and Walsall Leather Museum. Crew shot the first segments of the story, set the 1970’s, last year, which saw Jack Knight as a young Joe and Steve Salt as young Tom. Director of photography Will Bradshaw studied the look of former British films made within the era while set designer L.J. ‘Stark’ Greenwood researched various colour palettes as well as vintage props to help bring the decade to life. The scenes showing their modern-day counterparts dealing with the repercussions of their early lives have now also been filmed.
Characters
Tom is a ‘typical young lad’ living an isolated existence after his family abandoned him. He lives on odd jobs, concealing his sexuality. Tom wants to spend his life with Joe, regardless of what the rest of the world thinks. Joe, reserved and shy, lives with his father, Martin, and sister Ethel, working for his dad’s painting firm.
Ernest Vernon from Staffordshire who plays modern-day Tom said he enjoyed bringing an older Tom to life. “The storyline, for me, revolves around the importance of everyone having a chance to enjoy life and to appreciate the value of living life in harmony, free of prejudice. This film tells that story in such an emotionally charged way, with emotions ranging from anguish and frustration, to warmth and understanding.
“The strong characters and the intricate emotional scenes leaping from the pages instantly attracted me. I couldn’t wait to get involved. It was a great pleasure to be involved with such a brilliant production. I can’t wait to see the finished film, and I hope that all that see it enjoy it too.”
Rosemary Manjunath plays present day Ethel while Charlie Clarke appears as younger Ethel. “The script is emotive and emotional, well written and thought provoking. After reading it for the first time, I was left in tears. I knew that I’d love to be involved in some small way,” said Rosemary. Johnathan Butler plays Ethel’s son John.
Feedback
“We’ve had a lot of interest in You Are My Sunshine already,” said Dave, a lecturer at Walsall College. “People all over the world are asking about it. Some of the LGBTQ film community who’ve seen snippets of were in “floods of tears with happiness. For me, that means the world. It shows off this immensely talented and passionate team and cast that have helped bring this film to life in the best way possible, and that is always important to me first and foremost to honour them.”
You Are My Sunshine, which is a co-production between Lightbeam Productions, 5cm/Sec and Pat The Bull Films, is due to be released later this year.
For more information about You Are My Sunshine, visit their Facebook page.
Source: Express & Star
For more industry information, visit our news page.