"I wanted to create a film that used movement in a raw and translatable sense, building the performance alongside the poetic nature of the story."
DIRECTOR CRAIG MOORE
“Into the arms of sunshine” is a story about two lost lovers, separated but longing to be together. They look to the sun for comfort and guidance, moving ever closer until they are finally in each other’s arms again.
This is an experimental love story told through poetry and motion. The sun can be a real source of comfort, a metaphor for reassuring one in times of need and loneliness, a guiding light. Now with Spring on our doorstep, and after a long hard winter, our spirits are lifted once again as we look to the sun.
Our compass. Our source of positivity and optimism. It can heal hearts and lift the spirit. Into the arms of sunshine uses the sun to connect two souls.
Filmed on the dry dusty landscapes of the South African west coast, with clothing supplied by London fashion house, TooGood - and styled by ANSO - this is an experimental short that uses dance and poetry to tell a story of two lost lovers longing to be together again.
From the Director, Craig Moore:
I wanted to create a film that used movement in a raw and translatable sense, building the performance alongside the poetic nature of the story. There is something liberating about making an experimental film of this nature. There were so many beautiful moments and, with us being a small crew, we were able to be reactive and capture ideas for shots that simply arose from rehearsing or watching. It was a process we all really enjoyed. In commercials, we plan everything so much that it leaves little room to react to interesting and unique angles - perspectives that might materialise on the shoot. We were in the middle of nowhere with epic locations, brilliant performers, and a handheld camera setup. A very liberating approach and the result was a beautifully simplistic story with emotion and depth at its core.
The decision to use circus performers, instead of dancers, came about by chance and we welcomed this exciting evolution to how we used movement and conveyed emotion. They are from the Montreal Circus and were also ‘trapped’ in Cape Town. I have worked with dancers and choreographers all over the world but there was something special with how Brin and Sabine interpreted emotion and movement. We had a playlist to create a mood and then we left the performance unwind with that feeling of the song, evolving and growing. I think all of the scenes had their own unique beauty, between subject performance and location - the hard part was being selective about the shots that ultimately made the cut and told the story of love and longing.
Our relationship with the subjects, their movement, and the location were a key factor in how we captured each scene. Fabian (DOP) and I wanted to use a wide angle lens to shoot close ups, as it really put you inside the scene, with the subject as they look to the urn for comfort and guidance. Using the sun as a natural light to drench our scenes was also a key aspect of our approach., and films like Tree of Life were a big influence on our shooting style.
Sabine and Brin were so great to work with. We formed a really strong bond from the first meeting and we talked the story through and what was needed to bring the performances to life. In the fittings, they played a song which was just perfect for mood and the playlist organically are from there. The music ultimately created a space for them to express themselves in the respective scenes.
Director: Craig Moore
AC: Alex Ortscheit
Styling: Anso
Art Direction: Hey, Koekje!
Story: Craig Moore & Anso
Poem: Craig Moore & Claire Gordan Webster
Dancers: Sabine & Brin
M.U.A: Inga Hewitt
Offline & Online Editor: Joris Willems
Music: Simon Ringrose
Voice: Olivia
V-O Recording Studios: Audiotheque
Grading: Joseph Bicknell / Company3 NY