The Last Breath of Spring (2019)
written and directed by Gillian Henry
premiered at HollyShorts Film Festival 2019
logline
“The Last Breath of Spring” is a slow burn drama that portrays an 80-year-old man’s inner turmoil after finding suggestions of his wife’s infidelity on the day of her funeral.
synopsis
John, the widower, patiently waits for the guests of his wife’s funeral to leave the church. The last one to exit is David, his late wife’s all-too-close best friend, carrying a box of Maggie’s old things. Although John is still coping with the death of his wife, he becomes engrossed by the mysterious contents of the tin. Upon opening it, he uncovers one of Margaret’s old cameras with a roll of exposed film inside. John drops it off to be processed, but must wait a full day before the images of the past are resurrected, and the truth is unveiled.
director’s statement
In the summer of 2018, I studied 35mm filmmaking at FAMU, located in the heart of Prague, Czech Republic. While exploring the streets of this new city, I wandered into an antique store, where I sorted through communist memorabilia and antiquated paintings to find a Flexaret medium format camera.
When I popped the back of the camera open, I found a dusty, exposed roll of film. After I dropped the roll off to be processed, I was filled with joyful curiosity. This 1960s film had survived a time of war, hatred, and fear. What could be inside? Who owned it? Are they alive?
As I was waiting for the photos to be developed, I began to dream of circumstances when an individual is tormented, like I was, by this vessel of secrets from a mysterious, negative past. At its core, “The Last Breath of Spring” is not a story of infidelity; it is an exploration of the corruption of innocence, even in old age.
