A film by
Observation leads to Inspiration in this adaptation of IvanTurgenev's short story, "Singers" from Sketches from a Hunter's Album. The human voice displays a power to move, to give solace, to uplift that is as potent in contemporary times as it was for Turgenev's Russian villagers of the 1850s.
DIRECTORS STATEMENT
One summer evening a few years ago my daughter brought me to a music session in a local garage. Everyone was there: the road crew, some loggers, a couple of lawyers, the hairdresser, the store clerk, a roofer and his buddy, some artists, a piano teacher, and the mechanic who owned the garage. This gathering, unpublicized and apparently totally impromptu, was nonetheless an open secret in town. The whole scene reminded me of the casual intimacy of Turgenev's short story, Singers, a story I had always loved. Struck by the parallels between the nineteenth century Russian characters with present-day small town citizens, I started to think about making this the subject of my next film.
I began writing the script in April, 2005, updating the story to current times and the literary language to the natural language that my neighbors actually speak. Principle photography took place in July 2005 at The Alchemist Pub in Waterbury and at other local spots, including a hike up White Rock Mountain just ahead of a thunderstorm.
Originally I had thought to make a half hour film. However, the poetry of the images only began to emerge as more and more was cut away. I have ended up with a 17- minute film which I hope holds its own in the world.