Film Name: Dawn
Director: Hayden Devlin
Writer: Hayden Devlin
Starring: Samantha Sherratt, Philip Hulford, Christan Ndonda, Tabatha Adams
Returning from travels, a young woman’s life is turned upside down as she struggles to tend to her
partner, a proud man who battles a growing sickness.
In a new exclusive interview on Blazing Minds, I got a chance to ask Writer-Director Hayden Devlin a few questions about the film ‘Dawn’, which has been selected to play at Horror- on-Sea on Saturday 17th January at 17:30 pm.
Q. Your film Dawn has been selected to play at the Horror-on-Sea Film Festival. Can you tell us what we can expect?
A. You can expect a gripping, suspense filled ride. Hopefully with a few surprises!
Q. What were your inspirations when writing the script?
A. The seed for the story really came out of my own issue in refusing to accept or admit when I am ill or under the weather and the frustration that causes my partner. I wanted to take the idea of this folly and take it to a somewhat extreme conclusion. Film wise certainly George A Romero’s The Crazies (1973) is a touchpoint.
Q. Did you have any of the cast in mind for the characters when writing the script?
A. No. I tried to keep an open mind during casting but had a pretty clear idea of how I wanted to feel about the characters. We were really lucky that we managed to find such a great group of actors, particularly on such an incredibly small budget! The level of dedication and commitment they showed to the project was incredible to see.
Q. What were some of your influences for the look and style of the film?
A. I am a big fan of Darren Aronofski and I would say that some of the look of the film is certainly influenced by some of his early work, particularly in terms of shot selection. Roger Deakins is an inspiration for me as well as well as is Gordon Willis, particularly in the Godfather (1972), and I think that heir compositions and lighting was in my mind. I think that Nicholas Winding Refn’s use of colour also was an influence.
Q. Did you make any changes from the original script during filming?
A. Not really. It was an ambitious script in terms of shots to film in an incredibly short amount of time so our decisions on the days were mainly around organising things efficiently and reducing setups to get the story covered effectively. Although I was open to it, I think the actors were generally happy with the script as it was other than a few dialogue tweaks to make it feel more natural in the moment.
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
A. There were many! One of my favourite moments was shortly after lunch on the first day, filming a particularly intimate solo scene with Samantha. We had setup shortly after a gorging ourselves on my homecooked chili in a very small bathroom, with the crew crammed in, me sat in a bathtub, the camera right in her face. Everyone trying their best to be silent while Samantha was trying to deliver a particularly challenging and emotional moment when one by one everyone’s stomachs started growling and building almost into a chorus. Eventually Samantha broke and everyone fell about laughing. That was a particularly difficult scene to get through!
Q. Did you experience any issues during filming?
A. We certainly did! The first thing that we discovered on day one of our two day shoot is that the blood that we had bought badly stained the skin of our actors and was impossible to get off. We had scheduled to shoot all of the scenes with the use of blood in them first because we thought they might be technically difficult to get right. Realising this we had to completely reorganise the schedule on the spot!
I then stayed up that night trying to come up with a new blood solution for the next day. Fortunately we managed to squeeze just about everything but it meant that we had to execute some unplanned day for night shooting as well which I think has worked out in the end. It was a good lesson to test your props out beforehand!
Q. What makes Dawn stand out as something different in the horror genre?
A. Well, I think that it presents a fresh take on a well-served area of horror. By focussing on the origin of the issue and slowly exploring its development and impact on our couple hopefully makes for a satisfying and relatable journey.
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the film?
A. I hope that they leave feeling like they have been absorbed and entertained throughout. They may think twice if their partner starts behaving oddly in the future as well!
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
A. Yes, I have a second short film in post-production at the moment, which I am hoping to complete in the next couple of months and I have a number of scripts that I am in the process of writing. So it is exciting times!
Q. If someone was looking to write and direct their own film what advice would you give them?
A. Give it a go! It is great fun. If you have a story you want to tell then get writing it. If you are going to shoot it, make sure that you plan it as thoroughly as humanly possible so that you can focus on the important things on the day, which is getting the performances out of your actors. Also, if this inspires you to do it, and you become very successful, return the favour and let me know how you did it!
Dawn which will have its UK Premiere at The Horror-on-Sea Film Festival on Saturday 17th January at 17:30hrs.
You can find out more about Dawn and purchase tickets for the film here
Published in various websites, Philip is a reviewer who is best known for his interviews and media coverage of independent projects including; films, books, theatre and live events. Always on the lookout for something different to cover!
