Written by Marc McDonnell, 24th June 2019
RADE is proud to announce that it has just wrapped filming on its latest two shorts “The Girl in the Window” and “The Man in the Chair”.
Written by frequent RADE collaborator Rodney Lee (Irish Light Vs Tony) and directed by Gary Boyd, both films use an art gallery in the inner city of Dublin to examine how addicts and the homeless are perceived by the upper echelon of society through Lee’s dry satirical style.
The “Girl in the Window“ sees Derek, a young man in recovery who’s fed up being looked down on by upper class snobs and decides to get a gang of RADE participants together to pull off a robbery of a valuable painting to get revenge on the gallery manager who snubbed him.
“The Man in the Chair” follows Sean, happy-go-lucky but sleeping rough, who wanders into an art gallery looking for a place to sit and rest and unwittingly gets mistaken as the gallery’s centrepiece feature, dragging him into the world of fine art, whether he likes it or not…
The process began with weeks of line reads and rehearsals before the final casting could be nailed down. The big day arrived and everyone was excited to see what part they’d landed when Gary had an idea to prank RADE project manager Mick Egan. He enlisted veteran trickster Thomas to throw a temper tantrum when his part was given to him and Thomas went full diva to the horror of Mick who was so shocked and panic stricken he could hardly get the words out to try and stop the outraged star. Knowing not to take the joke too far Thomas caved and revealed the ruse to Mick, flabbergasted and mortified that he’d fallen for the trick.
Filming took place over five hectic days with the RADE building itself being used as the primary shooting location. The recreation room was transformed beyond recognition to resemble a modern day art gallery, while the kitchen was re-decorated to seem more like a typical one bedroom flat. Viewers can also catch a glimpse of the RADE workshop room where participants practice yoga and tai chi on a daily basis. Keen audiences can also keep their eyes peeled for areas of Dublin city that might be familiar to them.
The production was a fantastic opportunity for RADE participants and staff to experience first-hand the intricate details of the film making process which showed how integral each and every element and each contributor were to a successful day of shooting. If even one person failed to perform their duty, remember their lines or arrive on time the knock on affect could have been devastating but thankfully the whole RADE team shone and showcased their ability to work together in community through long hours and numerous takes of scenes to get the perfect shot.
Onlookers could have been forgiven for thinking that professional catering was used during production as RADE staff kept the cast and crew fuelled with healthy breakfasts, tasty Indian dishes, wholesome sandwiches and Irish favourite Spaghetti Bolognese, as well as a steady flow of savoury snacks.
And in case there was any doubt that the shorts were anything less than fine art, it has to be noted that “The Girl in the Window” features subtitled Italian, so be sure keep an eye out this autumn when both films do the circuit of film festivals across Ireland.