Press release from TM Publicity
Production of Sons & Mothers, a feature documentary being produced by Adelaide’s POP Pictures, will reach a high point in Adelaide this month with the world premiere of the play Sons & Mothers, by the No Strings Attached theatre company at the Adelaide Fringe Festival and an accompanying photographic exhibition.
For the past 12 months, film director Christopher Houghton from POP Pictures has been filming the creative process behind the development of the play Sons & Mothers by No Strings Attached, a company of disabled artists and performers. The play is a theatrical love letter to the most important woman in the lives of the performers – their mother. The group is led by Alirio Zavarce, a Vezeluan-born actor and theatre director.
The film of Sons & Mothers will be released in cinemas later this year and will then screen on television.
Throughout filming, Christopher Houghton has also been taking photographs of the participants. The photographs in the exhibition reveal a series of intimate moments, each uniquely motivated by the character of the individual as well as their selfless contribution to the ensemble. The exhibition opens February 1 at the Packer Gallery.
On the video screen accompanying the photographs are moving images of June, Jill, Helen, Rosemary and Sharn, some of the mothers of the men in the play.
“A dedication to intimacy and character has fuelled our approach to the documentary and to the accompanying photographs,” says producer Louise Pascale.
“Within the sanctuary of No Strings Attached, the cast have exposed their innermost secrets and we have been privileged to be able to capture these moments. What unfolds in the film is a poignant and intimate portrait of seven surprising individuals who willingly ‘tell all’ with honesty, grace and a healthy dose of irreverence.
“Our hope is that the film will encourage audiences to leave their view of disability at the door and, instead, experience an insider’s perspective of what it is like simply to be human.”
Christopher, Louise and their crew will be at the first performance of Sons & Mothers at the Adelaide Fringe Festival on February 25.
“This will be an amazing night and is where our film ends as we reveal the mothers’ response to the play and the emotion of the night. We are expecting lots of laughter and not a few tears,” Louise said.
The Sons & Mothers photographic exhibition runs at the Packer Gallery from Feb 1 – March 11. The play runs from February 25 – March 11 at the Queens Theatre.
A director of both film and theatre, Christopher Houghton is best known for his award-winning short films Swing, Versus and Lightness. Louise Pascale’s Australian and international career includes stints at Channel 4 in the UK and Sky TV’s, Einstein TV. Since returning to Australia she has produced the acclaimed short film Swing, was part of the world’s largest film archive project Australians at War Film Archive (AAWFA), worked on the ABC’s Beat the Chef as a segment producer and supervising producer for local initiatives I Can See Queerly Now and Raw Nerve.