BEYOND THE LAKE
SIMON CONSTANTINE
Late in his life, a grumpy old timer finds himself lost on a lake accompanied by a young girl, who questions him about a name.
Project bio
I’d finished reading Homer’s Iliad and I wanted to enjoy the star studded film adaptation of Troy. Although I’d seen the film a few times (for my sins) I suddenly noticed a scene that showed The King of Troy kissing his dead son with coins on his eyes, shortly before cremating him. I’d seen this ritual before but never knew what it meant, so I looked it up.
My interpretation of the Charon myth was never meant to make any sense whatsoever. Indeed the 1st draft was sort of a concoction of Dante’s Inferno meets David Lynch’s Blue Velvet. However after reading it I forced myself to tone down the randomness. I always wanted to explore a Charon that differs from the scary entity that I read in books and drawings I’d seen. I sort to concentrate on a character that feels empathy for her passenger and really wants to get them to their destination, this one being an old man during his final heartbeats. It’s a modern interpretation of the ferryman who would likely shift/transform depending on the passenger.
Strangely Layla Burns was the 1st person who applied for the role.
Immediately I rang the Producer Henriette. she’s the one I said.
She replied: yes Simon but surely you want to see more candidates.
I said of course I do, but she’s the one.
Director Biography:
Simon Miles Constantine is a British Filmmaker, Producer and Writer of Caribbean descent. He was born and raised in Croydon, London where he attended school. After his mother persuaded him to take some filmmaking courses, he was inspired and decided to pursue it as a career. He attended both Leeds University and Bristol University where he studied for his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Film. He currently works as a Producer, but has continuously kept writing over years with two feature films currently in development.
SIMON CONSTANTINE
