Update 05/01/18

Hello Everyone and Happy New Year!

My name is Adam Carr and I am the director of the film My Name Is Swan.

I just wanted to let everyone know what has been happening since the premiere at the East End Film Festival on 25 July 2017, what we have planned for 2018, and to thank all the funders and backers who have helped us get this far. It feels great to have been part of a collaborative project with so many inspired and talented people.

Film Festivals

The response to My Name Is Swan has been a powerful one, perpetually recharging our initial excitement for the film itself and the project as a whole. To date we have entered our film into ten festivals, and are continuing to look at suitable upcoming festivals on the international circuit. Due to the exclusivity requirements of festivals, this part of the film’s lifecycle, just after premiere/completion will seem quiet to the outside world. It’s a tricky film programming-wise, as it’s a very “long” short film. Film festival programmes are of course prime real estate, and any films of extraordinary length relative to the norm for their category, are at a disadvantage. It’s been exciting to enter the film into festivals, and of course we would be elated to be included in any of their programmes, but our real excitement lies beyond the film festival world, with live performance, immersive screenings and other platforms. We will be in touch through newsletters like this every once in awhile to let you know what’s happening.

Crowdfunding & Rewards

A big thanks to everyone who helped with our crowdfunding campaign, I know “we couldn’t have done it without you”, is a tired soundbite but really: “we couldn’t have done it without you”. Thanks also for your patience waiting for your rewards, particularly those of you who ordered a DVD, we haven’t forgotten you. The aforementioned exclusivity requirements of festival submissions means that we need to time this release appropriately so as not to disqualify ourselves. All rewards will be fulfilled in the spring!

We will soon be cutting a new trailer for the film with our editor Nick Franco, at 1185 Films. This new trailer will better reflect our finished film. Our original trailer was cut while the film was still in production, before the grade and aspect ratio were decided prior to building the edit. The newer version will do a much better job of doing what trailers are meant to do: promote the actual film.

We will also be making a few promotional cinemagraphs of select stills from the film. Cinemagraphs are still images in which a minor and repeated movement occurs, forming a video loop. Slightly disconcerting as it makes you do a second take, thinking your eyes are playing tricks on you!

Readings & Live events

We are delighted that the poem itself is currently being set on the Università degli Studi di Milano syllabus where Jan Noble gave a reading as part of the acclaimed Book City Milano in November. We were subsequently invited to present both the poem and film at the St. Louis School where we gave a series of workshops on themes explored in the work.

A slideshow edit of the film has accompanied a number of subtitled readings in Italy including Festival Internazionale di Poesia di Milano, MUDEC and La Punta della Lingua on the Adriatic coast. Spoken word performances by Jan have also been given at the celebrated Teatro Filodrammatici, Milan and most recently at Poetry on the Lake in Orta with poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy.

The Future

A special thanks must go to Kate Wilson and her team at Fury Films who were pivotal in bringing our production together. As Kate mentioned at the after show we welcome ideas in terms of bringing this work in all its forms – film, poem and performance – to a wider audience – arts venues, festivals, schools. Do get in touch with your suggestions.

That’s all for now, more to report soon!

Thank You!

Adam
Director, My Name Is Swan (2017)