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Project Detail

Nocturne for a Lighterman

A bargeman on a river by an old bridge with modern buildings layered beneath
a river at night with a bargeman and layers of blue, orange and red

Synopsis

Dark undercurrents interact in the lives of Victorian artist – James McNeill Whistler – and a bargeman (one of poetry filmmaker Sarah Tremlett’s ancestors) on the River Thames in London. Based on Whistler’s painting Nocturne in Blue and Gold, Old Battersea Bridge, the poem is written in neo-symbolist mode and the contemporary footage is of the same view as the original. The soundscape by leading Belgian composer Marc Neys, though not inspired by Debussy, evolved from Tremlett’s fascination with his repetitive musical phrases, and his friendship with Whistler. Nocturne for a Lighterman is taken from TREE, a forthcoming family history chronicle by Sarah Tremlett, and is an experiment with painting with film.
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Details

Year
2025
Type of project
Shorts
Running time
7 min 10 sec
Format
digital
Director
Sarah Tremlett
Editor
Sarah Tremlett
Screenwriter
Sarah Tremlett
Sound
Marc Neys
Composer
Marc Neys
Videographer
Georgi Rees

Genre

Experimental Woman Director

Categories

Artist Project and Video / Experimental

Production Status

Complete

Production Company

PoemFilm

Sarah Tremlett

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