Winged and Imprint Dark Film Spotlight

Today’s film spotlight focuses on the short film Winged and Imprint Dark directed by Sebastiano O’Grady & Henry Fish.

What is the title of your film and what inspired said title?

Winged and Imprint Dark is a dark comedic horror about the toxic co-dependent relationship of a live-in nurse and her ailing mistress. The title of our film was inspired by the phenomenon amongst birds known as ‘imprinting’ – in critical stages of their lives, birds imprint on each other and attach for life, sometimes even doing so with humans. Given the key image at the heart of our film is a temptress caged bird, we wanted to hint towards this in the title, calling the film ‘Winged’ from the early stages of development. We also wanted to hint towards the toxic co-dependent relationship that is explored within the film. The idea of humans imprinting on each other was a key notion we wanted to examine, the two characters of our film relying on each other, physically and mentally, mirroring the behavioural patterns of birds.

Tell us a little bit about the story and origins of your film.

During the January lockdown of 2021 we decided to write a film that would push us as writers and directors to make a film more ambitious than we had made before. Cut to a year later, several smaller projects in between, meeting and working with many incredibly talented young London creatives and purchasing a now beloved pet budgie, we have made Winged and Imprint Dark.

We specifically set out to write a film for Millie and Phoebe, both incredibly talented performers. Given the minimal budget we were working with, it seemed best to write a two-hander that focused on character and performance, keeping the scope contained with an emphasis on the performances and character. This led us to the idea of a horror film about the potential toxicity of co-dependent relationships, having the connection between the two characters at the core of the film.

Vera and the Mistress both deeply rely on the other to live, the Mistress for her physical needs, Vera for her sense of purpose as a caregiver. We aimed to examine this kind of relationship through these characters, their physical and mental illnesses pushing their co-dependency to the extreme, allowing for a hyperbolic microcosm of the negative impact it can have on both parties. While both well-intentioned, the stubbornness of both characters bars them from meaningfully connecting, unwilling to compromise or adapt to better suit their counterpart, causing the painful (and sometimes comically awkward) clashes between the two. Vera wants the Mistress to be a sick puppy she can take care of, yet she’s a chatty, confident, and raucous, defying Vera’s vision of what a patient should be. The Mistress desperately wants Vera to be fun and engaging company, even a friend, her attempts at humour aiming to draw Vera out of her self-serious shell. Yet Vera is driven, unable to view the Mistress outside of her job. Consequently, both women find themselves unable to truly connect, the film examining the breaking point of this toxic co-dependent relationship.

Any films or filmmakers that inspired this film?

Naturally, when dealing with a film about tempestuous relationships, we looked to Persona and the works of Ingmar Bergman, Vera’s costume being directly inspired by Liv Ulman’s outfit in that film. We also looked at chamber drama films such as the Harold Pinter, Joseph Losey collaborations like The Servant. Visually we were inspired by Phantom Thread, as the film beautifully captured the post war London glamour we wanted in the film. The horror elements were inspired particularly by Robert Eggers’ The VVitch (The Witch), with the scene where Thomasin talks to Black Philip being particularly influential in how we chose to shoot the interactions between Vera and the bird.

What is the goal of the film for you?

While dealing with a heavy subject matter – that being the pressures put on relationships by mental and physical ailments – the comedic elements and charisma of the actresses along with the horror framework packages the film so that a viewer can have fun with the film, making the exploration accessible and entertaining to watch.

The film, in a broad sense, aims to explore how we cannot have truly meaningful relationships with those around us if we expect them to change for us, yet are unable to examine our own behaviour and change ourselves.

What has the journey been like getting the film into production?

Being a truly collaborative piece in every sense of the word, we began with frequent zoom call writing sessions during the creation of the script, religiously sending voice notes back and forth about ideas at any time of the day. As we knew the actresses we wanted, they were brought on very early in production, being sent early drafts of the script to get a sense of their characters and begin improv sessions via video calls. Rehearsals soon followed, the repertoire of the two characters being a necessity to the film working. We then brought on our wonderful cinematographer, Willow Bidwell. We began by talking about reference films that were visual inspirations, also sending her a comprehensive look book that we had created. We came up with the initial shot list then sent drafts back and forth, revising it with her ideas and input. A similar method was used for costume, again using the look book to assist our costume supervisor, Grace Delve, who would send us potential options from various vintage websites. We allotted 4 days for production, and paid out of pocket for the budget, our cast and crew either living in London near the house we were filming in or staying with friends in the area. As we had written a film with a large animal part for the bird, we had a challenge. Ultimately this was sorted by buying a pet bird, Bubs the budgie, perhaps the most elaborate piece of memorabilia we’ve kept from a production. We could not have made the film without the generosity of our team and their willingness to work on this no budget production.

One thing you learned from this project?

Given this was our first entirely collaborative project, from the writing to the directing to the editing, we learned very quickly you can never do too much preparation. In directing the performers and the crew on set, being asked questions and having to make quick decisions in the heat of the moment, it was tantamount we were both on the same page with our vision of the film. We luckily prepared for this well in the pre-production period, but we definitely learned how important it is, when co-directing a film, that both directors know exactly what they want and that it’s the same as the other.

How can folks find you and your film online?

For those interested in the film, updates are posted regularly on our Instagram, @s8hfilms. The film is currently doing its festival run and will be released online within the next few months to our Vimeo, S&H Films. You can also check out the information about the film on our FilmFreeway and stay up to date there. We appreciate anyone who supports the film through sharing it around, reviewing it on sites like IMDB and Letterboxd and even just by watching it. Any support is much appreciated and helps the film massively and our planned future films.

Any last pieces of advice for fellow filmmakers?

Embrace the collaborative nature of film. When surrounded by incredibly talented people you can accomplish far more than alone.

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