Review: Blue Running by Lori Ann Stephens

 In this universe, Texas has seceded from the United States. Texas is now an authoritarian country in its own right, with travel in and out strictly forbidden. Everyone is required, by law, to have a gun. 

Blue grew up with her father, her mother having fled Texas before the changes. Though her mother was desperate to leave as a family, her father kept Blue behind. 

Blue is no stranger to hardship in her life but things get worse when her friend is killed by a gun accident that gets blamed on Blue. Blue decides on the only thing she can do - she runs for the border. She meets a young woman on the way, called Jet, who is fleeing so she can seek an abortion. 

It’s eery that I read this book for review just as the six week abortion restriction was made legal in Texas. It’s also frightening how so many elements of this book weren’t so far away from the truth. While Lori Ann Stephens has written a fantastic YA novel in its own right, it’s almost as important to note the lessons within, that Texas seems on its way down the slippery slope to the world of this novel. The friendship that Blue and Jet have is founded on fear and mutual survival but develops into something much stronger. Though they face many obstacles, they find the strength they need in each other. 

Review: Courage is Calling by Ryan Holiday.

 “Ryan Holiday’s Courage is Calling traces the history of courage and its many faces through

the ages and arrives at the present day with an urgent call to arms for each and all of us. As

we battle our enemies within and without, will we choose to rise up to the call of our courage

or blush and bow down to the whispers of our cowardice? Our answer to this question is

about more than our sense of duty, it’s about our freedom. It’s about more than wins and

losses, it’s about our survival. It’s on me, it’s on you, it’s on us. Take the dare we may.”

Matthew McConaughey, Academy Award Winning Actor and New York Times #1 best-

selling author

In this first part of a four part series, drawing on the 4 Stoic virtues, Ryan Holiday examines the virtue of courage - what it means, how we can apply it in our lives, and how we can be inspired by leaders and figures from the past. From Florence Nightingale, who defied Victorian upper-middle-class convention, to the famous stories of the Spartans who stared down the mighty Persian empire, Ryan Holiday emphasises the very much ordinary nature of these people in order to inspire us to make courageous decisions in our own lives. For example, Florence Nightingale didn't immediately rise from obscurity to become one of the world's most famous nurses. It was small decision by small decision, starting with having the courage to defy her family. 

In between each story, Ryan uses his own interpretation of Stoicism and writings on courage to create his own thesis about what modern-day courage looks like, and how it doesn't need to be huge acts to be noteworthy. It can be saying "no" to something you find immoral or unethical. It can be saying "yes" to something that takes you out of your comfort zone. And each courageous decision can accumulate to be life-changing. 

Find more of Ryan's work via @RyanHoliday and @DailyStoic on Twitter, or @ryanholiday and @dailystoic on Instagram. 

The Garfield Conspiracy by Owen Dwyer

 The protagonist of Dwyer’s excellent new novel - part mystery, part examination of a writer in mid life crisis - Richard has his life unwittingly turned upside down when a new research assistant, Jenny, arrives to “help” him finish his book. They both know, though they leave it unspoken, that she’s there on the publishers’ orders to coax him along. 

However, the work is quickly made less of a priority as sparks fly between the pair and they engage in an affair that results in Richard leaving his wife and moving in with Jenny. In the meantime, Richard has started having unwelcome visitations from long-dead American political figures in his bid to find out who killed President Garfield. 

The grounding of an examination of a writer struggling with his legacy and health, along with trying to restore his reputation by writing a novel that would be explosive, makes more absorbing and compelling reading. We want Richard and Jenny to succeed on their literary mission, but outside of this it is much less black and white. It’s well paced, pulls the various strands of the story together well, and reaches an ending that is as shocking as it necessary. 

An excellent voice, not just in Irish fiction, but fiction as a whole. 

Review: Codename Firefly by C. J. Daugherty

 The brilliant sequel to No. 10 sees Gray, the daughter of the Prime Minister, face new but equally intense challenges. Gray has survived an assassination attempt and is now at a highly secure boarding school, working through her trauma while trying to make new friends, and still keeping safe from would-be assassins. Normal teenager problems mixed with an extreme situation, such as knowing her mother’s would be killers are after her, give Gray nightly panic attacks. Unsurprising. 

The school staff reintroduce NIGHT SCHOOL, a self defence class for the highest priority students. Along with Gray is a young man called Dylan, who is surely hiding a secret…

The second in this series is as full of intrigue and suspense as the first. A closed setting packs no less of a punch, and indeed helps build up the tension even more. There are intriguing and interesting new characters to complement the existing ones, and finishes with a huge set piece that does justice to the pace set by the novel. 

Review: The Counterfeit Candidate by Brian Klein

What if Hitler faked his suicide and fled to Argentina like so many leading Nazis? 

That question, and its consequences, form the bedrock of this debut novel from Brian Klein, who Top Gear fans will know as its foremost director. 

2 separate timelines create this story until they converge. The first, being Hitler’s escape from Germany and his long term plan to build a fourth reich. The second is the aftermath of the biggest heist in Argentine history, where three unwitting thieves steal a box that precludes their bloody end. 

This novel is fast-paced, engaging, and cleverly interwoven between timelines, with plenty of clever surprises on the way. It also speaks a lot to where the real power lies, particularly in countries like the USA, and it’s not always with the government. Though the premise of this story is (thankfully) fiction, it still mirrors a sorrowful amount the interplay between politicians and big money, and the devastating consequences that can have. 

Review: KYIV by Graham Hurley

 Starting this review with a trigger warning: there is a very graphic rape scene in this book, so please take care if this affects you. I try not to reveal key points in my reviews unless necessary, but I felt it was important to put a warning in about this. 

Having read and reviewed “Last Flight To Stalingrad”, I was really pleased to have the chance to review Hurley’s latest novel. 

The grand outline of this novel is about Operation Barbarossa, in which Nazi Germany invaded the Ukraine in their larger bid to conquer the Soviet Union and destroy communism. 

But, as seen in Last Flight to Stalingrad, Hurley focuses as well on his characters and their part in the whole, as he does with the research that sets the stories in their place. 

Bella Menzies, previously MI5 but now a defector to the Soviets, on account of her inspiration of the communist ideals, finds herself in a dilemma. Instinct tells her not to go to Moscow, but instead hitch a ride into Kyiv, Ukraine. Very quickly she finds herself hunted by both sides, and discovers the Soviet plot to bomb Kyiv in seemingly random patterns over a period of time, to frustrate and demoralise the Nazis. 

Meanwhile, her lover, Tam Moncrieff, is still with the British intelligence services, knowing Bella’s situation and not giving up on her. He starts to investigate Kim Philby, one of the real-life Cambridge Spies. I’ll leave you to predict how that turns out.

Hurley writes with panache and confidence, thanks to the incredibly detailed research that has been done before putting own to paper. Between them, the cast of characters are charismatic, enigmatic, terrifying, naive, terribly clever, and sympathetic. It’s a novel about the Second World War, so you can make an educated guess about the ending, but the arcs for each character are well, if painfully, resolved. 

Hurley proves himself once again to be a master of historical fiction that enlightens, entertains, and shocks the reader in necessary ways, both from how he creates his characters and storylines, to the real life events and atrocities he weaves in that are essential for the reader to know (you’ll find out what I mean when you read it). 

A fantastic novel, and well worth picking up 

for fans of early 20th century historical fiction. 

Review: Fresh Water For Flowers by Valérie Perrin

 This novel comes highly acclaimed, with over one million copies sold. I was lucky enough to be sent a copy for review. 

The main character, Violette Toussaint, is a caretaker for a cemetery in Bourgogne. She is as highly valued as the priest who conducts funerals, and is perhaps more valuable due to visitors constantly seeing her around, relying on her for gentle conversation, counsel, and a place at her kitchen table if they so need. 

One day, a police chief by the name of Julien Seul arrives, with instructions from his late mother's will to scatter her ashes on the grave of her lover, not her husband. As Violette's and Julien's friendship develops, she discovers not just an interesting story, but something that crosses with her own past. 

The novel weaves effortlessly between narratives - Violette's life as a caretaker, her past life with her fleeting husband and young daughter; Irene (Julien's mother) and Gabriel, and more. 

The novel packs more than one powerful punch. As well as the moving - and often heartbreaking - stories, we discover beyond the surface tragedies of Violette's life, and why she has become so comfortable in - and comforted by - the cemetery. She is a private, shy, and complex woman, a product of tough circumstances, and the circumstances that led to her place at the cemetery are as gutting as they are enigmatic. For part way through the novel, the story takes on the air of a not-quite murder mystery, as we find out there is more to Violette's relationship to her daughter than face value. 

I wish I could read in French so I could experience it in the original language. The English translation was beautiful, and I assume the original text is even more so. 

I'm so glad I got to read this book and I will be following Perrin's future works.  

1989 - The Narratives - Out Of The Woods

With the fire roaring and the comforter wrapped around her, she thumbed through the polaroids. She remembered that this time last year she'd been in this position, on his couch, nestled into his chest and she felt she was home. 

There were doubters, of course. Those predicting, taking bets on their failure. They had been so determined to go against the grain that at times they forgot to see each other for who they really were. They couldn't see themselves for their images, the constructs that were not of their making. 

Not to say that there were not moments of perfect clarity. The paper airplanes. The ring dangling from a chain on her neck. The dancing without music. All the while, asking themselves, asking each other, could they do this? Were they in the clear?

They gave themselves every possible chance. But things bigger than themselves took control. 

The tree in the road. 

The slick, slippery road itself. 

The slightly worn brakes. 

She sat with him all night. As the sun rose, she looked at his sleeping face and wiped a tear, knowing she had never looked upon any face so beautiful and so full of pain. She put her face in her hands. Fate had done this. She would let it run its course. 

No more running. No more hiding. 

No more fighting. 

1989 - The Narratives - Welcome to New York

 The thrill of a new season hung in the air. The city was ready to be renewed - Christmas was a fond, distant memory and the gloominess of post-December winter was packing up to leave. Everyone could breathe a little easier. 

She felt it as she emerged from the subway. The sun was actually shining, and though it wasn't warm enough without a winter coat, people still smiled. The shock of such an occurrence put her in an even better mood, and she even ventured a greeting to a few passers-by.

The small-town girl in the Big Apple - she felt like the heroine of her own story. Luckily, she had already put roots down here, had formed a good community, so the romanticism of her move would be well-balanced by reality. 

Still, the apartment was generous for what she was paying, and she had windows to open. They looked over an alleyway, yes, but there was air to breathe. She dropped her bags and counted how many steps it took to walk the perimeter of her new place, pleased when it  was more than her estimation. 

She'd been invited to dinner that night but put it off until the weekend. She knew how important it was to establish herself on her own terms before starting her new life in relation to her friends, colleagues, and potential lovers.

She took a walk, as for as her legs could carry her, as long as he could take breath. She took only her keys and a few dollars to buy food from street vendors. She wanted to capture the city without anything else demanding her attention. She wanted to see it, smell it, taste it in a way that it could be hers. She wanted to find her own piece of it like the millions who walked around her. The bright lights dazzled her but they didn't deter her. She shuffled her way through a maze of streets and skyscrapers. She bought a hot dog and coffee from a guy on the street and breathed in the familiar smells that seemed altogether different, here.

She knew she could be anyone in this city. There was something more than she wanted, something new she wanted to find. She smiled at the lovers eating dinner, ambling down the street, waiting in line for the club. Men, women, friends, romantics, they were all a picture of a life that could be. A life that would be hers, once she knew herself again. 

1989 - The Narratives - Clean

 For the first time in ten months, the garden was fresh, green, vital. Yet, the memory of the dust remained. It lingered, dry in her throat, refusing to be parched by even the most violent and tumultuous of thunderstorms. 

Her gaze swept over the terracotta pots that were scattered across her handkerchief-sized garden. It rested on the biggest one, th brightest before the drought. It had housed the most sumptuous of roses, violently red like the passion of their love. She closed her eyes, remembering how the perfume had drifted lazily over their bodies as they lay under the watch of the dying sun. 

All those months, back and forth, until she had finally said, enough! One way or the other. 

And he had chosen the other. 

And that was it. The rain stopped falling. The butterflies died and littered her room, decaying awfully to dust. Dry, thirsty, like everything else in this cracked and dying land. 

She looked down at her dress, the one she'd worn on the night of his departure. She could still see the mascara stained teardrops, the smudge of his eyeliner. She had screamed when he left, but no one heard her pain, there was no hero on a white horse to sweep her out of this agony. 

Still looking at her dress, she knew she had to make a change. 

It was a warm day. Sweat already clung to the nape of her neck. She stripped and held the dress in her hand. Slowly, uncertainly, she tore it. After that, it was easy. The shredding was cathartic. She looked at the pieces in her hand and refused to let them represent her. She dropped them, picked up her hammer, and walked over to her foe. The terracotta pot stood defiantly, calling her bluff. She hesitated, felt the hammer slip an inch out of her grip. 

But then she remembered the rains had come. They had wanted her to be clean. She felt something on her scalp and reached up to touch the drops starting to cling to her hair. 

She smiled. She reached into the bottom of the pot for the roots of the thing, and lifted it out - once so majestic, the thing was dead and withered. She walked, carefully, deliberately, to the end of the garden and threw it over the fence.

Turning to the pot, her smile became a grimace. She picked up the hammer once more, and made the first blow. A tiny crack, almost inconsequential, but a crack to be sure. Soon enough, the pot - lie the dress - lay in pieces, wrecked, but she stood tall and glorious. 

This time, when she reached for her glass of water, the memory of the dust disappeared. 

1989 - The Narratives - Wildest Dreams

She painted with the colours she felt, rather than those that had been. Red, matte lips instead of bubble gum pink gloss; doll-like, rosy cheeks in place of her awkward blush; a burnt orange and warm gold sunset to replace the breezy air, the cloud-covered sky. She daubed the beach with painstaking detail, as if one could pick out each individual grain of sand. 

She did it this way not because she was a liar, but because she was a romantic. The true memories would be her most precious, and she did not want to share them - they were the only things that could be truly hers. She replaced a few key details so that when she did pour out her heartache, her friends could sense just enough, but not enough to completely expose her. 

It was a thrill, she couldn't deny it. The fair had been the start of it all. Her friends had left early to go to a party, but as she still kicking back antibiotics from an infection two weeks past, she didn't think alcohol was the best idea. So, she stayed, an invisible stranger amongst the bright lights, squealing children, and candy floss. 

And then he showed up, the brooding, handsome hero. The fact that he was staring at her like Noah looking at Allie Hamilton did not help, but it was everything. One conversation was all it took for her to be swept away. He was honest, which she did not expect, that he was only here for the summer and couldn't make promises beyond that. His honesty was enough, almost worth more than his affection. And so, for five, dreamlike weeks, they were together, a careful distance by day, completely entangled at night. 

And when it came time for him to leave, she felt okay. Not great, and she was sure the heartache would kill later on, but she'd had a time of complete adoration and being made to feel like it was just her. 

When she gave him the painting, he accepted. It helped - she wasn't sure if he would. 

"I'll remember you," he said. "In my wildest dreams, I'll remember you."

Review: Inner Alchemy - The Path of Mastery by Zulma Reyo

 This is an updated edition of the same book that was originally published in 1989. In this book, which crosses the line between a non-fiction and academic text, Zulma Reyo draws on her decades of experience and education in the field of inner alchemy. 

The book itself comprises many things: learning what inner alchemy is; best practices of meditation; connecting with the spiritual plane; and the human energetic anatomy (e.g. The Chakras). A lot of this was very new to me, having known very little to do with this field beforehand, but I was impressed by how rigorous and thoughtful the book is. 

It's not a self-help meditation book, although there are guided meditations in it. It's a comprehensive work about the intangible and energetic parts of the human body. Therefore, it's not a book that can be consumed quickly (although I tried!) It's a book to come back to time and again, and if you have an interest in that field and how it can help you, then it's a perfect fit. 

visit www.zrsoc.com if you're interested to find out more. 

Review: The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

 Note: I received a review copy of this book in exchange for a review as part of the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize blog tour. 

"They burnt down the market the day Vivek Oji died."

This is probably the best and most haunting opening line and chapter of a book that I have ever read, and it does a perfect job of setting the tone for the whole book. Akwaeke Emezi creates an emotional world out of a community of several families that is expansive, deep, and gut-wrenching. 

The two main POVs in the book are Vivek and Osita. They are cousins, as close as brothers, yet their relationship is fractured as teenagers, for a time. Eventually they find each other as they are finding themselves; Osita, in his sexuality, and Vivek, in his sexuality and gender identity. 

It's a traditional world, though, and Vivek's parents (Chika and Kavita) are terrified of what is happening to their son, both because of their own values and for his security. Chika finds comfort in the arms of another woman while Kavita is pouring herself into her son. 

Vivek doesn't find security with his parents for much longer. He finds it in his female friends, who don't judge his expressions, and - at last - Osita, whose burgeoning relationship is as deep as it is fragile. 

What is one meant to do when one does not want to live according to gender expections? Although Vivek can't be entirely open, they try - eventually dressing in a non-conforming way and more (though I won't reveal that). Ultimately, though, the story ends in tragedy. And the of the book displays its brilliance even more once the story is finished. It tells us enough but not everything. 

I'm sad to say that this is probably the first book by a non-binary author I've ever read. The author and the story prove how worthwhile in their own right, and not just for the representation of the community. These authors and stories deserve more presence, both culturally and personally. 

Review: Good Data by Sam Gilbert

 There has been an awful lot in the news about so-called Surveillance Capitalism, particularly in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the documentary of The Great Hack, and other social media based documentaries. 

However, in this book, Gilbert seeks to assuage the fears set out by the above titles. His argument essentially lays out how use of data from our social media activities can be used for good. 

I was sceptical at first; after all, Gilbert’s business relied on the data they were able to gather from social media users. However, as the book  went on, I found myself more and more persuaded by his arguments as research. He doesn’t set out to deny the harm done by Facebook users (eg in Myanmar, where the army used Facebook to perpetrate harm against the Rohingya) but he does also show how Facebook’s ad-based business model allows for, in some ways, democratisation of the internet and allowed popular protest and dissent to give power to citizens. 

Gilbert’s book is written very clearly, logically, and - most importantly for non-tech-minded readers - with a huge degree of accessibility. I still retain the opinion that tech giants should be more regulated and be forced to include greater fact checking on their sites but Gilbert has persuaded me that my data on the internet can end up being used for worthy causes. 

 Good Data: An Optimist's Guide to Our Digital Future by Sam Gilbert is published 1st April 2021, published by Welbeck, price £14.99 in hardback.

Special post for World Poetry Day

 inVERSE

poetry.reimagined

 

 

 

 

FIVE OF THE WORLDS OLDEST POEMS REIMAGINED FOR THE 21ST CENTURY 

 

inversefilm.uk | @inversefilm | inversefilms

 

 

For yesterday is but a dream,

And tomorrow is only a vision.

But today, well lived, makes every yesterday a dream of happiness.

And every tomorrow

A vision of hope.

 

Salutation to the Dawn by Kālidāsa (attributed) - India, c.400 CE

 

 

Launching on World Poetry Day on 21st March 2021, inVERSEis a collection of five of the world’s oldest surviving poems re-imagined for the 21st century through the medium of film, by the award-winning film maker Jack Jewers. 

 

Each film takes an ancient poem as a prism through which to explore the world today. With historical poems ranging from the 1st Century Italy to 1500 BCE Mesopotamia, these five shortfilms explore time and the human condition using the language of the ancients and the modern film making techniques of the 21st century. In celebration of humanity’s long relationship withpoetry on World Poetry Day, these five films are a reminder thatin these troubled modern times, poetry still has the ability tosooth and inspire. 

 

Far from being dry, remote echoes of a long-gone age, each poem chosen for the collection feels like it could have been written yesterday. And why shouldn’t they? People are people. Our dreams are nothing new. Our ancestors had the same hopes and fears that we do. And if we can understand this, perhaps it helps to put some of the problems of our modern world into perspective.  

 

The five films being released to mark World Poetry Day on Sunday 21st March are: 

 

• Love Song -  An Egyptian love poem written in 1400 BCE reveals a meditation on the meaning of relationship and gender in 2021. 

• Long Wall - A poem about loss and suffering from the Han Dynasty in China, opens up a conversation about Europe’s refugee crisis. 

• My Heart - Originating from ancient Mesopotamia, “My Heart Flutters Hastily” is a delightful reminder that those giddy, dizzy feelings you can get when you really like somebody are nothing new. 

• The Look - A first century poem taken from Ovid’s Ars Amarosa is reimagined as a celebration of inclusivity and tolerance.

• The Dawn - The ancient Indian poet Kālidāsa’s Salutation to the Dawn transforms into a rallying cry for a better tomorrow led by young street protestors. 

 

All five of the films are available free to watch via the inverse website inversefilm.uk.

 

ABOUT THE FILMS 

 

Love Song

Based on the poem The Flower Song Anon. Egypt, c.1400 BCE. (Abridged).

Watch here: https://inversefilm.uk/watch/love-song

 

A timeless declaration of love and desire, this poem feels as fresh today as it did when it was written – a long, long time ago. The imagery is strikingly sensual; how the narrator describes the sound of their true love’s voice as being like the taste of sweet wine; or wishing they were her very her clothes, so that they could forever be close to her body. It’s passionate, erotic, and quite beautiful

 

 

Production Notes: None of the couples you see in the film had met before they came into the studio on the bright, spring day on which it was filmed – with one exception. The older couple are Alfred and Leila Hoffman, who were 92 and 83 at the time of filming, who have been together for over 60 years. The velvet-voiced narration is provided by Adam Roche, host of the Secret History of Hollywood podcast – required listening for all classic movie fans.

 

 

Long Wall

Based on the poem He Waters His Horse By A Breach in the Long Wall Anon. China, c.120 BCE

Watch here: https://inversefilm.uk/watch/long-wall

 

 

Jack Jewers says: The first time I read this anonymous poem – dating from the Han Dynasty in China, sometime around 120BCE – I was blown away by its age. How can a poem this rich and vivid be so old? The idea for this whole series of films grew from there. The poem conveys such poignant feelings of separation and loss that it seemed to be perfectly suited to a tale of refugees, far from home.

 

Production Notes: The refugee crisis is close to actress Sophia Eleni’s heart. Her mother fled the war in Cyprus in the mid-1970s, Most of the footage that ends the film was donated by the charity Refugee Rescue, who undertake tireless work saving desperate people at sea.

 

 

My Heart

Based on the poem My Heart Flutters Hastily Anon. Mesopotamia, c.1500 BCE

Watch here: https://inversefilm.uk/watch/my-heart

 

Originating from ancient Mesopotamia, “My Heart Flutters Hastily” is a delightful reminder that those giddy, dizzy feelings you can get when you really like somebody are nothing new. Whether it’s in a world of dating apps and socially-distancedlove, or from a time that feels unimaginably distant, people have been falling in love the same way forever.

 

 

Production Notes: inVERSE started life in a world before anyone had ever heard the word ‘Covid’ and lockdown was something to do with home security. So when the world ground to a half in the spring of 2020, Jack had to find alternative ways of finishing the project. Working with Los Angeles-based actress Joanne Chew, Jack devised a method of directing over Zoom while she recorded the takes on her phone, as selfies. The result is the lightest of the five films, and the sweetest.

 

 

The Look 

Based on the poem Take Care With How You Look from Ars Amarosa by Ovid. Italy, 1st Century CE.  (Abridged).

Watch here: https://inversefilm.uk/watch/the-look

 

The Romans knew how to have a good time. The Look is an abridged version of ‘Take Care With How You Look,’ a chapter from Ars Amarosa (“The Art of Love”), by the poet Ovid. Its themes of rejecting false nostalgia about the past, and embracing the richness of the modern age, sounded to me like a celebration of inclusivity and tolerance. Of course, Ovid was writing about a very different age to our own, but the message holds as true today as it always has been. And what more fabulous harbingers this message than Drag Queens United?

 

Production Notes: This is the only INSIGHT short that was put together from found footage, rather than filmed specially for the series. The lovely, colourful, joyous shots of Drag Queens United were taken at Amsterdam Pride in 2017.

 

 

 

The Dawn

Based on the poem Salutation to the Dawn by Kālidāsa(attributed) - India, c.400 CE

Watch here: https://inversefilm.uk/watch/the-dawn

 

Considered the greatest poet of ancient India, Kālidāsa is a founding figure of world literature. And yet, a lot of mystery surrounds Kālidāsa. Some scholars even question whether he was a real person, suggesting instead that his work a kind of collected greatest hits of the ancient Sanskrit world. And perhaps it's appropriate that such an inspiring poem was written by a semi-mythical figure. It sounds to me like a rallying cry for a better tomorrow. And who better to get that across than young street protestors?

 

 

Production Notes: ‘Bullet time’ is an effect that makes objects and people look like they are frozen in thin air. Creating true bullet time requires two things we did not have – time and money. So instead, Jack took a low-fi approach. Aside from a few simple computer-generated touches to enhance the overall effect, everything you see is done for real. The protestors are all professional dancers, who had the strength and balance necessary to be able to keep still for extended periods of time – often in difficult and uncomfortable poses.

 

ABOUT THE POEMS 

 

The five poems that the have been reimagined for a 21st century audience are: 

 

• The Flower Song  Anon. Egypt, c.1400 BCE. (Abridged).

• He Waters His Horse By A Breach in the Long WallAnon. China, c.120 BCE

• My Heart Flutters Hastily Anon. Mesopotamia, c.1500 BCE

• Take Care With How You Look from Ars Amarosa by Ovid. Italy, 1st Century CE.  (Abridged).

• Salutation to the Dawn by Kālidāsa (attributed) - India, c.400 CE

 

You can read all five poems on the inverse website here: https://inversefilm.uk/the-poems

 

PRESS ENQUIRIES 

 

For all press enquiries please contact:

Bei Guo at Midas on bei.guo@midaspr.co.uk or 07704501242

Tory Lyne Pirkis at Midas on  tory.lyne-pirkis@midaspr.co.uk or 07765503053. 

 

ABOUT JACK JEWERS 

 

Jack Jewers is a filmmaker and writer. Passionate about telling stories in all media, his body of work crosses film, TV, and digital. His short films and web series have been shown in and out of competition at dozens of film and web festivals, including Cannes, New York, Washington D.C., Marseille, Dublin, and London’s FrightFest.

 

In 2014 he developed and directed Night School, a web series based on the popular young adult novels of the same name. It quickly grew from a couple of low-budget short films to become one of the highest-profile British web series to date. Jack’s numerous short films as director include the critically-acclaimed Shalom Kabul, a dark comedy based on the true story of the last two Jews of Afghanistan. 

 

Jack has won several accolades for his film work, including an award from the Royal Television Society and a nomination for Best Short Film by BAFTA Wales. He has been invited to speak about his work at several major film and TV industry events, including Series Mania in Paris. Jack has also worked in advertising.

 

Through his production company, Queen Anne’s Revenge, Jack is currently in development on the fantasy TV series Whatever After, featuring Jessica Brown Findlay. He is also working on a small slate of feature film projects, including a thriller set in the international protest movement, entitled Generation Revolution. 

 

Away from the cinema in all its forms, Jack has a deep interest in literature and history. He writes historical fiction, and is the co-founder of the publishing company Moonflower Books. 

 

He lives near London with his wife, the author Christi Daugherty, a small menagerie of pets, and a friendly ghost. But that’s another story. 

 

Film Credits 

 

The Long Wall 

 

Poem: He Waters His Horse By A Breach in the Long Wall Anon. China, c.120 BCE

 

Directed, Produced & Edited by: JACK JEWERS

Director of Photography TOM BLOUNT

Narrator: SOPHIA ELENI

VFX: LUKE RUSHWORTH | BIG YELLOW FEET

Colourist: PAUL FALLON

Makeup Artist: EMILY COLLINS

Camera Assistant: EMILY TAIT

Production Assistants: JUSTINE DUHART | SIMON HALL

Music: ‘Homecoming’ by Peter Broderick & MachinefabriekPublished by Erased Tapes Music

©2021 Queen Anne’s Revenge Ltd.

 

Love Song 

 

Poem: The Flower Song Anon. Egypt, c.1400 BCE. (Abridged).

 

Directed, Produced & Edited by: JACK JEWERS

Director of Photography: TOM BLOUNT

Narrator: ADAM ROCHE

The Lovers: YASMINE ALICE | MARGARET DANE | JOSEPH SIMPSON-BUSHELL | NATASHA GREEN | ALFRED HOFFMAN & LEILA HOFFMAN | ASHLEY ROSE-KAPLAN | MARLON KAMEKA | ANA MCMORROW| TONY RICHARDSON

Colourist: PAUL FALLON

Camera Assistant: EMILY TAIT

Makeup Artist: EMILY COLLINS

Production Assistant: JUSTINE DUHART

Filmed at Mowlam Studios, Bethnal Green, London

©2021 Queen Anne’s Revenge Ltd.

 

My Heart

 

Directed, Produced & Edited by: JACK JEWERS

Actress: JOANNE CHEW

Music: “Flight As A Feather” by Simon Porter  Performed by the English Session Orchestra Published by Audio Network

©2021 Queen Anne’s Revenge Ltd.

 

Take Care

 

Narrated, Edited & Produced by: JACK JEWERS

Director of Photography: GUILLAUME VERSTEEG

Footage of ‘Drag Queens United’ at Pride Amsterdam © 2017 G3B Studios

Used by kind permission of G3B Studios and the Queens Themselves

Music: ‘Lightly Drift’ by Helen Jane Long Published by Audio Network

©2021 Queen Anne’s Revenge Ltd.

 

The Dawn

 

Poem: Salutation to the Dawn by Kālidāsa (attributed) - India, c.400 CE

 

Directed, Produced & Edited by: JACK JEWERS 

Director of Photography: TOM BLOUNT

Narrated by EMMA KNIEBE

The Protestors:   YASMIN COGAN DE ABREU | CELESTINA BANJO | WILLIAM JOHN BANKS

LEWIS CHANCE | MARIAH LEANNE COLLINS | JUSTINE DUHART | BLANCA NINWEN | JOE PARTRIDGE | JASMINE POOLE

VFX: LUKE RUSHWORTH | BIG YELLOW FEET

Colourist: PAUL FALLON

Makeup Artist: EMILY COLLINS

Camera Assistant: EMILY TAIT

Production Assistant: JUSTINE DUHART

Music: ‘Wake the Stars’ by Philip Guyler Published by Audio Network

©2021 Queen Anne’s Revenge Ltd.