In the middle of the night, a ghost tries to communicate to his still-alive lover by playing piano.
Director’s statement:
One night, I woke up in the middle of the night and noticed that the light on my piano, just outisde of my bedroom, was on. It could’ve been my cat, but while I tried to fall asleep again, I came up with the idea that it could be a ghost trying to communicate with me for some reason. That’s how June first came about.
I also am a big fan of silent films, as they are the foundation of film as an art form, telling stories through visuals and sound/music; some of my favourite films are silent films. At the same time, I’m past the point where I feel the need to politicize my films when I touch on LGBT subject matter. I’ve rarely, if ever, seen a gay-themed film about grief, which is something that I’ve been struggling with over the last few years. I realized June didn’t need any dialogue at all, that I could let the images of an overturned photo and a vase of lilies imply grief and death, for instance. By choosing to make a silent film, I could tell the story of a ghost and a man both struggling in their different ways in a beautiful way that doesn’t require language, and that people all over the world can understand.
Previous screenings: Vancouver Queer Film Festival, Austin Lesbian and Gay International Film Festival, GFest: Gaywise Festival, Shropshire Rainbow Film Festival.