From the British Films Catalogue
Brief synopsis:
Described by The Independent as a “millennial British version of Chris Marker’s Sunless”, Blue Summer is an experimental film about the doomed love affair between a writer and his conceptual artist lover. An unseen narrator guides us through the story, describing how he unearthed a pile of letters and fragments of a novel in an abandoned trailer in the countryside. Slowly, these fragments come to life, revealing how the writer’s paranoid fantasies provoke a psychological meltdown.
Exploring a number of contemporary concerns – the media, modern art, digitalisation, modernism, ecology – the film experiments with filmic genres and uses image and sound to mirror the writer’s descent into madness. Writer-director John Sergeant, who has made over 30 documentaries for both the BBC and Channel 4, shot the film over five years on a tiny budget. “I wanted to make a film on my own terms rather than going through the commissioning process, which I know can completely change a writer-director’s original idea,” says Sergeant.
That uncompromising approach has won the film fans around the world. Following its premiere at last year’s Sheffield International Documentary Festival, it was invited to London, Rotterdam, Zanzibar and Ankara, and has also enjoyed special screenings at arthouse cinemas around the UK, all as a result of word of mouth.
Year of production : 1999
Running time : 2 hours 5 minutes
Principal cast : Nicola Walker, Barney Kaye
Update 25 February 2011
Thanks to information provided by Mirjam :
You can find a little more information about this film HERE.
You can also hear some of the music used in the film HERE.
Six degrees
Barney Kaye – although the name is spelt differently, we have no doubt this is the same Barnaby Kay who is now married to Nicola! Barnaby also played John Fortescue in episode 305 of Spooks [TV], a potential love interest for Ruth Evershed, Nicola’s character. See also Nicola’s Bio.
Availability on DVD
This film is not currently available on DVD.
This was a very interesting film. If you are looking to hear Nicola’s voice don’t expect to hear it much as it is 98% Barnaby narrating. The film was experimental and for sure one that sociologist would love to study.