| Graduation Film - The Willem de Kooning Academy (WdKA) |

A Book-to-Film Adaptation
Directed by Alise Revjakova and Umali Pattirua

The Story
In a place vaguely reminiscent of 19th-century England, people visit bookbinders to rid themselves of painful memories.
Once their stories have been told and are bound between the pages of a book, the slate is wiped clean and their memories lose the power
to hurt or haunt them.

After suffering a mysterious mental collapse and becoming unable to keep up with his farm chores, a young man Emmett Farmer is sent to live and work as an apprentice to Seredith, an elderly and experienced binder.

Leaving behind home and family, Emmett slowly regains his health while learning the binding trade. Everything changes with the arrival of the Lucian Darnay, a young man of higher social class with whom he senses a deep intimate connection.

Genre: Drama, Romance, Surrealism, Dark fantasy
Length: 20 min
Symbolism: Hardships of gay love and family dynamics through
fantastical logic and styling

What we offer
- Travel expenses: Reimbursed if travel is required for the film.
- Food & drink: Provided on all shooting days.
- Costumes: Outfits/costumes for the shooting days will be arranged.
- Acting fee: Unfortunately, there is no financial compensation available for the acting itself.

Type
Studentenproductie

Location
Rotterdam

Description
Mr. Farmer
- Gender: Male
- Playing age: Approximately 35–50 years old, ideally around 40
- Father of Emmett Farmer
- Traditional, level-headed, and somewhat reserved
- Not necessarily surly or strict, but clearly someone with a traditional outlook on life
- No dialogue; speaking is not required
- Emphasis is on appearance, body language, and family dynamics

Mrs. Farmer
- Gender: Female
- Playing age: Approximately 35–50 years old, ideally around 40
- Mother of Emmett Farmer
- Kind, caring, and approachable
- Possesses a warm, maternal, and protective presence
- Must be believable as someone who is nurturing and deeply devoted to her family

Piers Darnay
- Gender: Male
- Playing age: Approximately 40–50 years old
- Father of Lucian Darnay
-Strong presence. Shrewd, controlled, and emotionally rather cold
- Not necessarily overtly aggressive, but rather someone who is intimidating due to how calm and composed they remain
- May appear attractive/charming on the surface
- A multi-layered role; the actor must be skilled at portraying subtle power dynamics and manipulation
-Has a fair amount of dialogue

Nell
- Gender: Female
- Playing age: Young adult / must appear relatively young
- Works as a servant in the Darnay household
- Quiet, withdrawn, and appears quite naive
- The story implies that she is being sexually abused by her employer
- This abuse is not explicitly depicted on screen, but it serves as a significant background element for her character
- The actress must therefore be comfortable with these themes
- Her performance should be quite restrained, flat, and withdrawn, rather than highly expressive

Period
Current rough estimate for the shooting days: ◦ December 5–6, or ◦ December 12–13.

These dates are still subject to some change.
Ideally, actors should be available for at least one of these two weekends, and ideally have some additional flexibility within this period.

Spoken / language requirements
English

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