Evelyn (2018 film)

Last updated

Evelyn
Directed by
Produced by Joanna Natasegara
Starring
CinematographyFranklin Dow
Music by Patrick Jonsson
Production
companies
Distributed by Netflix
Release dates
  • 11 October 2018 (2018-10-11)(London Film Festival)
  • 10 September 2019 (2019-09-10)
Running time
96 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Evelyn is a 2018 documentary directed by and starring Orlando von Einsiedel. The premise revolves around Orlando's own family dealing with the effects of a suicide that took place 13 years earlier by Orlando's brother Evelyn, by taking a series of long walks visiting landscapes Evelyn liked to walk when he was still alive. [1] [2]

Contents

It was released Netflix on 10 September 2019. [3]

Cast

Camerawork and music

For large parts of the film, the camerawork appears to require an operator walking backwards. In fact the cameraman, Franklin Dow, had created a special camera rig that sat on his back with a stabilising mechanism. A screen in front allowed him to watch what was happening as the family/cast members walked behind chatting. [6]

The musical score was mostly composed by Patrick Jonsson who had previously collaborated with von Einsiedel on Virunga and The White Helmets. [7] One song was contributed by Evelyn's sister Gwendolyn Einsiedel, a musician in her own right who remembers singing almost every day during the making of the film, though very little made it onto the final cut. [7]

Release

Evelyn premiered at the 2018 London Film Festival. [8] [9] It screened on BBC Two on 18 May 2019 [10] and was released from 10 September 2019 on Netflix. [1] Reviewers described the film as a raw, powerful look at a family trying to make sense of suicide. [11] It was chosen as Best Documentary in the British Independent Film Awards of 2018. [12]

Outreach

Some reviewers have suggested that the film might be powerful enough to save the lives of those considering suicide, [13] GQ pointing out that suicide is now the single biggest killer of young British men and suggesting that Evelyn might help break the code of silence that tends to surround the subject. The film's website provides support links to help services including The Samaritans and Calm and reproduces a poem from The Smoke Jumper [14] by Nicholas Evans, best known as author of The Horse Whisperer (novel) .

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hao Wu (director)</span>

Hao Wu is a Chinese film director, producer and writer living in the US. Wu was also a blogger known as Tian Yi. He is otherwise best known for his feature-length documentary, People's Republic of Desire, winner of the Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 2018 South by Southwest, All in My Family, a Netflix Original Documentary, and 76 Days, about the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, China. In 2021, Wu won a Peabody Award and a Primetime Emmy Award for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking for 76 Days.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BFI London Film Festival</span> Annual film festival held in London, England

The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival held in London, England in collaboration with the British Film Institute. The festival runs for two weeks in October every year. In 2016, the BFI estimated that around 240 feature films and 150 short films from more than 70 countries are screened at the festival each year.

Christopher Riley is a British writer, broadcaster and film maker specialising in the history of science. He has a PhD from Imperial College, University of London where he pioneered the use of digital elevation models in the study of mountain range geomorphology and evolution. He makes frequent appearances on British television and radio, broadcasting mainly on space flight, astronomy and planetary science and was visiting professor of science and media at the University of Lincoln between 2011 and 2021.

Martyn Pick is a director and artist recognised for a distinctive fusion of live-action and animation. In feature films, commercials, and shorts he applies his fluid, cinematic storytelling working across pure live-action, computer, and hand animation. 

<i>Skateistan: To Live and Skate Kabul</i>

Skateistan: To Live and Skate Kabul is a short film that follows the lives of a group of young skateboarders in Afghanistan. Operating against the backdrop of war and bleak prospects, the Skateistan charity project is the world's first co-educational skateboarding school, where a team of international volunteers work with girls and boys between the ages of 5 and 17. The short documentary film follows the lives of young skateboarders in Afghanistan, directed by UK filmmaker Orlando von Einsiedel. The film team includes cinematographer Franklin Dow and editor Peta Ridley.

Glenn Wilhide is an American screenwriter and television producer.

<i>The 50 Year Argument</i> 2014 film directed by Martin Scorsese

The 50 Year Argument is a documentary film by Martin Scorsese and co-directed by David Tedeschi about the history and influence of the New York Review of Books, which marked its 50th anniversary in 2013. The documentary premiered in June 2014 at the Sheffield Doc/Fest and was soon screened in Oslo and Jerusalem before airing on the British Arena television series in July. It was also screened at the Telluride Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival and was seen at the New York Film Festival, in September, and at other film festivals. It first aired on HBO in September 2014 and was given other national broadcasts. It had a limited theatrical release in Toronto in 2015.

<i>Virunga</i> (film) 2014 film

Virunga is a 2014 British documentary film directed by Orlando von Einsiedel. It focuses on the conservation work of park rangers within the Congo's Virunga National Park during the rise of the violent M23 Rebellion in 2012 and investigates the activity of the British oil company Soco International within the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Soco International ended up officially exploring oil opportunities in Virunga in April 2014. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on 17 April 2014. After airing on Netflix, it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Grain Media is a British film, television and commercials production company in South London, established in 2006 by Jon Drever and Orlando von Einsiedel.

<i>The King</i> (2019 film) 2019 film directed by David Michôd

The King is a 2019 epic historical drama film directed by David Michôd, based on several plays from William Shakespeare's Henriad. The screenplay was written by Michôd and Joel Edgerton, who both produced the film with Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, and Liz Watts. The King includes an ensemble cast led by Timothée Chalamet as the Prince of Wales and later King Henry V of England, alongside Edgerton, Sean Harris, Lily-Rose Depp, Robert Pattinson, and Ben Mendelsohn.

<i>The White Helmets</i> (film) 2016 British film

The White Helmets is a 2016 British short documentary film. The film follows the daily operations of a group of volunteer rescue workers of the Syrian Civil Defence, also known as the White Helmets. The film was directed by Orlando von Einsiedel and produced by Joanna Natasegara. It won the Best Documentary at the 89th Academy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orlando von Einsiedel</span> British film director (born 1980)

Orlando von Einsiedel is a British film director. He directs mostly documentary films that investigate global social issues, and has filmed in various places around the world, including Africa, Asia, America and the Arctic. von Einsiedel became known for his award winning film Virunga, produced with the cooperation of Virunga National Park director Prince de Merode.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joanna Natasegara</span> British film director and producer

Joanna Natasegara is a British film director and producer. She produced Virunga (2014) and The White Helmets (2016), for which she received nominations for Academy Award in the categories of Best Documentary Feature and Best Documentary, respectively; she won the latter. Both nominations were shared with director Orlando von Einsiedel. She also worked on The Price of Kings, a documentary film series with each film focusing on a specific world leader.

<i>Icarus</i> (2017 film) 2017 documentary film by Bryan Fogel

Icarus is a 2017 American documentary film by Bryan Fogel. It chronicles Fogel's exploration of the option of doping to win an amateur cycling race and happening upon a major international doping scandal when he asks for the help of Grigory Rodchenkov, the head of the Russian anti-doping laboratory. It premiered at Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2017, and was awarded the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award. Netflix acquired the distribution rights and released Icarus globally on August 4, 2017. At the 90th Academy Awards, the film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

<i>Marriage Story</i> 2019 film by Noah Baumbach

Marriage Story is a 2019 drama film written and directed by Noah Baumbach, who also produced the film with David Heyman. It stars Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver as a warring couple going through a coast-to-coast divorce. Laura Dern, Alan Alda, Ray Liotta, Julie Hagerty, and Merritt Wever appear in supporting roles.

<i>Soni</i> (film) 2018 film by Ivan Ayr

Soni is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language crime drama film directed by Ivan Ayr. Produced by Kimsi Singh and Kartikeya Narayan Singh, the film stars Geetika Vidya Ohlyan and Saloni Batra in the lead roles. It was written by Ayr and Kislay and chronicles the life of police officer Soni (Ohlyan) and her superintendent in Delhi Police Kalpana (Batra), who deal with crimes against women in the city.

<i>Mystify: Michael Hutchence</i> 2019 documentary film by Richard Lowenstein

Mystify: Michael Hutchence is a 2019 documentary film about the life of musician, actor and singer-songwriter Michael Hutchence, lead vocalist of the Australian rock band INXS. It is written and directed by Richard Lowenstein and relies primarily on rare archive footage, outtakes, private home video and audio commentary provided by friends, ex-partners, band members, record producers and family. An Australian-British venture, the film was co-produced by Ghost Pictures, Passion Pictures with Madman Entertainment and Dogwoof serving as distributors. It is in association with Baird Films and Film Victoria. Mystify: Michael Hutchence had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on 25 April 2019, and was theatrically released in Australia on 4 July 2019. The film was released in the United Kingdom on 18 October receiving generally positive reviews from critics.

<i>The Elephant Queen</i> 2019 documentary film

The Elephant Queen is a 2018 documentary film directed by Victoria Stone and Mark Deeble, and narrated by Chiwetel Ejiofor. It tells the journey of a family of elephants in the African savannah when they are forced to leave their waterhole. The film was produced by Lucinda Englehart under the banner of Deeble & Stone.

Dionne Edwards is a British filmmaker and screenwriter, of mixed Jamaican and Nigerian heritage, best known for her short film We Love Moses.

<i>Convergence: Courage in a Crisis</i> 2021 British film

Convergence: Courage in a Crisis is a 2021 British documentary film made for Netflix and directed by Orlando von Einsiedel. The film depicts the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic by following several different stories throughout eight countries. It was released on 12 October 2021. The film received a nomination for ‘Outstanding Current Affairs Film’ at the 43rd News & Documentary EMMYS

References

  1. 1 2 "Evelyn review – moving documentary on a family's loss". The Guardian. 26 October 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  2. "'Evelyn' Review: A Raw and Profoundly Moving Portrait of Living with Suicide". Indie Wire. 17 November 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  3. Evelyn on Netflix
  4. Cast
  5. Telegraph magazine
  6. Telegraph article
  7. 1 2 Sound track from Evelyn
  8. "Evelyn to Premiere at 2018 BFI London film festival".
  9. "2018 BFI London Film Festival Review – Evelyn". 11 October 2018.
  10. BBC schedule 18 May 2019
  11. Daily Dot review
  12. BIFA 2018
  13. review [ permanent dead link ]
  14. "Evelyn movie website". Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2020.