Looking Past The Surface To Find Things You Never Knew Existed: Darius Shu & Arron Blake On Their Short Film "His Hands"
His Hands is a British silent psychological thriller short film written and directed by newcomers Arron Blake and Darius Shu. Intentionally elusive and enigmatic, the film is a seriously impressive piece of Art — which is made all the more impressive knowing it was made for only $400. With an emphasis on symbolic imagery that lend themselves to multiple interpretations, Blake and Shu conjure up a film that has more in common with a painting hanging in a museum than it does with most contemporary narrative features.
Two men, totally different in both age and outlook, have the strangest encounter of their lives.
The film premiered at Tribeca Film Festival 2019 where it received a nomination for Best Narrative Short, and it is now available on Amazon Prime in UK, US, Canada, and Australia. We had the opportunity to chat with Arron and Darius about the film, how the idea came about, the challenges of making on Art on shoestring budget, and much much more!
How did the two meet and come to collaborate on the project?
Arron: Darius and I met 3 years ago on a film in Bournemouth. The funny thing is we didn’t actually speak properly until nearly a year later.
Darius: We met at Bournemouth on a film I was DP on and a year later we met again on a photoshoot and things kind of went on from there really as we found out that we both have the same vision and ideas for filmmaking.
How did the concept for the film originate?
Arron: I reached out to Darius with a simple concept of an idea to see if he was interested in working together. I was so pleased when he said yes, and when we came together, we both finished the script in one day. That’s when you know a collaborative partnership will work. It was a joy.
Darius: We both worked on the script under one day at the British Film Institute, and I still cannot believe till this day how fast it all came about. We just got on and made it! We got the whole production shoot started within the next two weeks. I believe we asked ourselves, how can we make something fresh and different for our debut? And since there weren't many silent films around, we created a modern take on it that deals with the social issues that we are dealing with nowadays.
I really admire when a film tells a full story without any words. To me, it’s the purest and most artful form of cinema. What appeals to you about telling stories in a predominately visual sense, and what were some of the storytelling obstacles you had to overcome without the aid of dialogue?
Arron: We wanted our film to speak to as many people as possible, so what better way to do that than having no dialogue and only pictures to have a universal film. Show don’t tell was important to us. To have an audience “wonder” is what it’s all about.
Darius: It's more mysterious that way isn't it? It's a stylistic choice of filmmaking and to me, it's creating that atmosphere because it's more important to show not tell. There were not many obstacles apart from us thinking further on how we are able to deliver what we want to the audience to ensure they understand our vision and the message within each scene.
The film was made on a meager budget with a skeleton crew that used mostly natural light. What were some challenges that you had to overcome during the shoot?
Arron: Time with the limited equipment like lenses, lights and sliders we hired. There was no way that we could have gone over our already constrictive budget, so we had to be rigid with our schedule and really push for what we wanted. We just had to keep moving.
Darius: The challenge was probably doing five things at one time because we don't have a crew to assist us. So we had to do multiple roles in the production. In the end, we are really happy that we manage to pull it off and still make a visually beautiful film with a skeleton crew.
Let’s talk about symbolism; the film is full of it! In particular, there’s a strong focus on juxtaposing opposites (pleasure with pain, young and old), and an emphasis on images that wield dual interpretations. How did you go about choosing objects as symbols and what were some of the challenges on leaving their interpretations as open as possible?
Arron: We didn’t want to make a gratuitous film. We wanted to make a poetic and thought-provoking film. To have the audience delve deep and go deep into themselves and fish out what ever they possibly could, to stir emotions, to confuse, but it is all there if you look hard enough. The earrings had to be indulgent, the lipstick bright red, even the box they came out off. I suppose this film isn’t for a lazy audience, but isn’t that exciting!
Darius: I love creating meanings behind each frame to make people think deeper than what they see on the surface. It's a film for you to observe and admire like you are visiting an art gallery.
Both of you clearly have a strong love for cinema. What are some films or filmmakers who have influenced you, your visual style, and the kinds of stories you wish to tell?
Arron: We try our best to tell stories which are obscure, definitely not predictable and keep an audience on their toes. Patty Jenkins was a huge influence on me growing up with her film, Monster. It wasn’t big budget, but it was hugely effective and won Charlize Theron an Oscar. I thought from a young age, it can be done.
Darius: One of my favorite directors is Denis Villeneuve because of the way he visually tells stories. He creates such visually beautiful films in every genre. We both love arthouse cinema and I personally am a big fan of visual poetry.
What do you hope audiences take away from the film?
Arron: I hope it challenges them to think and question themselves to not be 2D in life. If you look deeper past the surface you’ll find things you never knew existed.
Darius: We want the audience to create their own narrative and make their own interpretations from the film. It's exciting that we have received more than ten different interpretations of the story and to create conversations. The response we had for this film from audiences have been amazing, and we are very happy that it evokes so many emotions and have created that experience for them all under 14 minutes. The experience from watching a film is never black and white, it's not just feeling happy or sad, it's beyond that. No matter what emotion you feel, as long you felt and get something out from it, then it's an accomplishment for us.
Do you have any new projects in the works that you can share with us?
Arron & Darius: We started pre-production on our brand new mockumentary film, A Peaceful Killing. It tells the story of an odd individual who calls on a filmmaker to document the strange happenings on a small piece of land in the English countryside. We are very excited for people to see it.
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!