Duck Daze is the story of one woman’s fight for retribution. Lewis is the perfect place to set this film because of the Island’s strong history of protest.
The film is about abuse and one of the key things it explores in relation to this is cultures and communities that enable abuse by turning a blind eye to it – families, schools and, yes, the Church. Though the film is by no means anti-church.
Although the writer Julia was brought up in a secular household all of her family on Lewis are church goers, some of them elders, and I feel confident that we will turn the script into a film that is full of light and hope, not darkness, derision and despair. It’s worth saying as well that the most sympathetic and understanding of all the characters in Duck Daze is the minister.
To me, the main character, Johnina, embodies the spirit of the Herbridean women of Bernera who lead protests on Lewis against the highland clearances and helped to build the strong communities that exist today.
We have plenty of reference for real locations I took of real locations that we’ll either try and film, or match to, and I realised on that trip that the landscape itself has to be a part of the character of the film because in the northern islands of Scotland, in those brief moments when the rain stops, the air becomes illuminated in a way that paints the landscape with a mystical quality that feels both heavenly, and sinister.
We are in the process of scouting various locations on Lewis and working with local individuals and businesses. We want as much local support as possible for Duck Daze. If you interested and able to help in anyway, please do get in touch with us. Message us on Kickstarter, or by following and contacting us on our various social media – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
We want to tell a story that’s authentic to the script – written in English and Gaelic! We are trying to raise money so to afford to film ALL of our exterior scenes on the Isle of Lewis, where Duck Daze is set. The island landscape plays a character at the heart of the film, and it’s important to us that we authentically capture this beautiful and remote location.
Please check out the kickstarter for the campaign where we are trying to raise the funds.
Website: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/alisonpiper/duck-daze-short-film