Sun Above The Clouds – BAFT 3rd Year Graduation Film
As part of the LCC’s Graduate Showcase, we will be featuring the works of students from across Screen School, giving an insight into their graduation projects. For this week, we have Sun Above The Clouds, a 3rd Year, BA Film and Television film directed by Taya Jones and produced by Shidi Huang.
Sun Above The Clouds is an experimental surrealist short film. In a dream-like state between life and death, Sunny rediscovers their love and passion for life – all things their depression had kept hidden from them. However, will this realisation come too late?
We spoke with Taya and Shidi to discuss their work as director and producer on Sun Above the Clouds.
Taya Jones (Director)
How did you come up with the idea for the film? What are the themes explored in your
film?
The director of photography, Samuel Barker (Sammy), and I first conceived the concept for
the film on a national express bus on our way back from filming another project. The film
came from a desire to play with the concept time and space in a non-linear way. Thus, from
this framework we had set ourselves, we began to build the background of our protagonist,
who later became known as ’Sunny’. The film ideas started very big, and I created many
different stories, relationships and situations for Sunny before taking a step back and
thinking about what we wanted to say with this project.
With our film’s non-linear structure, we set our protagonist in the space between life and
death, a state of limbo. The film explores themes of gender dysmorphia and depression, but
it wasn’t our intention to create a despairing, bleak film. As the subject matter grew more
serious it became imperative that we reaffirmed the beauty of life. I wanted to create not
just a film, but a reminder, for myself and so many other people that struggle with
depression, that even when the present moment feels intolerable, things do get better and
life is worth living. We see this in the film through Sunny discovering gender euphoria and
their sweet relationship with their dad.
How was your experience working as a director?
Having the opportunity to direct the final and largest film project at university has been
such a blessing and affirming experience. I thoroughly enjoyed being at the intersection
between each department and collaborating with my talented peers to create a film we are
all extremely proud of. Also, having written the film, I loved working with the actors in
preproduction and seeing the characters take shape and evolve off of the page. I am
grateful for the chance to learn how I work as a director, to know how I can develop and
push myself is invaluable. I look forward to my next project and life after graduation with
excitement and a deeper appreciation for the craft of filmmaking.
How is the edit of the film coming along?
The film is coming together in post, in the capable hands of our amazing editor, Tina Calota.
We are currently working towards picture lock so we can begin the sound design with an
incredible London band called Shoefig, whose dreamy and ethereal compositions with
elevate the film to another level. I look forward to everything falling into place and sharing
this project, which has almost been a year in the making, with everyone.
Shidi Huang (Director)
What were the challenges in making the film? How was your overall experience in producing?
My challenge in making the films is connecting different departments and keeping the crews involved in the production. It is an excellent opportunity to be involved in this project. I have gained project management and communication skills. Also, I had the chance to learn about non-binary people.
How was your collaboration with the crew?
It took a lot of work. At the beginning of the project, crews were focusing on their dissertations and needed to participate better. Thus, I had to keep trying to communicate with them and ensure I was not pushing too hard
What are the next steps with the film once it’s completed?
The director and I will take it to film festivals and see if we can get any awards (we also want to try to make this film seen by as many people as possible).
Sun Above The Clouds is currently in post-production and is expected to finish by May 2023.