BLUE

BLUE has just been released on Prime USA, UK and Canada with over 10k hours of viewing in the first month.
The soundtrack has also been released on Spotify etc.

BLUE – never underestimate a mother’s love.

A supernatural feature film starring Rosie Allerhand, Chris Keelty and Gemma Jones (Rocketman) with songs performed by Shirley Henderson (Awarded Best Actress in a musical at the Olivier Awards 2018), written, directed and lensed by Deva Palmier with music composed by Ben Morales Frost, edited by Nigel Bunyan, produced by Adam Gregory Smith of Hidden Art Films and filmed in Frome and London.

“After her daughter has passed away, a mother senses an ethereal poltergeist-like energy around her and wants to know if her child has come home.”

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

BLUE is a personal film. I’m named after a baby who died and looking back, my mother was always in mourning for my sister and like Laura, she had a difficult relationship with her husband, my father. I wanted to explore such a tragic sense of loss in BLUE and fill it with the colour and humour that takes us to a place of healing.

The sumptuous countryside and the houses in Frome, Somerset, made for a perfect setting. Rosie Allerhand, an actress who is local to Frome and Orla, her daughter, engaged well with the screenplay and took on the roles of Laura and Jess. It’s been wonderful to see their performances build and blossom throughout the shoot.

I wanted to elevate the scope of the film and shared the screenplay with Gemma Jones (Rocketman) who loved it. She understood the difficult dynamic of loss and humour, and you can see that in her effervescent performance of Anna.

It made sense to shoot BLUE in a tight team, since we were in lockdown and fitting it around a group of very busy people. We filmed BLUE in a period of about two years, in two to three hour clumps, which meant all COVID and child care needs could be met. It was necessary that all the locations were easily accessible, so we mainly filmed in our own homes, our gardens and in the local area of Frome.

I write stories driven by characters and images, so it was a natural progression to pick up a camera and capture my films as a DOP. With BLUE at times it was challenging to juggle being the writer, director and DOP, but at the same time there was a wonderful simplicity that has benefited our film. For Laura’s emotional scenes Rosie, the actress and I would have a quiet chat and then when she was ready I’d focus the camera and press record. Not surprisingly there is an emotional authenticity that emanates throughout BLUE.

For the edit, I worked closely with Nigel Bunyan, an experienced drama editor, who also advised me on the shoot which helped us polish a honed and crafted film.

Adam Gregory Smith, producer at Hidden Art Films, who I was introduced to via the BAFTA Crew scheme, came on board and liked the idea that I had written the lyrics to six songs for BLUE. Ben Morales Frost, composer, came on board and wrote some outstanding music. Shirley Henderson (Awarded Best Actress in a musical at the Olivier Awards 2018) was wowed by these songs and brought her stunning voice to BLUE.

I’m so grateful for all the support from the cast, local friends, social media friends and my producer, but above all my partner Jon Conway who multi-tasked at my side – recording sound, managing the lights, helping with the in-camera effects and was always there.

_________END CREDITS_______

Written and directed by
DEVA PALMIER

producer
ADAM GREGORY SMITH
executive producers
BERNADETTE FLYNN
NIGEL RICHARDS
NADIA BOUZIDI

director of photography
DEVA PALMIER

production designer
LYN PETERS

Editors
NIGEL BUNYAN
RONIT MERANDA
DEVA PALMIER

Composer
BEN MORALES FROST

with songs performed by
SHIRLEY HENDERSON

Sound Designer
MICHALIANNA THEOFANOPOULOUS

Visual effects
HELENA NETOPIL

consultant costume designer
MARIANNE AGERTOFT

consultant casting director
EMILY JONES

co-producers
DEVA PALMIER
JON CONWAY

unit production manager SOPHIE BAKER
first assistant director KATIE DANIEL
second assistant director BETH MAINE

Cast in Order of Appearance

Jess ORLA MCALLISTER
Laura ROSIE ALLERHAND
Ben CHRIS KEELTY
Ellie SARAH HOBLYN
Detective Waldron GILES DE RIVAZ
Freddie GARETH WATKINS
Marc PETE GOMES
Anna GEMMA JONES
Young Jess DARCI KERR
Solar panel customer RUTH MCCALLUM
Polly the clairvoyant NICOLA HARRISON
Chantal LUCY MCALLISTER
Chantal’s Mum MEG GALLALLY
Doctor Rachel JANNAH WARLOW
Jake JACK HOLMES
Celine, Blue voice over GRETA BERRY
Blue voice over FRIDA BERRY
Blue voice over JUNIPER SMITH
Laura voice over JENNA BROOK
Girl on table ESME WILD
Boy on table HARRY WILD
Dog in garden ARCHIE
Mum in park SARA OMER
Boy in park SUFIAN FALKNER
Mum in park POLLY SMITH
Boy in park OBI SMITH
Mother in park KATIE FRASER
Daughter in park PEPI FRASER
Daughter in park OTTILIE FRASER
Mother in park LUCYBETH DANIELS
Father in park LUKE DANIELS
Daughter in park ROMANI HUGHES
Mother with pram MARGERITA CARR
Teenager in park TAYA SAWYER-BUCKLE
Teenager in park RUBY CARR
Teenager in park HAYLEY SHORT
Teenager in park COURTNEY REEVES-HALE
Mother in park JULES KOPERA
Father in park ANDREW KOPERA
Son in park RIVER KOPERA
Daughter in park ALYSSA KOPERA
Lover in park EMILY PRICE
Lover in park PRIYA PRICE
Mother in park JOYCE KERR
Young girl in park DARCI KERR
Young girl in park NINA KERR
Woman pushing a Pram JENNY GILES

Colorist REBECCA GOODEVE
Sound recordist JON CONWAY
Guitar ADAM FROST
Cello CHRIS HURN
Violin VIOLETTA VICCI
make up design consultant SAFFRON POWELL
Police procedure consultant DAN BAKER
Medical consultant ROBYN POWELL
Drone operator CHRIS GREEN
Second unit camera operator THEO RIBEIRO
Second unit camera operato PABLO GASCA
Videographer and photographer JOYCE KERR
Videographer and photographer JENNA HOLMES
Stills photographer MARTYN PAYNE
Lighting technician JONATHAN COHEN
SPFX Coordinator JON CONWAY
SPFX assistant KARINE BUTCHART
Additional VFX MARY MULLAN

Big Thanks to

Dan McAllister, Antonio Cerezo
Bhar Pardhy, Heiko Kalmbach
Karine Butchart, Nick Petts
Steve Palmier, Devin Palmier
Bay Deane, Reverend Colin Alsbury
Sophie Dix, St. John’s Church, Frome
Catherine Jones, Vicky Grut
Fern Scott, Nikki Lloyd
Jennifer Lennox, Marianne Agertoft
Charles Henri Belleville, Stella Reilly
Lewis Kerr, Philippa Kaye
Gill Harwood, Haresh Patel
John Dunning, Tim Berry
Tessa Hoffe, Helen Mumby
Elsbeth Penny, Jackie Whithouse Gridley
Marcus Hutton, Mandy Lee
Evald Ridore, Anita Lewton
Laurel Parker, Julia Lima
Cairo Cannon, Louise Galizia
Naomi Wright, Stephanie Wessell
Zillah Bowes, Deborah Haywood
Chryssanthi Kouri, Debbie Howard
Vera Oliviera, Diana Hunter
Rita Osei, Chiara Maxia

Songs

Where Are You My Baby?
Lyrics by Deva Palmier
Music by Ben Morales Frost
Performed by Shirley Henderson

Wind Blows
Lyrics by Deva Palmier
Music by Ben Morales Frost
Performed by Shirley Henderson

Show Yourself
Lyrics by Deva Palmier
Music by Ben Morales Frost
Performed by Shirley Henderson

You Are The Wind
Lyrics by Deva Palmier
Music by Ben Morales Frost
Performed by Shirley Henderson

Mother Mania
Lyrics by Deva Palmier
Music by Ben Morales Frost
Performed by Shirley Henderson

Logos

Skylark (SW) Ltd
Foxtrot Costume and Props
Frome Studios

Filmed on location in Frome, Somerset and London