THE FISHERMAN
EXT. BEACH - DAY
The wind calmly blows. A squeaky sound comes from a wind vane on a little shack.
A small and rusty fishing boat lays on the sand.
An old man -- LENI, eighty five years old, gracious, with dry skin -- comes out of the shack. He holds a fishing rod in one hand and a crystal jar full of old photographs in the other.
Leni walks to the rusty boat. He drops all the items in the boat and pushes it into the sea.
EXT. SEA - DAY
Leni opens the crystal jar and takes out a black and white picture of an old chandelier.
Leni hooks the picture to the fishing line and throws it into the water. He waits.
EXT. SEA - DAY - moments later
Something in the water pulls the fishing line.
Leni rolls-up the fishing line. He reaches into the water and pulls out a beautiful golden chandelier. He puts the chandelier at the back of the boat.
Leni opens the glass jar. He takes out a picture of an old radio, hooks it to the fishing line and throws it into the water. He sits back in the boat.
The wind blows calmly.
EXT. SEA - LATE AFTERNOON
The glass jar has two pictures left in it.
A pile of old objects lay on the back of Leni's boat.
Leni puts a wet vinyl record on top of the pile.
Leni takes a photograph out of the glass jar. He hooks it to the fishing line and throws it in the sea.
The fishing line pulls.
Leni drags the line and takes suit out of the water. He carefully inspects it.
Leni heads to the beach.
EXT. SHACK - LATE AFTERNOON
DISTANT SWING MUSIC
A golden light comes out from the window of Leni's shack.
INT. SHACK - LATE AFTERNOON
SWING MUSIC cackles from the radio.
The room is vibrant and illuminated with a golden light.
The chandelier hangs from the shack's ceiling.
The old radio crackles swing music.
The suit hangs near the chimney.
Leni sets up the table.
INT. shack - LATE AFTERNOON
Leni squeezes into the suit. The pants are too tight and the shirt buttons are about to pop.
Leni takes out a pair of cuff links from a wooden box.
A young hand puts the cuff links on the shirt.
JIB UP revealing a younger Leni -- twenty years old -- in front of the mirror. He adjusts the collar of his shirt.
Leni looks at himself in the mirror. A smile outlines his face.
EXT. BEACH - SUNSET
Young Leni comes out from the shack. He holds his fishing rod and the crystal jar in his hands. He walks out.
EXT. ROCKY BAY - SUNSET
Leni arrives and sits on a rock.
Leni opens the crystal jar and takes out the last picture. He attaches it to the fishing line and throws it in the water.
The sun sets.
The fishing lines pulls.
With a serene expression Leni contemplates the water.
Where the fishing line is a golden light glows in the water.
The light becomes bigger. The fishing line loosens.
Leni smiles in anticipation. He approaches the water and extends his hand.
From inside the sea, a thin feminine hand reaches Leni's hand.
Leni gently grabs the hand. A beautiful woman -- SARAH, nineteen years old, with a tender expression, wearing a yellow dress -- comes out of the water.
EXT. BEACH - NIGHT
Young Leni and Sarah walk to the shack.
INT. SHACK - NIGHT
MONTAGE
SWING MUSIC
Leni and Sarah have dinner. They laugh and enjoy themselves as they eat.
The radio announces a romantic song.
Leni looks at Sarah. She nods.
Leni and Sarah dance closely.
INT. SHACK - NIGHT -- later
Leni and Sarah dance slowly.
Sarah and the colorful objects slowly flicker, fading out a little.
The radio crackles and looses it's colors.
EXT. SHACK - DAY
The wind-vane squeaks as it rotates with the wind.
INT. SHACK - MORNING
Food leftovers lay on the plates.
Smoke comes out of some ashes in the chimney.
Leni sleeps on the sofa in his underwear and a pair of classy shoes on. On his chest there is a picture of himself young dressed in the suit. He holds the picture of Sarah in his other hand.
Each of the objects are now old and washed out pictures.
Leni's hand pick up the photographs.
Leni opens the crystal jar and stores the pictures in it.
EXT. SHACK - DAY
Leni walks to a small storage room at the back of his shack. He holds the crystal jar.
Leni opens the storage room revealing a very organized shelf full of crystal jars.
Each crystal jar has a different tag on it -- "MY FIRST SON", "MOM AND DAD", "SUMMER IN THE MOUNTAINS", "RON", "OUR WEDDING" --.
Leni places the crystal jar in an empty space on the shelf. He places a tag on it -- "OUR FIRST DANCE"--.
Leni locks the storage room and heads to the beach.
EXT. BEACH - DAY
Leni stands on the beach. A hint of satisfaction illuminates his face as he watches the sea.
CAMERA CRANES UP as Leni contemplates the sea.
fade to black
SUPER: "YOU CAN BE YOUNG FOREVER."
THE END
THE FISHERMAN
ABOUT THE DIRECTORS
Giorgi-Pineda is a name created by two independent filmmakers that share the same vision: Davy Giorgi & Sam Pineda.
Coming from two different sides of the globe, Mexico and France, Davy and Sam found a common ground in Australia to Co-Direct their own films. Using the best of both worlds, they take the inspiration from their own cultures to create a unique vision in the stories that they tell. Since 2007, they’ve shot several short films, documentaries and adds working in the Australian and Mexican Film Industry together.
STORY SYNOPSIS
Leni is an old fisherman who lives in a shack. Using a bunch of old pictures leni goes at sea, fishes his memories out of the water and recreates his best moments for a day.
VISUAL TREATMENT
The fisherman is a poetic imaginary tale that takes inspiration in the way humans cherish memories. This short film is based on the idea that memories live inside all of us and allow us to “be young again” at will.
“The Fisherman” is a non-dialogue film.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
The objects and the detailed actions of Leni will be of visual dominance. They will give shape and denote the evolution of the story. The use of color filters will be a stylistic device to achieve a cold look that will bring out the isolation feeling at the beginning of the story, emphasizing the grandeur of the New Zealand outdoors. As the story progresses, the look will become warmer in a golden fashion as the memories become more alive and transport the visuals to another time. The film will be shot using mainly natural colder light for the exteriors and a warm, glowing type of lighting for the interiors, highlighting the old objects and contrasting with the outside isolated/cold world.
The contrast of the two distinct color palette will be used to define the transition between the moods and event of the story, creating an immersive visual language.
It is important that the audience feels that the memories of leni come alive and portray a world long gone. The use of wide shots in the exteriors will emphasize the isolation of our character, effectively making the outdoors grand and dominant. Close-ups of Leni's actions will be use to gradually craft the poetic world of Leni. The camera will have a very tranquil pace following leni's peaceful life and minimizing big camera movements in order to maintain an intimate atmosphere.
POST PRODUCTION
With a choice of blue/cold and golden/warm colors and high contrast, “The Fisherman” will develop the feeling of an extraordinary journey in a very ordinary place.
The edit will follow the tranquil pace of the piece and will become more bubbly during the dinner and dance scene, underlining the feeling of the characters sharing a special moment.
The flickering and fading of the objects will be achieve by shooting different plates, thus allowing flexibility in the post production process.
The soundscape will have a strong presence, creating an environment of loneliness and nature dominated world with the wind, waves and a forsaken feel with the wind-vane. On the other hand, the soundscape of the shack decorated and the dinner scene will be rich and vibrant, making this part of the story the most “ALIVE” and reinforcing the magical experience of memories coming back to life.
The music will be mainly source music, and will be present during the dinner scene, immediately transporting the audience into another time. The rest of the music will be discreet and will be used as an “distant echo” type of feel, like a forgotten memory.
The Fisherman is a story that captures the poetry of being young again.
THANK YOU
Thanks to Julien Fourquez for the music.
CO-DIRECTORS
GIORGI-PINEDA
Here is a link to our showreel trailer.