following the premiere of planet israel last week, on sunday i was at another very different film premiere – two in a week! (i think i have only ever been to two before).

this was special for three reasons,

these sage days is the second film by fabrizio quagliuso. i loved his first film would you rather and this one is equally as magical. in it he explores the transition space from childhood to adulthood and the place of memory. fabrizio is a friend whose photography and filming i have always loved. what is particularly remarkable is that this was a sideproject fit around a job and family life, funded from his own resources and the generosity of friends. i wish you could see it but it will now go on the whirlwind of film festivals for a year or so before it can come to light for a wider audience.

the second was that i was invited to interview fabrizio after the screening about the film which was a surprise and an honour. it’s always fun to do something you have never done before. it wasn’t difficult because he has thought so deeply about the storytelling and themes threaded through the film. so the conversation whizzed by. i really enjoyed it.

the third was that i was in the film – yes you read that right and it was a surprise to me too to be asked! i was asked by fabrizio to play a role in the film as a dad of one of the main characters. it included a short voice over and about 10 seconds of acting so a very minor part. but it is something i never imagined – seeing myself on the big screen. so that was another first. sorry i don’t have a shot to show you to prove it.