Piercing Brightness by Shezad Dawood

Posted in Artworks, Featured, News, on 25 July 2011

In Certain Places are currently working with international artist, Shezad Dawood to produce Piercing Brightness, a new science fiction film written especially for Preston.

The film is the outcome of a two and a half year relationship between Shezad Dawood, In Certain Places and the people and places of Preston. The city was the source of inspiration for the film, and the ideal film set, as Lancashire is the UK hotspot for UFO sightings. Using familiar landmarks and locations across the city, the film tells the story of Shin and Jiang, a young Chinese man and woman, sent from another planet to retrieve the ‘Glorious 100’ – members of an alien race who, countless generations ago, were sent to Earth to study and observe. Living through many lives without any scope for return, some have become corrupted, forgetting their original purpose and slowly becoming influenced by, and in turn influencing, their adopted home.

Piercing Brightness by Shezad Dawood, Production Stills, 2011, Courtesy of UBIK Productions Ltd

The gripping story takes place on the streets of Preston, stopping off at the Covered Market, Market Square, Avenham and Miller Parks, New York New York and Lava & Ignite nightclubs, Booze Express on Corporation Street, Hair and Beauty on Friargate and Crown News on Lancaster Road. The film comes to a dramatic close with a car chase sequence, ending up on the controversial Brutalist structure of Preston Bus Station roof.

The Preston-flavour of the film is further enhanced by the involvement of local people, who feature alongside familiar faces including Tracy Brabin and Bhasker Patel. Preston actress Samantha Edwards stars as one of the central characters, Nikki, and over seventy people from Preston feature as extras in key scenes, which were filmed in Avenham Park and the city’s Flag Market.

Behind the scenes photos by Rebecca Chesney and In Certain Places

Dawood describes the concept of Piercing Brightness as a creative hybrid of ‘My Beautiful Laundrette’ & ‘Roswell’, and following its release in 2012, it will be distributed to cinemas across the UK and internationally, bringing Preston to the world. The film will be shown at international film festivals and will then return to Preston during to be shown at a large-scale screening as part of the Preston Guild celebrations in September 2012.

The film was commissioned by In Certain Places, in association with Modern Art Oxford and with the further support of Harris Museum & Art Gallery, University of Central Lancashire, Arts Council of England, Preston City Council, Preston Guild 2012, Lancashire County Council, Abandon Normal Devices Festival and Outset Contemporary Art Fund.

The film accompanies a major exhibition of new work by Dawood, which was premiered at the Harris Museum & Art Gallery from 17 September to 26 November 2011, and will tour to Modern Art Oxford and Newling Art Gallery and the Exhchange in 2012.

The video below is of an interview with Shezad Dawood, by Mark Aston, a Preston college student who has created a ‘behind the scenes’ blog about the film for In Certain Places.
Click here for more photos and footage from the shoot on the Piercing Brightness blog

Click here for an article about the film in ‘The National’ and click here and
here for local press stories.