Engaging in a secluded environment in an overall unfamiliar culture can be a daunting prospect for many people as they embark on the latest phase of their lives. Not only do the main characters of the new drama, ‘Autumn Lights,’ must learn how to immerse themselves in a remote region of Iceland as they strive to find a much needed serenity, but so do the main actors and filmmakers of the movie.
First-time feature film writer, director and producer, Angad Aulakh, collaborated with a fellow American, actor-producer Guy Kent, to make the first Icelandic-American co-production to be shot and completed in Iceland. Joined by Italian actress, Marta Gastini, the trio helped create a captivating tale of how a person’s unfamiliar surroundings and situations can drive them to act in impassioned way, as they strive to find their new sense of purpose and place in society. The struggles Kent and Gastini embrace as their characters explore their new lifestyles can now be viewed, as ‘Autumn Lights’ is now available on VOD from Freestyle Digital Media.
‘Autumn Lights’ follows David (Kent), an American photographer whose girlfriend ends their relationship while they’re vacationing in Iceland. He decides to stay in their rented cabin on his own for awhile, so that he can focus on his work. However, his peaceful oasis is soon interrupted when he discovers a woman’s body on the beach, following an apparent suicide. As a result, the local detective asks him to stay in the country until the investigation is complete. As he searches for ways to help pass the time while he waits to receive permission to travel home, he meets his neighbors, married couple Marie (Gastini) and Jóhann (Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson).
David attends the parties that the couple holds at their stylish home. As he meets their friends, he becomes even more interested in the seductive Marie, an Italian woman who moved into her husband’s home in his native Iceland. But as David truly gets to know the married couple, and realizes how deeply Marie and Jóhann truly love each other, after witnessing the jealousy that arises between the two following her flirtations, the more he realizes how he doesn’t fit into their world.
Kent and Gastini generously took the time recently to talk about starring in, and producing, the independent drama during separate exclusive interviews over the phone and Skype, respectively. Among other things, the actors discussed how they appreciated the approach Aulakh took to making ‘Autumn Lights,’ especially since he knew what he wanted to achieve, but also gave the actors the creative freedom they needed to approach their portrayals. The two performers also explained how they used the rehearsal time they had together, as well as the experience of shooting the drama on location in Iceland, to their advantage as they related to their characters.
Initially explaining why he was interested in portraying David in the drama, Kent shared that “Angad and I, who’s the director of the film and also my producing partner, have been developing features together. Over the course of about nine months, we developed about four different scripts, with the last one being ‘Autumn Lights.’ We were very pragmatic about what we could do on our own as our first film,” the actor divulged.
Knowing that they had to develop a project that they could realistically film, “we crafted a story that we knew we could get financed. Those four projects were becoming more attuned to what we needed to get a film made. So that was me working with (Aulakh) as a producer.
“But working with him in that actor-director relationship was very much the same. We’re very close, and he’s someone who I very much trust. We have a strong foundation,” Kent further shared. In his collaboration with Aulakh as an actor, the performer discovered that the director has “incredible references that point you in the right direction. That makes it more of a learning experience. His understanding of so many different movies really makes the process that much more clear. That came from him attending NYU’s Tisch (School of the Arts). I went to USC film school, where I studied theater. So we met on a similar playing field on what interested us as producers and filmmakers.”
Gastini also began her conversation by discussing why she was drawn to star in ‘Autumn Lights,’ and what she liked about the character of Marie, as well as the overall story. “I became involved in the project through my French agent. They were initially casting in France, because the character was supposed to be French” when the movie was first being put together, the actress explained.
When she first auditioned, Gastini revealed with a laugh that she “sent in one of those self tapes, which are so helpful at the moment. Apparently, Angad and Guy liked it, so they called me. We talked about the character, and they said, ‘If you want to come on board, we’re happy to have you.'”
The actress immediately told the director and her co-star that she wanted the role. “As soon as I read the script, I became extremely captured by the atmosphere that Angad was able to create” in the script. “I very rarely find a director who’s that young-he’s only about 26 or 27-and is so sensitive in giving value to actors and their performances.” Gastini also appreciated that Aulakh gave value to the overall production value, including the surrounding landscape, in the film.
The actress also called her experience of working with Aulakh on ‘Autumn Lights’ “great. He knew exactly what he wanted to achieve, but also gave the actors a chance to work to work together. Angad was always a guide. So whenever I felt a little lost, I knew I could go to him, and he would tell me where to go.” The director also “brought me to Iceland a week before shooting. We all read the script together, and got to know one another.”
The performers also discussed their processes of approaching the mindsets of their respective characters. “In terms of development, I was always going to be playing David,” Kent revealed. “So it was a really interesting experience to see how the character developed through the different drafts” of the script. “What I love so much about producing is that it allows for a creative development on a project with the filmmaker.” He pointed out that producing the films he also stars in also allows him to develop a deeper collaboration with the rest of the cast and crew than when he just acts. But he reaffirmed his passion and appreciation for the projects he has just starred in.
In terms of developing David, Kent explained that his conversations with Aulakh started early in the process of making ‘Autumn Lights.’ He noted that they discussed what they “wanted David to be in the story. We also spoke about how he would be situated within this group of characters. David is the audience’s eyes and ears into this film. He provides a sense of balance amongst these characters who are sometimes rather colorful.”
As Kent and Angad continued working on developing the character of David, they “discussed a lot of different film references. We circled around this idea of quiet masculinity,” the actor revealed with a laugh. “It sounds funny, but it really harps back to a lot of older films. David is very much a man of a different generation, in terms of how he holds his emotional self together.
“We often discussed Gary Cooper as being a big influence on David. We also discussed the Sean Connery-Bond type of men, who didn’t always show their cards. So we don’t always see the internal emotions of the character; we only see glimpses of his feelings,” Kent further explained.
The actor added that his discussions with Aulakh about David did continue into the principal photography stage, but the development period on ‘Autumn Lights’ was brief. “After we decided that we were going to move forward with this project, we had financing two months later. So the script and the financing came together very rapidly,” the producer admitted with a laugh. “Our pre-production process was much longer, of course, but it wasn’t like we were discussing the character over a period of years.
“So I was clued into David from very early on, which gave me an approach when we entered rehearsals. Angad’s a director who’s a proponent of rehearsals, so I rehearsed for about a month prior with the Icelandic cast. Marta then came in during the second half of rehearsals,” Kent explained.
Gastini revealed that she rehearsed with her co-stars during what was supposed to be the blocking of the scenes. “That was very helpful, because we didn’t have that much time to shoot; we only had about four weeks. So we needed to get to set and be ready.
“I have to say that we worked hard. But at the same time, I never remembered laughing so much on a set,” the actress revealed. “We were very focused, of course. But the fact that we could rehearse before really gave us the chance to simply enjoy the process once we got to set. Guy was a great partner in our scenes, and we had a lot of fun on the set…We immediately created the chemistry that the characters needed.”
Further speaking of building her character’s relationships with her co-stars, Gastini added that “It was really great working with everyone. The rest of the cast was from Iceland, so they were extremely welcoming. I remember they took us around to show us the city. My character is Italian, but she moves to Iceland after she got married to an Icelandic man,” the actress explained. “So I needed to get a sense of what Iceland really was like,” and exploring the city helped her relate to her character. “We really became a united front, so we were all ready to help one another.”
Traveling to Iceland to shoot ‘Autumn Lights’ marked the first time Gastini visited the country, but she “was very happy to go there. We went there in June, so we had the experience of living with the sunlight for 24-hours a day. At night, the sky would only change in color-it would become pink, orange and violet, but it would still be daylight. I think that helped the movie, because I think the story needed that atmosphere and light.”
The actress also revealed that the movie was shot almost entirely with natural light. “That was incredible, because it gave me a great energy.” As a result of getting that extra burst of energy from the sunlight, Gastini added with a laugh that she felt that she “could go on shooting on set for days at a time.”
Kent also embraced the experience of shooting ‘Autumn Lights’ on location in Iceland, and noted that the prolonged natural light “was very surreal.” The actor, who was born and grew up in Los Angeles, shared that “I have traveled, but I have never been that far north before, let alone spend a long period of time there. So the light was definitely something that influenced us when we first decided to shoot in Iceland. We were first looking at Scandinavia, but we then narrowed it down with our Icelandic producers very early on in the process.
“When we later went to Iceland prior to shooting, the concept of light came up. We discussed how we were going to be shooting in the beginning of summer for these incredibly long hours. We wondered what it was going to be like to live there and try to sleep,” Kent admitted with a laugh.
“So our first week there was quite an adjustment period. We had to adjust to that amount of light. But after a couple of days, it honestly changed how much sleep we needed. It gave us more energy, because it tricked our bodies into thinking that the days were longer than they actually were,” the actor also revealed.
“That was an incredible asset to have, because it gave us this surreal aspect that put us in the mood of the film. There are a lot of surreal aspects of the story. There’s almost a fantastical aspect to the world that David finds himself in. That not only helped me with my approach as an actor, but also for us as we told this story.”
Since the cast was able to rehearse before they filmed each scene, and they felt the script had everything they needed about the characters’ world, Gastini explained they didn’t improvise much while they were filming. “When we rehearsed, we really worked on everything, and blocked what we needed.
“But there’s always a bit of magic that happens when you get to the set,” the actress explained. “Something changes when you put on in the costumes. So you go in prepared, but there’s always something that changes slightly. Sometimes it’s just a matter of trusting your instincts, which can take you somewhere else.”
Gastini also embraced the experience of shooting ‘Autumn Lights’ independently over the course of four weeks. “It’s always a challenge, but we luckily had the change to rehearse. I’m also a fan of independent movies because the directors who work on them really have a special vision,” the actress explained.
In general, Gastini feels that the independent filmmakers help foster “a lot of creativity. There’s so much more freedom on these types of films, as compared to big studio movies. There’s also more openness for the actors to bring something of their own into their interpretations of the story.”
Kent also reinforced the fact that the cast and crew had a lot to shoot during the month of production in Iceland. “We had a lot of different locations outside of the homes that are in the film. So we had to be economical in the scheduling,” the producer emphasized. He reiterated the importance of having the month-long rehearsals before principal photography began. “Having the rehearsals allowed us to arrive to set and go with what we decided upon.” While the cast did incorporate some elements that spontaneously occurred on the set into their scenes, the rehearsals “gave us a really good head start, in terms of scheduling.”
“Another thing I love about independent movies is the small crews. You can really get to know everybody. That makes the set feel much safer,” Gastini also revealed.
In regards to what makes Marie feel protected, Gastini admitted that she feels her character always seeks admiration and attention. The actress also pointed that that Marie “has an incredible sense of loneliness,” so she continuously seeks validation from “her husband, who she truly loves. She also understands him, and is understood by him. In a way, they’re very similar, which is why they stay together, despite everything that happens.”
When Marie meets someone like David, “who attracts her, both physically and mentally, she always sees in them the chance to be revived, in a way. Both she and Jóhann always need other people’s attention and love, in order to be recharged. So it was fun to play with that aspect of Marie in her scenes with both Jóhann and David, even though the relationships were very different,” Gastini explained. “Even though the relationships are so different, they’re both driven by the same needs, in a way.”
The actress added that in her character’s relationship with Jóhann, “Marie felt safe, and she wanted to be there. But at the same time, she needed a pause from it, and have new challenges.”
Gastini also noted that she feels ‘Autumn Lights’ “is a little jewel. Both the script, and the vision Angad had as a director, required the actors not to be lazy. It also requires the audience to watch it” with a critical eye. The actress pointed out that the story could be told in a very simple way, but since it’s not, “you really need to search through all of the levels. It’s a movie about emotions and the interactions between the characters.” Since the story is driven by the dialogue and content, it “really requires the audience’s attention.” She feels that if audiences truly invest in the characters and storyline, they can truly take away a meaningful and lasting message.
Watch the official trailer for ‘Autumn Lights’ below.
Written by: Karen Benardello