Screenplay: The Ghost Class

Inspired by “The hawks and the sparrows” (1966) of Pier Paolo Pasolini, The Ghost Class, in a similar symbolical way, recounts the vicissitudes of a generation born in the mid-80s, who has been deprived of authentic representation, either politically or socially. As a European citizen, I'm currently experiencing the socio-political void of a layer of the society lost in its own involution.

Growth was driven by illusion, the fall of the Berlin wall, a massive push towards neo-capitalism that resulted, socially, in a displacement of belongings for two worlds: the working-class and the middle-class. A displacement that has been driven economically, hence the emergence of a new language, a unique stream, that occluded all other socio-cultural revelations. A stream that crafted populism and the aberration of democracy.

The Ghost Class is a journey within languages throughout these decades. Each encounter is a place in which the main character, Flame, experiences a phase of time and a language. Places in which to define herself by comparison, but also by accepting responsibilities and belongings.

The short film will be shot in the Greater London area, exploiting the suggestive sceneries in between the countryside and suburbia. The “use” of these places is key for the stylistic background I want to create for Flame and her journey.

During these years in London and in the entertainment industry, I had the chance to meet a bunch of talented people, with whom I have worked and shared my passion and ideas. To achieve the production of The Ghost Class, I’ve put together a high-skilled and experienced team, which wants to contribute with their specific expertise to the realisation of this short film.

Logline

A symbolic journey with Flame, among characters representing socio-cultural systems that try to occlude the future of a class that is about to be forgotten.

Story outline

Caught between the countryside and suburbia, between what was and what it will never be, is a woman with a dead crow printed on her t-shirt - Flame.

Flame walks alone, talking to herself and the crow, which is as dead as the Marxist utopia. She was born in the mid-'80s in Southern Europe, raised during the illusion of the ‘90s, experiencing years of culture and studies, then the economic crisis and a class left floating within a system without a head.

Flame represents hope and vigour, she spasmodically presses ahead on her journey, somehow surviving the corrupt system, and still holds on to the illusion of eventually finding “something that suits her”.

Her first encounter is with a representation of the society she belongs to, a part of her past and present from which she is running away. The group is represented by uncultured people who live their lives without questioning, without creating, only teasing and criticising. It’s a masculine society, in which only the alpha male drives the discussion.

Flame is used to those people and their behaviour, so she handles the situation with ease, walking down a new path; a path that was the last thing the dead crow dreamt about before dying. It leads to a small kiosk surrounded by a large circle in the ground; owned by an old lady, cold and arid.

The old lady meets Flame on the boundaries of the circle and forces her to eat: Flame is surprised by that anti-maternal behaviour but she eats and drinks what the old lady imposed. By accident, Flame crosses the circle boundary, causing a nervous breakdown in the old lady. This scares and distresses Flame so much that she flees towards the city.

The old lady represents a neo-capitalist system in which relationships are not tolerated. There’s only one way to interact and it’s set by the system itself. After this traumatic encounter and her escape towards the distant city, the crow’s voice is completely lost.

The loss of her companion makes Flame even more distressed. She’s taken aback by the sudden appearance of a priest-like figure that tries to hug her.

The priest starts a monologue with her, filled with taglines and mottos. Flame gets angrier and angrier while he speaks because the message encapsulates a populist view that takes her back to the beginning, occluding her hope, he disappears saying: “there’s no way forward”.

Flame now stands disgusted and frozen, looking at the camera. The camera pushes in; Flame is stuck, continuing to look astonished at the camera while the camera passes her. We leave Flame. Before losing Flame on the screen, we see that she hints of a smile and steps away in a different direction. The camera keeps going forward until it fades to black.

Screenplay

You can read the full screenplay here and if you have any comments please feel free to get in touch with me.

Thank you!
Alberto