Symphonetix Information

“The initial idea was to make a film with no clear narrative intent, no premeditated dénouement – to allow it to evolve spontaneously from the interactions of a small group of characters addressing a seemingly commonplace emotional crisis. So we began shooting with no story, no script, no shooting-plan – just a man, a woman, and a teenage girl – allowing the dynamic to develop in a process closely akin to natural selection. By no means the Hollywood formula. Almost immediately, though, a relentless momentum carried us into an emotional whirlpool of love-and-loss, ambition-and-failure, fear-and-denial. Or some such bollox.”

FREYJA’S GIFT is a romantic psychological drama – a full-length feature film, shot on ‘broadcast quality’ DV (Digital Video) in ‘full-screen’ format, and produced for DVD and Cinema Projection in Dolby Digital™ 5.1 Surround Sound.

The cinematic technique is naturalistic, capturing the unique ambience of Whitby, its working harbour, and its unique environs - the matchless beauty of the surrounding North Yorkshire Moors and the Dinosaur Coast.

The audio environment (music and atmospheric mise en scène) is integral to the action.

The action takes place in the present day, with authentic ‘flashbacks’ to 1975.

FREYJA’S GIFT addresses itself to the subjects of love, creativity, obsession and grief. Though essentially tragic, its message is nonetheless uplifting – a celebration of the power of music (which assumes a commanding position in the narrative) and of the resilience of the human spirit.

FREYJA’S GIFT was conceived and directed by Nigel Ward (who composed the score) and Helga Marrs. They have been living and working together for seventeen years.

The cast comprises seventeen members of the local community, who have risen to the challenge of improvised dialogue with remarkable sensitivity.

Synopsis

In middle-age, composer Andrew ‘Drew’ Elgin is very much the loner. Always something of a maverick, he has alienated friends and family with his obsessive and delusional behaviour. At the root of his dysfunctionality lies his state of denial regarding the loss of his true love, Freyja van Doorn.

Freyja is the sixteen-year-old child-prodigy daughter of local business magnate, Harald van Doorn. An only child, she was educated by her mother, Lizzie, whose recent suicide has left her isolated and deeply vulnerable.

Drew has evolved a bizarre strategy for life that is driven by his desire and determination to invest all the love that he would have lavished on Freyja into the continuing development of his Freyja’ Piano Concerto, the theme of which was inspired by (and stands as an embodiment of) the lovely Freyja herself; by maintaining his ‘Freyja’ Piano Concerto in a state of constant flux, he infuses his world with an abiding presence of Freyja.

The 'Freyja' theme itself is a beautiful and haunting melody, simple yet strong, whose multi-faceted character lends itself to an infinite panoply of variations of tempo and harmonization, and therefore, of mood. Drew has been exploring it for thirty years. It is unfinished, but far from cast aside. In Drew’s mind, the living music gives life to his love.

FREYJA’S GIFT is permeated by fragments of the Freyja’ Piano Concerto, and, indeed, of Drew’s extensive repertoire of piano and orchestral music, often inspired by the works of Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) - whose Alice stands as a sort of archetypal Freyja - as well as pieces from his more modernistic œuvre, reflective of his peculiar Weltbild.

But if the unfinished Freyja’ Piano Concerto is the ‘warp’ of FREYJA’S GIFT, the ‘weft’ can be found in the form of a delicate Whitby-jet star-necklace – Drew’s love-token to Freyja. Curiously, it remains in Drew’s possession . . .

The star-necklace itself was the source of inspiration for a fable, or cautionary tale, concocted by Drew and Freyja in the crucible of their blooming affair. It is the fable of ‘Hinak and the Star in the Lidded-Jar’, and the story it tells is strangely prophetic:

A young man, Hinak, in spirit a Viking, sets forth into manhood possessed of an inner voice which assures him that he is destined to be a great artist, painter, poet or composer. His efforts, alas, meet only with derision. Turning away from the world of men, he retreats to a cave deep in the forest. One night, whilst exploring the depths of the cave, he finds himself in a huge, dark chamber. He can see nothing, but is fascinated by the beautiful acoustics of what could only be a perfect natural concert hall. Returning above ground, he wishes aloud for a light with which to examine the chamber. At that moment, a shooting-star falls to Earth, landing in the glass jar in which Hinak stores his water. Swiftly closing the lid, Hinak rushes back to the chamber, where, by the light of his captive Star, he sees in the centre of the auditorium a magnificent crystal-glass grand piano. And the little Star tells him that at this very piano he will compose the greatest Concerto of all time. But Hinak cannot play a note. So he returns to the world of men and studies long and hard with a renowned music tutor. Before long, his ditties start to become popular, and soon he is receiving commissions for everything from wedding marches to TV jingles. Hinak relishes his wealth and fame and indulges himself to the full in all the excesses which success can afford. In what seems like no time, he finds himself in the autumn of his life surrounded only by parasites; his body of work is trivial, his self- esteem non-existent.

One day, recalling his youthful aspirations and the prophecy of the little Star, Hinak once again turns his back on the material world and retires to his hermit’s cave, determined to compose a masterpiece - the greatest piano concerto of all time. Descending into the chamber he is horrified to find it almost as impenetrably dark as when he first discovered it. But the tiniest glimmer shows that the Star is still trapped in the jar – the merest ember.

Hinak grasps the jar and rushes up into the night air. At that moment, another shooting-star flashes buy, again with something profound to say . . .

[Like the 'Freyja’ Piano Concerto, the fable of Hinak remains, until now, tantalisingly unfinished].

As the Autumn of 2005 rolls by, Drew’s psychological condition deteriorates. Impatient at Drew’s insistence that his 'Freyja’ Piano Concerto is not yet complete, his record company has declined to re-new his contract. Drew’s 'attitude', as well as his dwindling musical output - combined with a good deal of substance abuse, has left his career in tatters and his financial position precarious.

His brother and agent, Ted Elgin, is desperately trying to restore some normality to Drew’s life. Drew is becoming unkempt, living on fast food and liquor. Ted’s numerous attempts to introduce a romantic interest into Drew’s life are doomed to failure until, having been warned-off by Drew, he mistakenly hires Robin Gaudin as Drew’s house-keeper in the mistaken belief that she (Robin) is in fact a man.

In her early thirties, Robin is tactful, unobtrusive, quirky and attractive. And seemingly without baggage. She speaks fluent German (Drew’s second language), is extremely musical, and is unquestionably a damn good cook. Drew, deep in his ‘living’ Concerto, is, on the surface, at least, oblivious to her many charms. But his fantasies, that is to say Freyja’s domain, are increasingly permeated by tantalising visions of Robin. As the pressures, external and internal, mount, Drew is driven remorselessly into a bottle-neck of double-think where his belief systems are stood on end. How, in the scales of his conscience, will he weigh his obsessive fidelity to Freyja against the promise of Robin . . . how will he resolve his 'Freyja’ Piano Concerto (to him, the lovely Freyja herself) . . . and what will become of > FREYJA’S GIFT – these questions can be answered only by seeing the movie . . .