The Drunkard's Lament
(40:15, 2018)
An epistolary, musical reimagining of Wuthering Heights by Branwell—the tubercular, alcoholic and opium-addicted brother of Emily Brontë.
When Branwell — the ne’er-do-well, tubercular brother of the Brontë sisters — discovered that Emily was writing her first novel, he offered to be her editor. Once he realized that he was the model for the alcoholic Hindley Earnshaw character, he reimagined the story as a musical memoir of his own life with Hindley as the hero. Edited and arranged from the damaged film fragments, notes, sheet music and letters to his best friend Francis, this weird and revisionist adaptation looks to have premiered on the 50th anniversary of the deaths of Emily and Branwell Brontë.
Premiered in April 2018 as part of the Avant-Garde & Genre Competion of BAFICI. Directed by Jim Finn.