From the Film Maker...

It was the five demons scurrying about at the bottom of Botticelli's painting that caught my attention. I wanted to know more...

With help from James Heard, adult learning manager at the National Gallery, I saw there was an apocalyptic message in the painting.

Looking into the history of apocalyptic prophets and their prophecies I felt a sense of shock at how often throughout western history apocalyptic prophets had gathered followers and convinced them of the impending judgement day.

I thought it showed how fallible we are and how conceited we can be. That people can convince themselves and others that the end of the world is imminent and, moreover, that they are the only people who recognise it.

My aim was to take a slightly irreverant look at apocalyptic prophets and to set my film in the present. My central character is slightly deranged and is seen preaching to an empty set, his only audience, a disinterested rabbit. As the piece rushes towards its conclusion, I wanted to create a sense of the self-fulfilling nature of apocalyptic prophecies.

So, although the five demons never made it to the final cut, they were the starting point. There are lots of references within the final cut, the dialogue and the lean-to are a direct reference to the painting. The storyline and the character represent the journey.
Edwin Wolf Metternich