From the film-maker:

I felt very intrusive as a viewer when I first saw this painting and yet was immediately compelled to look closer. I was intrigued by the way the subject looks out of the painting, and in particular by the expression of his eyes. His back is turned to us and it feels as if we might be disturbing him while he is reading something private. However, after a while, I felt his gaze was telling a much more complex story. It seemed both sad and expectant, and this triggered my first ideas for the script. Although I later found out that he was reading a book, at first I assumed he was reading a letter, the contents of which became the start of my story.

Clara Kraft Isono

A piece inspired by Andrea del Sarto, Portrait of a Young Man, about 1517-18