“I am really really impressed David – I can honestly say that this was one of the best uses of my music on film that i’ve seen and it actually made me rather proud . Thank you.”
Thank you to Duncan Atwood for publishing permission @ Denovali Records
BELOW – KIND AND SUPPORTIVE WORDS
“I’m speechless and that doesn’t happen often – this man has vision! His use of colour is astonishing, how he frames a shot and seduces you with his images is enviable, I’m amazed by the breadth of his talent”.
“WOW David. What an amazing feat to have created this complex, beautiful and poignant documentary on the difficulty of growing up different and of being an artist. Really interesting and so beautifully shot.”
“This was gorgeous, as is his heart. David is magic, probably prays to some dark glamour god. This film proves his talents are far reaching, without borders or limits and when he kneels down with Sun flares bathing him, his hair accepting the win, we receive the feeling of him bowing down in humility and absolute submission to the creative process, where ever it may lead, and the end of what was. Reconciled to what is to come. This sets a tone for the film, that drew me in. Why is David leaving the industry he is successful in? We are now ready to dive into his story. with BLUENECK bringing us to new depths of sadness and mystery, without a hint of self indulgence in David’s sorrow, because he is doing what he needs to do – not because of, or for anyone else, but because it is the right thing to do at this time. He is putting down his camera because it is his friend and his teacher, and even it knows, HE IS WHOLE… he is ready to write.”
“When ONES spirit is brave enough to present their inner world and private life, to the open public – thEn ONE IS prepared to enlarge the existence self and the importance of A connection with humanity and the World.
The colors are vivid, trance LIKE – ecstasy, psychedelic but also colors of the past, of simplicity and something ABOUT it is that WHICH is art of Life itself. Your explanation of the relationship with Daphne Guinness is so pure and full with WARMTH AND simplicity, in a form of real admiration, and as in the Last Leveler (which is my favorite work of your`s, together with Broken) the amount of goodness here is in high spirits ,something that is so not usual these days.
So touching the moments that follow, in your speaking about THE HOMOSEXUAL RIGHTS THAT WERE DENIED TO YOU, YOUR school days, the self searching and DISTRACTION that came to THE culmination of revealing that the camera is that which had helped you to overcome all of that which you would come to endure.
NATASHA HAMILTON photo-shoot is really your self discovering OF a joy that can be heard so much in your voice, AND all OF the excitement from the professional teams of the whole process. This all is a huge importance to the whole you, for BUILDING your career and private life. All is bright, even DOWN to the most deeper segments of your life, wild flowers of passion, TRUTH and pure white light glow!”
“This is brilliant, the message is so dead on, or should I say THE messages. DAVID’S ITS MAGNIFICENT WORK. THERE WERE SO MANY MOMENTS OF PAUSE. WORDS LIKE OVERWHELMED, MOVED, INTRIGUED, CAPTIVATED TO NAME A FEW ARE WHAT COMES TO MIND. did I MENTION I AM IN AWE? WHAT AN AMAZING JOB.
I love the opening scene with your personal engagement with the highest power. The light shinning on you, over you – IT was so profound. If those that watch have any depth, that clip will be QUITE telling and VERY moving. I actually felt the surrender. I actually wished I was there with you. It was almost as though a door in the sky opened and the eye was on you. Don’t we all want that connection? Let me say this. Your GRANDFATHER is very proud of you. His camera is larger than yours and he sees what you struggle with. You speak so passionately about him. That is so grand! BTW – great voice. There is a lot of emotion in your expression over the visuals.
What is consistent is the journey that you are projecting, and the story behind it. You reflect, a lot. Family is so close to you. The boy in the footage is still in the man today. That is amazing! This footage tells a story of struggle, but you don’t EVER see that in the output of your work. It’s the curse of the introverted.
David, One thing holds true, you are a creator, an intuitive one. You see and feel and move with it. Because it’s you, you cannot fail. It is your freedom of expression, your art and it’s personal. You have made it personal, and that is the gift.
I love the flow of the it. I love how you bridge the past and present and circle back to the past again, reminding those of the source. I enjoyed the journey, and in short got some insight on the artist behind the lens. When you expose yourself, especially in your field you are looking for validation, and hope people get you, get your creativity and want MORE OF IT.
Thank you for sharing this documentary. For choosing me as part of your captive audience. If your audience has feelings….they will get it, get you. The universe is smiling at you. This journey on video literally is something I have never seen. It pulls you, lures you, almost like a addictive trance. A bright moon, that shines so bright that you want nothing more, but to be close to it. You want to be part of the light it casts through the dark frost of a snow covered forest.
David your work is luminous. Do you see this? Do you see your light my brother? but Where there is so much light, I see the struggles, the pain that you carry. David, all oceans are deep. You are a genius, and that pyramid which appears a few times with orbs….bringing to attention that you are in YOUR highest form. Once again, thank you for sharing you with me, with everyone.”
“Absolutely amazing. I poured myself a glass of wine and settled down to watch…David, I bloody love you and by the end of that I just wanted to give you a massive cuddle. You are a beautiful soul and I love that you don’t let anything taint that. You really are an inspiration to many of your friends.
Please don’t give up on your photography because of the shallowness and deceit of others. The imagery in the film was amazing, I really fell into it. You portrayed the emotion through film so effortlessly. I feel privileged that you would share such private emotions with us but I feel even more privileged to call you my friend. “
Claire Hignett
“This film is an absolute masterpiece, BECAUSE it accomplishes A communicating OF the experience of cosmic consciousness, AND What is more cosmic than to have HAD a grandfather who planted the seeds of self-realization, creativity, and sincerity in you which you carry throughout your life and manifest through your amazing work and relationships?
The artistry of the film has been eloquently described in the preceding comments, but what I can add is that the imagery at the end, with you walking along side yourself, brought the clarity to mind that you have achieved an enlightened realization, the absolute mind and the relative mind are joined together in innate awareness.
David you seem to be a soul who does not have an agenda, who does things out of love and inspiration. It is easy to take effect from those who covertly have agendas, they claw their way to whatever they think will benefit themselves, they are like land mines and Those who give out of the pureness of the heart are devastated when betrayed, it’s a kick in the gut and not easy to transcend the experience, but transcend we must. This is a most transcendental film – transformations are sacred.
Your journey reminds me of something I heard a spiritual teacher say, “getting back what we already have.” It is a difficult road that few dare to take. Thank you for being a light illuminating your story which will in turn help others find their own truth.”
Linda Rivera
“We think that the most amazing journey a man could travel is the one inside of himself, traversing his life back to his farthest past, in order to find the deepest answers to a compelling quest, and in doing so, finding the clues that explain who he has become.
yet it is not so easy to decide to undertake this quest. To sail those seas, to climb those slopes, to face those storms, to enjoy that warmth, to feel the freshness of the light, but to also dip our fingers into that black sticky tar of darkness. We all GO through joy and pain, but often the fear of that torment overcomes the warmth of living IN the bright moments we can all have again.
So, when you, David, told us that you were going to start to document your amazing journey, we felt so thrilled tHAT YOU would let us be taken by your hand, and be travelers with you.
In the opening scene, we find the use you made of colors and light, just extraordinary. The colors are so vivid, and you were able to emphasize the beautiful contrast of autumn nuances of nature in a sunny day. We think that such beauty can be seen only in that season, and with that light!
You describe a stunning harmony between yourself and nature, and you hit the climax when you gently caress the ground, covered with autumn leaves, and then you rise up in a sort of awakening, blessed by the shining star light filtering through the trees.
We think that music of BLUENECK and your images, they melt in the most fabulous way, and it seems that they could not exist one without one another. That crescendo, after the countdown, and the final image, where the greenery looks forms into an iris, makes us shiver with emotion!
We have to say that we had not thought about that way of telling your story. We had imagined a linear flowing of time, instead of starting from the present, and then going back to your past, with that amazing footage from your Grandfather.
Those images brought us back to the intro of your film, with that voice coming from the past, on a carpet of black and gold tarots. Those words that a wise man decided to record, TO LET his voice CROSS SPACE AND TIME, RESOUNDING WITH THE SAME INTACT POWER. WE KNOW IT’S NOT HIM, BUT WE LIKE TO IMAGINE THAT this VOICE IS YOUR GRANDFATHER TALKING.
Though unexpected, this way of digging into your life, appears to us quite as saying ‘this is who I am now. Now I’m telling you how, and what are the main turning points in my life, that brought me up to this point, up to who I am today, as an artist, and as a man.
Man and artist, distinct, but merged at the same time’. We find it particularly striking when you show Thatcher’s speech for SECTION 28: if we close our eyes, we can hear the sound of doors slamming in the face of the dreams of the delightful boy you were.
so, After explaining where you started, and the inspiration from your GRANDFATHER, you display AN attraction to images: first photography, quite the first step in approaching that kind of artistic expression, and then evolving, to filming, thIS seemed to be the point where you were called, with your perfect melting of images, stories to tell, and music.
And WHen you presented your last work, the video for Jane Badler’s song LOVER. (In our opinion one of the brightest gems of her last album, Opus). The video that you defined your ‘best work’ (obviously until now), is the perfect synthesis of what you were aiming at.
And we are show some QUICK words from the people who worked with you, the beautiful interview to your sweet friend Grace, with that lovely image of you, that portrays all the nice words she says about you, as a person, together with those clips from the backstage, are those amazing brush strokes that you are so great with.
They portray the serene atmosphere on the set, so the way you work, the passion that you put in what you are doing, with your deep love for light, looks, expressions, moods, and all at the same time. We love Jane’s words.
She speaks about you as a professional, an artist, whom she likes very much, and whose talent she has known and appreciated for years. She says amazing and admired words of your video, and about your passion, and skills. Words from an artist – to an artist.
HER words ARE full of warmth. The tone runs slightly and smoothly until the end, when we can almost see a smile on her face, while she is dreaming about your future collaborations. Jane puts you in her words, your being a talented artist, a passionate artist, a skilled artist, that is able to do amazing works, even with few means And this is the core of real art!
She is the only one of the three artists in your film THAT you HAVE worked with, that appears only as a voice, but we can say that SHE is the one who leaves the deepest impression.
NATASHA HAMILTON looks like just an image. Full of colors, music, and light, but we can feel that she didn’t help you so much in your growth as an artist.
Quite different is the impact and the influence DAPHNE GUINNESS has had on your art and YOUR PERSONAL life. You say that you learnt much from her. Though to our eyes she looks RATHER ethereal AND distant. Her look seems to aim at a point beyond the camera, not at you. She seems absorbed in a world ALL of her own AND We cannot feel the same warmth we sense in Jane’s voice.
So we arrived at the end of the journey, and it brought you to who you are now. It was an amazing journey, as we had expected, And you helped us to grow with you, and come to a higher awareness ourselves.
We can DEFINITELY see the path you walked on and on, which you take us by your hand, as a sort of Hegelian dialectic: thesis, the light, the affirmation; antithesis, the contrast, the darkness, that yet bears the seeds of rebirth itself; synthesis, the overcoming of the contrast, the evolution. In your case, a sort of catharsis, through your life, and your art.
Your resurfacing from the deep darkness, through the darkness itself, to a new awareness and a new life took a great courage. to look at your life quite from an external and absolutely clear point of view, though conveying to us your deep pain, your deep trouble, and your becoming aware of your depression AND It really struck us when you said:
‘I was strong, enthusiastic, and a positive person, how can I be sitting here with the doctor in front of me, telling me that I’ve got depression?‘
It is as if, until then, you were looking into the mirror from the opposite side, and that in that moment it turned around, letting down the veil behind which your deep pain and sorrow were hiding.
We find your narration of your slow, but inexorable going down the slope, so involving: your passion for photography, your funny videos, everything lived with joy, freshness, so playful… And then the growing pressure, when photography turned from your life companion into a burden.
Watching those images of you, with tears filling your sweet eyes, hearing your distorted voice, we can say we feel your pain – and get close to the way you felt. It’s quite physical, And we think that image of you sitting on the couch, with a glass in your hand, is so meaningful – the look in your eyes tells all of your dismay, and your silent cry for help.
but some PEOPLE never did and never will let you down, and they wERE always ready to answer that call: the sweet embrace with your friend Grace, it deeply touched us. It is a warm ray of light in the darkness of that phase in your life and We like the use you made of negative images. They give us the impression of the dark you felt inside. Also your wonderful tree seems to participate in your suffering too.
But it also recalled a new way of looking at you, at your deepest self, with different eyes. It seemed that you had to turn yourself, your vision, your life upside down, inside out – in order to understand where you had fallen, how you had fallen and to get an aware of that darkness you were facing, and to rise up against it.
The climax is that stunning mix of music and images with Daphne and the Empress Tarot: magnificent! That music makes us shiver each and every time we hear it!
We love the amazing harmony between your images and the music. It seems it was ‘born’ just for your film. Or better – from your film. They spring and get life from each other!
Love also the narrating voice of MANLY P. HALL. What he says is just glorious: ‘do not exercise any influence on another person, except to bless them, don’t ask for something just because we want them to do it, and if man have to pray for something, ask for enlightenment!’
Sublime!
And we completely agree with you: we have to be grateful for everything that happens, while walking the path of our life, the brightest, and the darkest, the highest, and the deepest, because they will both teach us, they will both help us in molding who we are now, AS you are NOW .
your coming towards the camera, in that spectacular image. WHICH, are BOTH slightly different, Not two of the same self, but two different visions of yourself, walking side by side…. Parallax, indeed!
And we found the sequence with you and DAPHNE GUINNESS taking two different roads, very telling. YOUR PATHS MET ONE DAY, but THEY WENT ON IN PARALLEL FOR SOME TIME.
and In our lives, we cross our paths with so many others. Some will bring light to our darkness, others will bring pitch black to our light But no one of them will leave without impressing some prints on our way.
No encounter is in vain And it is also thanks to the pain you lived that you found a deep meaning in your life, new motivations to rise up again, to work on new projects, like LOVER, and to go on with your book.
You said that now you are in the right place to complete the book and The dark did indeed trap you – but you fought to resurface, to see the light again…
This journey has ended, just to let a new one be reborn.
Darling Dave, I have just watched your film and it is a beautiful tribute to all your wonderful creativity. I love how in part one “Light” you honour your grandfather’s talents and how he has influenced yours through imagery or passed his way of looking at the world to you. You are so right that it is magical that he was able to capture the special moments in time of you and your family. The scene of you and him dancing together is so lovely and touching. I found the behind the scenes/ the way you direct the people in your films and also their lovely comments of you to be very interesting. It looks like alot of hard work in getting people to act out your visions but you seem to do it with tact and finesse. The way you put people at ease in gentle directing brings out the best in them therefore enhancing your works. It is great that your relationship with Daphne Guinness has boosted your confidence in high society and introduced you to a wider artistic culture/knowledge. Your camera has been a symbol of your individuality, allowing you to shine and soar above the norm. Your photography has expanded your talent into filming. I love your beautiful lavish images in your films such as Gypsy. Your choice of music is sensitive and evocative. I love how you have remained sincere and passionate in what you do and not let your ego get in the way. You have not let the takers/fakers influence you but you are aware of them. You have overcome when they have betrayed or hurt you. You have not let them stop you from continuing to create your wonderful projects. You have bloomed from adversity with courage and kindness to others, enhancing our world with your creations. It will be wonderful when you finish your book showing another side of you but I really hope you go back to photography later as you have such a talent for it. You are a special and wonderful person Dave, thanks for sharing. What I see is truly beautiful and inspiring. Hugs Jenn xxxx
So Parallax is incredible…. but you already knew that wink emoticon I have come to expect nothing less from you David, your enthusiasm, talent and commitment to a project is a joy to behold.. Thank you for sharing with us. It’s incredible that you have all this archive footage, fascinating…. X
The film gripped me from start to finish β including the impressive opening and closing sequences. Overall, it is an awesome work that you should be very proud of. It has the look and feel of an expensive TV documentary that was made by a full production team.
Also, I think you did a very good job narrating.
I already know about the influence of your late grandfather, so the interesting parts for me were the new things: your views about school, the education system, growing up gay, growing up creative, Section 28 and your feelings about the so-called art world. I share your views entirely and much of your experiences mirror my own β including the sequence on depression which I thought was both artistically very well represented and also really quite brave. For me, this was one of the main highlights of the film and I am sure it will strike a chord with very many people.
Most of my creative work has been painting and I gave it about 6 years after the economic crash. In fact it was after that I started making videos and renewing my interest in photography. I doubt I will ever return to painting but who knows. At this point in my life, I am thinking I should do something new and, in a way, seeing your film helped me to clarify my own thoughts.
Thank you for sharing this with me and it was a real pleasure watching it on such a large scale on my projector with surround sound. The sound was great! I felt I was ‘in there’ just as when I go to a proper cinema.
Good luck with the book and I hope one day, we might meet and talk about this and various things face to face. I have concluded that you are a rare and very talented person. I wish there more genuine people like you around.
I hope this helps you in some way, kind regards Philip
CHASING iDOLS 
Darling Dave, I have just watched your film and it is a beautiful tribute to all your wonderful creativity. I love how in part one “Light” you honour your grandfather’s talents and how he has influenced yours through imagery or passed his way of looking at the world to you. You are so right that it is magical that he was able to capture the special moments in time of you and your family. The scene of you and him dancing together is so lovely and touching. I found the behind the scenes/ the way you direct the people in your films and also their lovely comments of you to be very interesting. It looks like alot of hard work in getting people to act out your visions but you seem to do it with tact and finesse. The way you put people at ease in gentle directing brings out the best in them therefore enhancing your works. It is great that your relationship with Daphne Guinness has boosted your confidence in high society and introduced you to a wider artistic culture/knowledge. Your camera has been a symbol of your individuality, allowing you to shine and soar above the norm. Your photography has expanded your talent into filming. I love your beautiful lavish images in your films such as Gypsy. Your choice of music is sensitive and evocative. I love how you have remained sincere and passionate in what you do and not let your ego get in the way. You have not let the takers/fakers influence you but you are aware of them. You have overcome when they have betrayed or hurt you. You have not let them stop you from continuing to create your wonderful projects. You have bloomed from adversity with courage and kindness to others, enhancing our world with your creations. It will be wonderful when you finish your book showing another side of you but I really hope you go back to photography later as you have such a talent for it. You are a special and wonderful person Dave, thanks for sharing. What I see is truly beautiful and inspiring. Hugs Jenn xxxx
So Parallax is incredible…. but you already knew that wink emoticon I have come to expect nothing less from you David, your enthusiasm, talent and commitment to a project is a joy to behold.. Thank you for sharing with us. It’s incredible that you have all this archive footage, fascinating…. X
The film gripped me from start to finish β including the impressive opening and closing sequences. Overall, it is an awesome work that you should be very proud of. It has the look and feel of an expensive TV documentary that was made by a full production team.
Also, I think you did a very good job narrating.
I already know about the influence of your late grandfather, so the interesting parts for me were the new things: your views about school, the education system, growing up gay, growing up creative, Section 28 and your feelings about the so-called art world. I share your views entirely and much of your experiences mirror my own β including the sequence on depression which I thought was both artistically very well represented and also really quite brave. For me, this was one of the main highlights of the film and I am sure it will strike a chord with very many people.
Most of my creative work has been painting and I gave it about 6 years after the economic crash. In fact it was after that I started making videos and renewing my interest in photography. I doubt I will ever return to painting but who knows. At this point in my life, I am thinking I should do something new and, in a way, seeing your film helped me to clarify my own thoughts.
Thank you for sharing this with me and it was a real pleasure watching it on such a large scale on my projector with surround sound. The sound was great! I felt I was ‘in there’ just as when I go to a proper cinema.
Good luck with the book and I hope one day, we might meet and talk about this and various things face to face. I have concluded that you are a rare and very talented person. I wish there more genuine people like you around.
I hope this helps you in some way, kind regards Philip