THE LONG LONELY WALK (2010)
The Long Lonely Walk follows the stories of three individuals, a bomb disposal expert, a young boy and an elderly woman, as they each take the brave steps towards a life-defining moment.
Written & Directed By Leon Chambers
Produced by Leon Chambers, Gary Rowland & Andrew Huelin
Starring Jeremy Sheffield, Sylvia Syms, Tessa Peake-Jones and Christian Lees
““The Long Lonely Walk expertly captures limbo moments in life, every action invariably transposing the eventual consequence””
The Long Lonely Walk was completed at the end of 2009. 135 people attended the screening at the Curzon Cinema in London's West End on the 31st January 2010. The film was made for £23,500. Partly funded by the Cranbrook Film Society and sponsors who paid £30 each to be part of the London premiere.
Shot on 35mm, The Long Lonely Walk was edited on Final Cut Pro. The online and grade took place at Prime Focus via a 2k scan and was mastered to HDCAMSR, as well as being printed back to a 35mm film print. The sound was edited on Pro-tools and mixed in Dolby Digital at Pinewood Studios. Richard Pryke who mixed the film not only mixed Third Light Film's last film Stolen Youth, but won an Oscar for his work on Slumdog Millionaire.
Director's Notes
The starting point for this film was the title. I had heard an obituary on Radio 4's 'Last Word' about Gary O'Donnell, a bomb disposal officer, who was killed in the line of duty. Friends and colleagues were sharing memories of him, talking about how gregarious he was, how there was a thin line between bravery and madness. And then one of them referred to the long, lonely walk; the moment at which the officer has to walk the last two hundred metres alone, to carry out the disposal. That simple phrase gave me some idea of what that experience must be like. I can think of a number of occasions where I've had to take a deep breath and approach something with no knowledge of the outcome. I am not suggesting for a minute that the experience of walking into a job interview or approaching a woman in a bar, compares to staring death in the face. But it's as close as most of us come.
The Long Lonely Walk Awards
Having never been to Chicago, I took the opportunity to attend the Chicago United film festival in September 2010. This appeared to be the right decision, as I was able to bring back the award for Best Short Film. It was great to meet Jason and the team behind the United Film Festivals. The Long Lonely Walk has since screened at all six United festivals. In November 2010, I was invited to attend the Grand Off Awards in Warsaw, Poland, where The Long Lonely Walk was nominated for Best Film Editing. We were very well looked after with meals and hotel accommodation provided at the Intercontinental. I was delighted to come away with the very heavy brass statuette. It caused an embarrassing moment at the airport, when I was asked to step aside, as they thought I had a weapon in my hand luggage. After a moment, the security guard looked up from reading the engraved plaque and asked “Are you Leon Chambers?” I nodded slowly. “Congratulations” he said and handed the award back to me.
