This document discusses four films that provide inspiration for various aspects of the filmmaker's upcoming project about a same-sex relationship. Call Me By Your Name inspires the portrayal of supportive parents. Moonlight tackles struggles of black gay men and dysfunctional family relationships. Priscilla, Queen of the Desert influences the over-the-top costumes and dramatic characters. Blue is the Warmest Color handles the romantic story in a melodramatic visual style that creates vulnerability and realism.

1. A2 Level Media Existing Media Text
Used as Visual, Technical and Topical
Inspiration
Mima Micic

2. ‘CALL ME BY YOUR NAME’ (2017)
This film is a sensually captivating story of first
love, based on the acclaimed novel by André
Aciman. It's based in an Italian city Crema in the
1980’s. The main character is a 17-year-old boy
called Elio Perlman, played by Timothée
Chalamet. He spends a lot of time with his family,
playing classical music, reading, and flirting with
his friend Marzia. His family is very educated as
his father is a professor specialising in Greco-
Roman culture and his mother works as a
translator. The whole family demonstrates
fluency in many languages throughout the film.
Even though Elio is quite clever, he is unsure
about matters of his heart. The film focuses on
the 6 week long stay of Oliver, a 24-year-old
American played by Armie Hammer, who Elio
slowly but surely falls in love with. ‘Call Me By
Your Name’ won an Oscar and many more
rewards. It is directed by Luca Guadagnino.

3. The resemblance between this and my film is the topic of same-sex love and the way
parents deal with children who aren’t heterosexual. Elio’s parents are very supportive of him,
especially his father. However, in my film, the ‘mother’ will not be very supportive and will be
portrayed satirically in order to convey her irrational reasonings for not accepting her ‘son’
the way he is.
‘Call Me By Your Name’ is
also a very aesthetically
pleasing film filled with
many beautiful shots which
can be used for inspiration.

4. ‘MOONLIGHT’ (2016)
This films presents the audience with three
time periods of the main character’s life.
Chiron is a African-American who, as a child,
lived with his single, crack addict mother
Paula in a crime ridden neighborhood in
Miami. He is a shy, withdrawn child who
faces many issues even in early stages of life.
The three time periods the film explores are
known as Little, Chiron and Black.
The film is directed by Barry Jenkis, had a
budget of 4 million and is based on a play ‘In
Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue’ by Tarell
Alvin McCraney. It won many awards
including 3 Oscars (Best Picture, Best
Supporting Actor-Mahershala Ali, Best
Adapted Screenplay) and grossed over 65
million dollars worldwide.

5. ‘Moonlight’ tackles struggles of a black
gay man in the american society,
which can also be topically related to
my project. Its technical aspects are
inspiring and I might incorporate some
filming techniques into my film if
possible. The visuals are often simple
yet ominous and unique, which is quite
aesthetically pleasing and inspiring.
The mental deconstruction of the main
character and his dysfunctional
relationship with his mother could be
used as a reference when creating the
mother-son relationship between my
own characters.
This film is a drama. This genres
conventions are something i would
also like to incorporate into what i
create.

6. ‘THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF
THE DESERT’ (1994)
When drag queen Anthony, played by Hugo
Weaving, agrees to take his act on the road, he
invites fellow cross-dresser Adam (Guy
Pearce) and transsexual Bernadette (Terence
Stamp) to come along. In their colorful bus,
named Priscilla, the three performers travel
across the Australian desert performing for
enthusiastic crowds and homophobic locals.
But when the other two performers learn the
truth about why Anthony took the job, it
threatens their act and their friendship.
The director of this film is Stephan Elliott and
the costume design was handled by Lizzy
Gardiner and Tim Chappel. It won an Academy
Award for best costume design.

7. All characters in this film have their charming quirks, which will
influence the way i shape my characters. The fashion and makeup
in it is symbolic for drag queens: over the top, extra and dramatic.
The characters in my film will have that over-dramatic feel to them,
which will be reflected through their appearance in order to depict
them effectively, so I will attempt to incorporate stylistic elements
of the drag culture.
‘The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’ is a comedy
drama, which is the exact genre of what my film will be. I will refer
to the codes and conventions of both genres in this film and how
are they combined in order to make a charismatic yet realistic
storyline.

8. ‘BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR’ (2013)
This French film conveys a love
story between a teen, played by
Adèle Exarchopoulos, and an older
art student played by Léa Seydoux.
After these two girls meet in a
lesbian bar, they form a deep
emotional and sexual bond. Emma,
the blue-haired art student, helps
Adèle form into a woman trough
this melodramatic story of love and
loss.
Directed by Abdellatif Kechiche, this
film sparked a lot of debates and
controversies about the way it
handled this romantic story. It was
nominated for a Golden Globe and
the runtime is over 3 hours.

9. The visual melodramatic aspects of this film make the
characters appear vulnerable and fully open for the
audience to explore and immerse themselves into. This
creates the feeling of inclusion for the audience and
provides a sense of realism and real life situations. The
film also represents a minority and how homosexual
women form relationships and deal with everything that
comes with it, which is something I will also refer to in
my project.
Much like other films I chose as inspiration, ‘Blue is the
warmest color’ provides a visually satisfying atmosphere
with colours as motifs.