Johnny Barnes | Music Video

Digital & Online

JOHNNY BARNES | AN LGBTQ+ HYBRID SHORT FILM & MUSIC VIDEO

Funded by The Arts Council and inspired by one of the oldest surviving LGBTQ+ Irish folk songs, JOHNNY BARNES is a post-modern gender-blending storytelling project encompassing music and narrative that tells the story of a repressed lord who becomes infatuated with a common sailor and questions his own gender identity in the process.

Exploring gay love and proto-trans ideation, the second half features original music and lyrics imagining a genderqueer utopia. It is one of the very few songs left to us in the British/Irish folk canon with a surviving LGBTQ+ story not erased by song collectors. This previously unheard version was collected by Sam Lee from Sally Connors, an Irish traveller from the oral song tradition who is in her mid-90s and had not otherwise passed it on.

The musicians, including Director Alex Etchart as lead singer/instrumentalist, perform throughout the piece in a storytelling-themed studio and at the various locations around the action, sometimes mirroring characters and performing solos against scenic backdrops.

ABOUT THE ARTIST:

Alex Etchart is an Anglo-Uruguayan social artist and multi-instrumentalist composer working in the UK and beyond. Raised in the South American folk tradition, Alex brings those sounds of fire and hope to contemporary social movements amplifying the voice of marginalised groups and social justice campaigns. Alongside Siobhán Knox, Alex produces the award-winning, repeat-sellout show Sex Worker's Opera which has just completed a UK tour with support from Arts Council England and PRS Foundation. The show sold out 2 weeks in Amsterdam in July 2018 with support from Open Society Foundations, performing at International AIDS Conference and Amsterdam LGBTIAQ+ Pride.

ABOUT MY ROLE:

Working with a first-time director with an ambitious vision whilst simultaneously balancing the specific requirements of Arts Council funding, an education project for schools and the standard logistics of a 10-minute music video/short film hybrid, I oversaw an intense 3-month preproduction and production process that involved 50+ cast and crew over a 5-day shoot (on location and in the studio) between Central London, Lowestoft & Buckinghamshire.

CREDITS

“Johnny Barnes”
Written, Composed & Performed by Alex Etchart
Taken from the album, Shine.

STARRING
Muti Musafiri - Johnny Barnes
Alex Walker - Lord Dunraven
Eleanor Grace - Iris

GODDEXES
Zia Forrai
Calu Lema
Andie Macario
Amy Sutton
Zichao Zang
Francisco Zhan

SUPPORTING CAST
Daniel Godfrey - Bodyguard
Kane Surry - Bodyguard
Tom Green - Sailor
James Turner - Sailor

MUSICIANS
Stefano Ancora
Gustavo Clayton Marucci
Violeta Garcia
Rachel Hayter
Van de Michelis
Faith Taylor

PRODUCTION CREW

Writer & Director: Alex Etchart
Co-Director: Siobhan Knox
Producer: Syd Heather
Executive Producer: Alex Etchart

1st Assistant Director: Laura Prast
Production Manager: Syd Heather
Production Runners: Joshua Lewindon, Alexis Pratt, Serge Mirindi & Sasha M

Director of Photography: Michael Filocamo
Steadicam Operator: Marc Hill
Key Grip: Nikolay Georgiev
1st Assistant Camera: Ash Lang Wen Li
Second Assistant Camera: Valentina Catenacci
Gaffer: Frank Hammond
Spark: Paige Fisher
Infrared Cinematography: Yokai Lens
Drone Cinematography: Matt Payne

Editor: Philip Reinking
Music Production: Alex Etchart
Mixing & Mastering: Fabrizio Savio & Pitch the Noise Records
Visual Effects: Mount Du Media
Grade: Liz Glennard

Choreographer: Siobhan Knox
Additional Choreography: Muti Musafiri

Make-Up Designer: Elvis Schmoulianoff
Make-Up Artists: Claudette Fruchier & Maya Lewis
Art Direction: Alex Etchart & Moira Lam
The Table: Rizwan Aswat & Camille Etchart

Costume Designer: Harriet Stanton
Goddex Costumes Designer: Emily Rees Haynes
Goddex Props Designer: Oedi (Emma) Rex

LOCATIONS PROVIDED BY:
FilmFixer
Maverick Productions
The Excelsior Trust
Missenden Valley Productions

FILMED ON LOCATION AT:
Asylum Chapel
Kensal Green Cemetery
The Excelsior Ship
Fiction Studios
Kennel Farms
Little Big Studios

EQUIPMENT HIRE:
Pixi Pixel
GreenKit

FUNDING CONSULTING:
Saskia Watkin
Sasolo

EDUCATION PROJECT:
Faaria Ahmad
Alia Alzougbi
Triny Diaz
Ruth England
Mandy Curtis
Xanthe Gresham-Knight
Amy Sutton
18 Hours
Global Learning London
Goddess Lounge

SPECIAL THANKS:
Becky Buzzard
Hannah Chrystal
Dawn Cooke
Liza Dawson
Violeta García
Adam Huber
Matt Mitchell
Denis Muresan
Dan Pickering
Karol Petryka
Colin Fenn

VERY SPECIAL THANKS:
Sally Connors
Sam Lee
James McDonald
Song Collectors Collective