Vic Sarin Shines On
Posted April 8, 2010 12:00 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Vic Sarin has worked in film and television as a cinematographer, writer, producer, and director since the early ’70s. His latest feature film, A Shine of Rainbows, tells the story of Tomas (John Bell), a young orphan in Ireland whose life begins to look up when he is adopted by Maire and Alec O’Donell (played by Connie Nelson and Aidan Quinn). Sarin was introduced to the Lillian Beckwith novel upon which the film is based by a family friend, and the director admits he couldn’t put it down.
“I was very much drawn to the characters and the locations…I was [especially] drawn to Maire’s character: how she sees the world, what coloured glasses she wears, and how she perceives everything. It felt very real and honest, it was a very positive character. She stayed with me for a long, long time,” he says.
Sarin was recently hounoured with the Kodak New Century Award, presented to someone who has contributed to the art of cinematography in an outstanding manner. He admits he’s been a visual thinker since he was a teen, and the first thing that went through his head as he read A Shine of Rainbows was, “Where do I shoot this?” Eliminating possible settings such as Nova Scotia and New Zealand, he decided to go right to the place where the story unfolds: Donegal, Ireland.
“The moment I got to the location I was totally blown away and I knew this is where we were going to [film],” he says. “The people who put me there said, ‘Vic, you’re not going to shoot the movie here. It’s very windy and the climate is horrible.’ So I was very fortunate that nature helped me and we had good weather the entire shoot.”
According to Sarin, casting is the second most important thing to a film’s success, right after story, and finding a young actor to fill the Tomas role was no easy feat.
“We saw about 150 to 200 kids in Ireland and Scotland, and some even in Vancouver. When John Bell came in he stood out. He’s such a good little actor and so focused…he always knew what he was supposed to do,” Sarin says.
Nielson, who is fluent in Danish, German, English, Swedish, French and Italian, had to put on an Irish accent to play the character of Maire. Once she got it down she didn’t drop it until shooting was over.
“I wasn’t sure she should do the Irish accent as it’s quite unique. But once she [got] into it she stayed in it the whole time, 24-7. She never went to any other place and I think that’s the best thing to do if you take something seriously,” Sarin explains.
Filming with a child in most of the scenes meant the production could only shoot for eight hours a day, compared to the normal 12 or 13. This meant more time for the cast and crew members to hang out off-set in the pubs, discussing the next day’s shoot. Sarin believes this helped the film as everyone was able to bond.
“It’s the experience of life, not the money and the fame. Each film opens a new door for you. In doing this film I submerged myself into the Irish culture and got to know more about the Irish people. I enriched my life in that area and have a better sense of it,” he says.
Sarin’s next project is a documentary on how various cultures perceive beauty. What he hopes the audience takes away from A Shine of Rainbows is somewhat similar.
“We’re all going to go in the end but this little journey that we take, and what we do in the journey, I think a lot of us miss that because we get so drawn into the negative,” he says. “What matters at the end is whose hand your holding.”
A Shine of Rainbows opens in theatres on April 9.
brian.mckechnie@citynews.rogers.com
Top image: A scene from A Shine of Rainbows. Courtesy E1 Entertainment.
