Troian Bellisario - Clara {Clara} #1: "A distinctly human and emotional story of self-discovery and love." - Page 3

**Firecrest** · 09-05-2018, 03:35 PM

Yup!

**BlondieLeigh** · 09-12-2018, 12:52 PM

The final screening of #CLARAthefilm at #TIFF18 tomorrow night is officially sold out!
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t2727 · 09-12-2018, 12:58 PM

Thanks

**Firecrest** · 09-12-2018, 04:53 PM

Love the pic!

**BlondieLeigh** · 09-13-2018, 12:32 PM

t2727 · 09-13-2018, 12:37 PM

bare feet on a chair

**Firecrest** · 09-14-2018, 02:13 PM

Love the stunning pic!

**BlondieLeigh** · 09-15-2018, 12:05 PM

**Firecrest** · 09-15-2018, 04:54 PM

Love the adorable pic!

**BlondieLeigh** · 09-16-2018, 10:16 AM

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**Firecrest** · 09-16-2018, 04:29 PM

Such powerful gifs!

**BlondieLeigh** · 09-17-2018, 12:12 PM

**Firecrest** · 09-19-2018, 04:13 PM

Love the video!

**BlondieLeigh** · 10-02-2018, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Edmonton Director Brings ‘Clara’ Home for EIFF

Akash Sherman is a young filmmaker to watch. He first hit the Edmonton International Film Festival red-carpet seven years ago with his short film, A Teaching Game. Now, at just 23-years-old, he’s back with Clara, a science-fiction drama starring Suits’ Patrick J. Adams and Pretty Little Liars’ Troian Bellisario.

At Friday’s screening, Sherman introduced the film by stating that its theme is the importance of human connection, and went on to say, “I was reminded of that when writing this film because I lost someone very close to me, and this story was inspired by that.”

The film’s screening at EIFF garnered applause from the audience and was followed by a Q&A moderated by CJSR FM’s Christian Zyp, where Sherman discusses his roots, influences, and the science behind the film.

The inspiration for the film’s story struck one day while he was studying at Ryerson.

“[We were] learning about all these artists who created things throughout history,” he says, “so I wanted to take a shot at that.”

And he did. By the end of the day, he had developed a story about an astronomer, Isaac, and an artist, Clara, who come together to find something cosmic up there, while also developing something cosmic within themselves. Sherman named the film Clara because, according to him, the name means “clear and bright—like a star.”

Clara is a human story rooted in science.

“My friend James Ewasiuk and I, we wrote the story together, and we did about four months of research on astronomy, which always appealed to us,” Sherman says. “Half-way through the writing process, we hired science advisors from the academic system and a former NASA scientist, so we went through all the data that we could.”

The science of the film is a breakthrough because, as Sherman explains, it’s something the world has never seen before.

“The discovery that [the characters] made [in the film], the science behind that hasn’t actually been discussed before so the advising scientist on the film wrote an academic journal based on the science of the film.”

Visual depictions of the universe, from stars to nebulas to the Sun, are seen throughout the film. It’s simplistic, but provoking—it’s what Sherman intended.

“The visual effects in this film—I didn’t want to go overboard—I wanted to show space honestly … all the space shots, Sun shots were real. All the Sun shots were taken from the SDO laboratory and [Trevor Lau] and I would stitch together real nebulas.”

If he hadn’t seen Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, Sherman points out, he probably wouldn’t have made Clara. However, what led him to this point in his career, and the development of the film, were his Edmonton roots. While the film is Toronto grown, many Edmontonians worked on it—for example, the composer Jonathon Kawchuck, visual artist Trevor Lau, and songwriter Miranda Stewart. But Sherman concludes that his success is all thanks to EIFF.

“I had my start at EIFF seven years ago. I was 16; it was my first short film here. And honestly? EIFF gave me the confidence to keep doing this.”

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**Firecrest** · 10-03-2018, 02:25 PM

Wow!


Fan Forum > Female Celebrities > Troian Bellisario > Clara {Clara} #1: "A distinctly human and emotional story of self-discovery and love."