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<\/p>\nThe spirit of a celebrated \u201870s glam rocker provides the backdrop for Bolan\u2019s Shoes,<\/i> the directorial debut by Welsh-born actor\/writer\/director Ian Puleston-Davies. The film is a featured title at this year\u2019s Poppy Jasper International Film Festival in the San Francisco Bay Area.<\/p>\n
Puleston-Davies has been a film, stage and television actor since the early 1980s; his extensive credits include roles in popular UK television series including EastEnders, Foyle\u2019s War, Dalziel and Pascoe, Life on Mars, Coronation Street, Midsomer Murders, Lewis, Vera, Father Brown<\/i> and Pennyworth<\/i>. In 2005 Puleston-Davies co-wrote the television drama Dirty Filthy Love<\/i>, winning a Royal Television Society award and a BAFTA nomination.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The next logical step for Puleston-Davies was to direct a feature film. And he had plenty of ideas. \u201cI collect ideas for stories,\u201d he explains. \u201cAnd when I feel there enough pieces of the jigsaw, so the journey begins.\u201d His embryonic script idea focused upon protagonists with a strong passion and fandom for a timeless artist. In this case, that artist is a \u201870s rock hero, Marc Bolan of T. Rex. That band\u2019s \u201cMetal Guru\u201d was the first single Puleston-Davies had bought as a youngster.<\/p>\n
Guitarist and songwriter Marc Bolan launched his band Tyrannosaurus Rex in London 1967. In its early days, Tyrannosaurus Rex released four albums of freaky psych-folk with titles like 1968\u2019s My People Were Fair and Had Sky in Their Hair… But Now They’re Content to Wear Stars on Their Brows<\/i>. But by 1970 they had shortened their album titles\u2026 and their name.<\/p>\n
The newly-christened T. Rex also changed its sound, developing a glam rock approach \u2013 and a visual persona to match. Working with producer Tony Visconti, they scored seven consecutive hit singles in the U.K.; each rose to the #1 or #2 spot on the charts; all told T. Rex landed 17 singles on the UK charts. Stateside, the band earned a Top Ten hit for their third single, \u201cGet it On (Bang a Gong).\u201d
\nIn its later years, T. Rex even found fans among the burgeoning punk scene. Bolan perished in a September 1977 auto accident, but T. Rex\u2019s legend lived on. The band\u2019s sound and visual style influenced a generation of rockers.<\/p>\n
\u201cMarc was not only a great performer,\u201d says Puleston-Davies, \u201cbut also a wonderful, wild and imaginative wordsmith.\u201d He felt that both Bolan\u2019s persona and his music would be right for his directorial debut. \u201cT. Rex\u2019s music takes no prisoners,\u201d he enthuses. \u201cThat raunchy, unapologetic guitar sound blows away any sense of sentimentality.\u201d<\/p>\n
A familiarity of Bolan\u2019s life and music is helpful to appreciating his significance in the story, but the director stresses that \u201cit\u2019s certainly not in any way essential.\u201d At its core, Bolan\u2019s Shoes<\/i> is not about the rocker; instead it centers around fans who have kept the light of fandom burning more than 40 years after the rock star\u2019s untimely death.<\/p>\n
Those characters have stories of their own; the back story concerns their upbringing in Children\u2019s Homes in Liverpool, England. Bolan and T. Rex serve as effective and resonant touchstones to help connect the personal narratives with the larger world. The film explores the long-term consequences of bullying, and Puleston-Davies hopes that viewers will come away from the film appreciating that snap conclusions about others \u2013 even those we know well \u2013 aren\u2019t always on target.<\/p>\n
Production took place during the strictest periods of the Covid-related lockdown, and writer-director Puleston-Davies says that was a mixed blessing. \u201cThe film probably wouldn’t have been made had there not been a pandemic,\u201d he admits, \u201cas I was meant to be filming Pennyworth<\/i> for Warner Brothers!\u201d<\/p>\n
Puleston-Davies submitted Bolan\u2019s Shoes<\/i> for consideration for inclusion in the Poppy Jasper International Film Festival, but admits that he never expected the film to be chosen. \u201cI couldn\u2019t believe it when they rang me,\u201d he says. \u201cBolan’s Shoes<\/i> has a fascinating story with some tender moments that were beautifully written, filmed, and acted,\u201d says Mattie Scarriot, director of the festival.<\/p>\n
Puleston-Davies singles out lead actors Timothy Spall and Leanne Best for special praise. \u201cThey beautifully bring to life the characters that have lived in [my] head for so long,\u201d he says. \u201cBut they also add so much more nuance, depth, complexity and humor to the parts. As an actor of 40 years myself, I have only now begun to appreciate that worth!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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