The Light Keeper

“Hopefully we’ll have the opportunity to see more of Levardi work in the future as we were very impressed…”

A troubled young woman finds unexpected solace in an old camera, igniting her passion to capture light and becoming her journey out of darkness into a light keeper.

We never know what to expect from our experimental category as there are so many compelling ideas that filmmakers come up with and writer/director Tamas Levardi’ ‘The Light Keeper’ is certainly one that stands out from the rest.

Having had the opportunity to see Levardi past work, we were excited to see more. It seems as though Levardi creative ability was unlocked to its full potential in this film as it’s a stunning demonstration of his talent as a filmmaker. A film like this isn’t often fleshed out until you get behind the camera and create as you shoot, making for a raw and powerful story full of emotion.

Starring in the film is Alice Louise Beton whom is not an actress herself but none the less delivers a powerful performance with her actions alone. Levardi’ ability as a filmmaker made it possible to work to Beton strengths and explore a flood of emotions that jump off the screen.

The cinematography from Levardi is stunning and made with total precision. The use of natural and practical lighting blend seamlessly together to create a distinct visual identity to the film. The more cinematic scenes were made possible by the great choice in locations, some of which we recognised and have filmed at ourselves in the past. The colour grade is made to perfection to bring out the rich colours and drama. Every frame in fact makes for a breathtaking still that tells a story on its own.

The edit, that was also handled by Levardi, was meticulously paced cutting between countless shots, that on their own, contrasted each other but once put together worked perfectly. Considering the short run time of 3:22, it’s packed with outstanding shots that aren’t used just for the sake of it. Every moment in this film means something and can be interpreted differently by each viewer.

A key ingredient of the film was the dramatic score from Michele Masin which really helped to elevate Beton performance and inject purpose and gravitas to the story. Its steady pace and melodic build matches the high quality standard of the visuals so that they’re both are working off each other. The ethereal VoiceOver from Elizabeth Nightingale is a big part of the film and helps to build a narrative, although we wonder if the film would have worked without it as well as the visual storytelling is so strong. Regardless Nightingale nailed the delivery and added yet another element to make this film work.

We expect this film was a passion project for Levardi as it felt like a way for him to showcase his talents and build them around a simple but effective story. Hopefully we’ll have the opportunity to see more of Levardi work in the future as we were very impressed…

— APEX Film Awards