45 YEARS
by Andrew Haigh
Married for 45 years, without children, Kate and Geoff Mercer are poised to celebrate their wedding anniversary with a party, when Geoff receives a letter that shakes both of them. The letter, from Switzerland, lets him know that a body has been found: that of Katya, his girlfriend before Kate, who died falling into a fissure in a glacier when the couple were on a walking holiday in 1962. Geoff tells Kate that he was regarded as Katya’s next-of-kin, since they had been pretending to be married. Though Kate continues to prepare for the party, and the couple shares some romantic excitement about it, she becomes increasingly disturbed by Geoff’s preoccupation with Katya. Geoff begins smoking again; reminisces at length about his carefree time with his previous love; seeks out photographs of her in the attic; and complains bitterly about the way his contemporaries and ex-colleagues have aged. Under Kate’s questioning, he states that he would have married Katya had she lived. While Geoff is at a work lunch, Kate searches the attic and finds slides of Katya, which reveal that she was pregnant at the time of her death. As the celebrations grow closer, they delve further into their past, leaving their future in question.
Andrew Haigh worked as an assistant editor on films such as Gladiator and Black Hawk Down before debuting as a writer/director with the short film Oil. In 2009 he directed his first feature length film, Greek Pete which debuted at the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival and won the Artistic Achievement Award at Outfest. His break-out film, Weekend, premiered at the SXSW Film Festival winning the Emerging Visions Audience Award before being released worldwide. It went on to win numerous awards including 2 British Independent Film Awards and an Evening Standard Award for Best Screenplay. Andrew also won the London Film Critics Award for Best Breakthrough Filmmaker. The film appeared on many ‘best of year’ lists including the New York Times and the film has since received a prestigious Criterion Collection release. Haigh is currently the Executive Producer on the HBO show Looking, currently in it’s second season, for which he also writes and direct multiple episodes.
SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY:
2015 45 Years
2011 Weekend
2009 Greek Pete
Kate Mercer - Charlotte Rampling
Geoff Mercer - Tom Courtenay
Lena - Geraldine James
Charlotte - Dolly Wells
George - David Sibley
Director/Writer Andrew Haigh
Producer Tristan Goligher
Director of Photography Lol Crawley
Editor Jonathan Alberts
Production Designer Sarah Finlay
Sound Design Joakim Sundstorm
Costume Designer Suzie Harman
Make Up Designer Nicole Stafford
Executive Producers Christopher, Collins Lizzie Francke, Sam Lavender, Tessa Ross, Richard Holmes, Louisa Dent, Philip Knatchbull.
Format: 35mm, DCP / 1:1.85 / Color / 5.1
Lenth: 93 min.
Original language: English