'Granite Orpheus' premieres at Colonial, first film opening in decades

"The bird sings with its fingers."

"A single glass of water lights the world."

"Silence goes faster backwards."

These phrases from Jean Cocteau’s original version of the film “Orpheus” captivated Rick Broussard after he saw the picture as a 20-year-old in a college film program. The same program later featured “Black Orpheus,” a 1959 romantic tragedy directed by filmmaker Marcel Camus, set during Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro.

Years later, the mysterious lines came back to mind for the longtime editor of New Hampshire Magazine. He and a colleague, filmmaker John Hession, started hatching an idea to create a New Hampshire-based version of the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice, with nods to both Cocteau’s and Camus’ versions, and film the movie in one weekend, during Market Days in Concord. That way, they could capture free locations, extras and great background music.

It took a little longer than a weekend, though. A small crew began in 2015, and just completed the work this year.

The resulting 80-minute surrealist indie film is crisp, rather stunning and full of mystique. Set almost entirely in downtown Concord, it offers goosebumps moments, some brought on by the musical score produced by Brian Coombes of Rocking Horse Studios in Pittsfield, and an original song sung by the state’s own "American Idol" contestant, Alex Preston — lip-synced in the movie by Bryan Halperin, who plays Orpheus.

Broussard calls Coombes a “vault of treasure.”

“Granite Orpheus,” billed as an eternal story of love and loss 10 years in the making, was screened for a private audience on Aug. 27, and will be presented for a local audience for one night at the Colonial Theatre at 7 p.m. on Friday Sept. 26.

“My hope is modest,” Broussard said. “I hope people enjoy it for what it is. It’s an oddity — a drug-free trip to reboot your reality.

“Part of me hopes they find great meaning in it, and it has a permanent effect on the way they view the world. We take you out of reality for a minute, and hope you understand it better.”

The cast

To create the work under the banner of Resurrection Films, Broussard tried his hand at filming and partnered as co-producer and co-director with Hession, who he worked with as photography editor at the magazine; Halperin, the producer of Powerhouse Theatre Collaborative, the resident theater company of the Colonial, came from behind the scenes to the proverbial stage as Orpheus; and longtime New Hampshire actor Gina Carballo played Eurydice, with newcomer Yarrow Farnsworth as Hades.

Other faces people might recognize in “Granite Orpheus” include former WMUR television personality Kevin Flynn, now host of the Crime Writers On podcast; magician Andrew Pinard, artists Saad Hindal and Simon Harling, musician Brian Waldron and stylist Kae Mason. Both of Halperin’s now-grown daughters have lines in the movie they filmed when they were 14 and 11.

The storyline

A fundraiser for Powerhouse and the Colonial Theatre Advancement Fund, the film centers around the timeless myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Essentially, Halperin explained, the story is a modern spin on this basic tale: guy meets girl, girl goes to the underworld and becomes one of Hades' minions, and guy doesn’t want to let her go and tries to bring her back.

“This is likely the first world premiere screening of a movie at the Colonial Theatre since 'Return to Peyton Place' in 1961,” Halperin said.

“I figured a movie filmed entirely in New Hampshire by a bunch of people creating art for the fun of it should have an opportunity to be seen by the New Hampshire community,” he said. “And considering the fact that I’m usually directing and rarely acting, I thought there might be a curiosity factor amongst Powerhouse’s fans to see my attempt at ‘brooding film action hero.’

"At least we will raise some money for two good causes that are important to me.”

Broussard says he chose Concord as the setting for the film because, 10 years ago, the city was going through a redesign and redevelopment; filming at the halfway point, one side of Main Street was completed while the other side “looked like Beirut.”

It fit.

Why 10 years?

The crew started filming during Market Days in 2015, and then continued the following year, but the two people driving the production — Broussard and Hession — began experiencing a long string of family issues that took them away from the project.

“We both kind of went through hell,” Broussard says. “We made it out on the other side, almost like a little miracle in itself.”

Halperin said, “We all thought it was done, never to return, and then, early this year, we got an email. They’d been editing footage and wanted to finish the last scene.”

Broussard and Hession wanted some additional scenes to tie the work together, so the crew returned to Concord in May, not waiting for Market Days in June.

“Bryan hadn’t changed in 10 years, and kept the shirt from the original filming,” Broussard said. “He was able to look like he looked 10 years ago. We needed him to walk down some stairs and into a theater, and then react to the screen and sit down.”

That scene was shot at Red River Theatres with a volunteer cast of 40 extras. “From that, we had a whole movie with a story,” Broussard said.

Scenes of note

In one scene, Halperin lip-syncs over one of Coombes’ songs at Penuche’s Ale House in front of a live audience of extras and regular patrons.

“I was apparently very effective, because several women came up to me after in the bar to tell me what a good singer I was,” Halperin laughed, also joking he’s been in every basement, attic and alleyway in Concord. “I know my way around there now,” he added. “I had quite an adventure running around ... at all hours of the night and got many good stories to tell.”

Broussard has a friend who’s the owner of many buildings in downtown Concord, who was also excited about the film. “He hung out with keys, and he’d open buildings, and we’d lock up and go to the next building,” Halperin said.

In late August, before the private screening, Halperin had not seen a final version of the film. Accustomed to having control on the stage, it was an unusual position for him, but he was happy to be part of the public performance and fundraiser.

“This project was a lot of people doing something for fun — filmmakers making a love letter to New Hampshire.”

Tickets for the fundraiser can be purchased through coloniallaconia.com or powerhousenh.org.

After the film, there will be a discussion of the moviemaking experience with Broussard, Hession and Halperin, giving the audience a chance to ask questions and learn more about the 10-year process of making "Granite Orpheus."

For more information about the film, visit resurrectionfilms.org/graniteorpheus.