The Harp of Broken Strings | evoking imagination with natural beauty

“Find hope in the hopeless,” says Noah Illas on his Youtube channel. The phrase has a poignancy and points to the enquiring and inquisitive eye of the director. In The Harp of Broken Strings, Noah creates mesmerising beauty and an enriching sense of ebbing loss.

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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpCEoWZaRxE[/embedyt]

The young filmmaker from Plymouth has a passion for creating short films, with influences from the likes of Paul Thomas Anderson and David Lynch.

Immersive

“Making films is also just such a fulfilling experience as, like any art form, you can just completely immerse yourself in creating something,” Noah told D&CFilm. “I have only created a few short films before this, mainly up to two minutes in length, so this is my most ambitious film at 10 minutes.”

Evocative

Visual inspiration for Noah comes from the natural beauty of where he grew up and how that can evoke a person’s imagination.

Hullo. My name is Lee

Hullo...

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“Growing up around Dartmoor is so great that I try to make full use of it in my films. I’m also really drawn to making films about dreams/memory, and this film really delves into that, using Dartmoor as the backdrop for a person’s memory,” says Noah.

Walking and filming

The Harp of Broken Strings was mostly filmed on Dartmoor. “Me and Will (the lead actor) would walk up from our houses to Dartmoor, which would take about 45 minutes, and then we would film what we could while there,” said Noah “I had everything story boarded so we could be as efficient as possible, but it was also fun to just spend time on Dartmoor enjoying the beauty of it.”

Noah is aiming to go on studying film, and The Harp of Broken Strings has taught him loads about the process, with bigger projects planned, with a budget and a more cast and crew. For the cast Noah has worked with, he says: “A big thank you to William Scruby for being a great actor and being very dedicated to filming. His subtle performance makes the film, and it’s great to know an actor of his calibre.”