IT ’S A SIN PRODUC T I ON .
R ussell T Davies has been telling queer British stories since the late eighties, each time touching on themes he himself experienced as a proud gay man in the same period. His seminal series, Queer as Folk , served as a luscious fantasy, designed to celebrate the hedonistic joys of life before Grindr. And prior to that, there was The Grand , which used then-unconventional narrative devices to explore closeted homosexuality and societal attitudes in the twenties. His latest work, however, deals with darker issues that these shows neglected to cover. Without losing any of the renowned ecstasy or subtlety of his previous works, It’s a Sin tackles the suffering from which the freedoms of gay pride emerged in the eighties. It
the eyes of people who lost so many friends was a heartbreaking twist on my experience. Still, It’s a Sin is not about death, but life – and although it’s a tear- jerker, there’s a note of positivity that shines through Davies’ writing.” That positivity was also Davies’ direction for the visuals. The series shuns typical depictions of gloomy Thatcherite London, with colour and verve that is a pertinent reflection of the screenwriter’s own experiences. Katznelson recalls Davies talking about the era with joy: “He spoke of The Pink Palace [the raucous new houseshare of Ritchie and his friends] and the fun he had at parties. But more than that, he said the era was about being free – life was finally being lived by the LGBTQ+ community.” Embodying this memory, movement of the camera was unmotivated – and he would often shoot handheld to capture the vibrancy of the young characters, with quick push-ins and whip pans to enhance the energy. But this wasn’t
chronicles the lives of three young gay men – Ritchie (Olly Alexander), Roscoe (Omari Douglas) and Colin (Callum Scott Howells) – who move to a run-down flat in London, lovingly dubbed The Pink Palace, just as reports of a new disease make their way over from the US. But as the series navigates through the decade – never shying away from the gut-wrenching horrors of the Aids crisis – it leaves plenty of room for joy, too. THROUGH A LENS “It was one of those scripts I couldn’t put down,” says DOP David Katznelson, as he reminisces about his time on the production. “I was a teenager during the eighties – and although I remember the Aids crisis well, revisiting it through
A DIFFERENT SIDE Portraying eighties London, the creators were keen to show the lively side of a time often presented as drab
Did you know? Russell T Davies sought a gay director for the project, to make sure that the camera was focusing on the right things. He didn’t want it to be remote, but intimate. Peter Hoar was invited to the role – and he chose David Katznelson as his DOP.
19. SEPTEMBER 2021
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