An in-depth exclusive conversation with director AGNIESZKA SMOCZYNSKA delving into her process for delivering a cinematic stunner based on the real-life story of twins June and Jenny Gibbons.
One of the most technically proficient and knowledgeable filmmakers of this generation, as you’ll hear, AGNIESZKA SMOCZYNSKA’s understanding of sound and editing are key to the telling of this story, that of the twins June and Jenny Gibbons, while staying true to the authenticity of their lives and yet bringing the creativity within their minds’ eye to life through vivid stop-motion animation.
SYNOPSIS: This is the astounding true story of twin sisters who only communicated with one another. As a result, they created a rich, fascinating world to escape the reality of their own lives. They would attend class by walking in synchronization, mirroring each other’s steps, coming to a silent stop with no explanation. They could crumple to the floor if questioned, again in perfect unison. They were effectively mute at school, but not always quiet. Intense bursts of physical fighting could erupt between June and Jennifer seemingly with little warning. By the age of eight, the twins had stopped communicating with the outside world. Cocooned in the relative safety of their bedroom, June and Jennifer invited the creative world in. They made their own dolls and stuffed toys, which became characters in elaborate plays that they wrote together. They broadcast a radio show to themselves, which they called Radio Gibbons: The Living Facts of Life. They developed what was originally taken to be a secret language, later revealed to be a mix of Barbadian slang and fast-spoken English, and when they did speak there was a lisp, a speech impediment. Their parents could hear the chatter through the door yet were never given access to witness such imaginative play. This was their routine for years until age 16 when they started behaving like many 16-year-olds and taking an interest in boys, sex, drugs, and criminal behavior with jealousy between the sisters ultimately rearing its ugly head. By age 19 they were committed to a high-security psychiatric facility where they remained for more than a decade. During this time, journalist Marjorie Wallace who had followed the twins’ court case, sought contact with them. Ultimately gaining their trust and confidence, she conducted a series of interviews with them during their “hospitalization/incarceration.” Those interviews formed the basis for Wallace’s book, The Silent Twins, on which this film is now based.
Directed by AGNIESZKA SMOCZYNSKA and written by Andrea Seigel based on Marjorie Wallace’s book of the same name, THE SILENT TWINS tells the story of June and Jenny Gibbons from their point of view for the very first time. THE SILENT TWINS stars Letitia Wright and Tamara Lawrance as June and Jenny, respectively, with Leah Mondesir-Simmonds and Eva-Arianna Baxter mirroring them as the younger versions of June and Jenny. Also joining the cast is Michael Smiley as child psychologist Tim Thomas and Jodhi May stars as Marjorie Wallace.
Not an easy film to translate for the screen, in this exclusive interview, AGNIESZKA SMOCZYNSKA talks at length about her process for making the film cinematic while staying authentic to the truth and the girls’ story. Using sound design/mix, film editing, and cinematography as the cornerstones of this process, Agnieszka goes into detail discussing her work with cinematographer Kuba Kijowski and the importance of finding pace and tone with her editor Agnieszka Glinska. A fascinating part of our conversation deals with sound design and mix and the layering of specific ambient notes, the hushed barely audible whispers of June and Jenny, and the incredible haunting score of Marcin Macuk which is a key aural element to the film’s dialogue. But no matter how technically excellent the film is, it would fall apart without the right cast and that was a two-fold challenge as not only did Agnieszka have to find two actors to play teenaged-into-adulthood June and Jenny who were physically similar and had the discipline to mirror and mimic in perfect synchronicity, but she had to cast young actors to play the girls in their youth who could do the same. The result of this hard work is a film that both fascinates and mesmerizes.
TAKE A LISTEN. . .
by debbie elias, exclusive interview 09/08/22
