* Co-directors/co-writers: John Greyson

and Jack Lewis * Producers: Anita Lee (Canada), Steven Markovitz and Platon Trakoshis (South Africa) * Cinematographer: Giulio Biccari * Diary by: James Careless

John Greyson’s co-directing turn on the Canada/South Africa copro Proteus continues his exploration of gay themes that mark previous films Zero Patience and the multiple Genie Award winner Lilies.

Proteus is a true historical drama about two prison inmates – Dutch sailor Rijkhaart Jacobsz and Claas Blank, an African native who spoke the rare Hottentot language – who were tried and drowned on a charge of sodomy in 1735. The tale is based on contemporary Dutch court transcripts of their trial, held at Robben Island, the 400-year-old prison 12 kilometers off Cape Town that also once held Nelson Mandela. Much of the film takes place in the prison garden, which also houses the South African flower known as the protea.

South African filmmaker Jack Lewis (The Devil Breaks My Heart) approached Greyson with the idea, but the Canadian director was not sold. ‘On the surface, it didn’t seem like much was there,’ he recalls. However, on Lewis’ urging, Greyson reread the transcript and discovered some interesting details.

‘The authorities clearly knew what was going on for 10 years and did nothing,’ Greyson explains. ‘So what changed?’

Explaining that became a shared passion for Greyson and Lewis, one that required shooting on the actual Robben Island as well as convincing backers to fund a $550,000 ‘sodomy epic,’ quips Greyson.

Reflecting on the project, Proteus coproducer Anita Lee, a partner with Greyson in Toronto’s Pluck Productions, says, ‘It was a great experience, but also challenging. [Finding a] distribution deal would make it all worthwhile.’

February 1998: Jack Lewis discovers the 1735 trial transcript, translates it, and sends it to John Greyson. After some initial resistance, Greyson starts to see possibilities. Much e-mailing ensues. Lewis then writes the first draft of a treatment, entitled Bandit House.

April 1998: Producer Damon D’Oliveira (Bollywood/Hollywood) and Greyson decide to develop the film as a Canada/South Africa coproduction with Greyson and Lewis sharing writing and directing credits.

November 1998: Lewis gets Greyson a one-month gig teaching screenwriting at the University of the Western Cape. ‘We used the month doing research, visiting Robben Island and the castle where the story actually took place, and writing a second-draft treatment,’ Greyson recalls. Lewis also convinces Steven Markovitz and Platon Trakoshis of Big World Cinema, a Cape Town prodco, to be the South African producers.

July 1999: Greyson writes a first draft in Toronto, based on a year’s worth of e-mails and treatments. The title is now Mr. Blank.

February 2000: The Mr. Blank team is selected to present the project at Cinemart, the Rotterdam Film Festival’s development program. ‘All five of us went,’ Greyson says. ‘Much interest from many, but no takers.’

Summer 2000: Telefilm Canada and The Harold Greenberg Fund commit to development financing. Second and third drafts are written via e-mail. The script is now called Mr. Tyne and Mr. Blank. ‘We scaled back our dreams of Merchant-Ivory production values, opting instead for a lean, mean ‘arts council’ style production… and budget,’ Greyson notes.

Summer 2001: Greyson receives production grants from the Canada Council and Ontario Arts Council equaling half of the project’s planned $200,000 budget. The project is now called The Drowning Cell.

Winter 2002: South Africa’s National Film and Video Foundation commits to funding the rest of the film. ‘The amount wasn’t great, but the symbolism was huge,’ Greyson says. Markovitz and Trakoshis get a South African equipment supplier to provide cameras, lighting and grip gear, gratis. The title changes to Mantis.

March 2002: Showcase comes in for a presale. Long talks with Telefilm result in Mantis being submitted to its low-budget strand, except now the film is called Proteus.

April 2002: D’Oliveira steps back due to other projects, and Anita Lee (The Art of Woo) comes on board as hands-on Canadian coproducer.

May 2002: Telefilm also comes on board, as do Movie Central and The Movie Network with presales. ‘These bring our cash budget up to about $500,000, with another $250,000 in equipment and fee deferrals,’ Greyson says. ‘I spent May in South Africa with Jack, scouting locations and auditioning actors, working with Afrikaans and Nama translators.’

August 2002: ‘An extraordinary cast [featuring Neil Sandilands and Rouxnet Brown] and crew signed on, despite the low fees, all excited to be doing a local story for a change, instead of another car commercial,’ Greyson says. ‘Brilliant DOP Giulio Biccari [Pavement] shot tests on D-Beta and came up with an in-camera color treatment of browns and greens that’s very cool.’

September to October 2002: Proteus’ 18-day shoot begins at locations in and around Cape Town and Robben Island. ‘Neither [Jack nor I] had co-directed before, but the division of labor became fairly second nature, often based on language, with me doing the English scenes and him doing the Afrikaans and Nama scenes,’ Greyson recalls.

November 2002 to March 2003: Back in Toronto, Proteus is edited at Charles Street Video with Roslyn Kalloo. ‘We stayed in PAL format for the entire edit, plus sound edit and mix,’ says Greyson. ‘This made for extra headaches in terms of feedback screenings, but it was necessary in terms of quality and budget.’ VHS versions are sent every couple of weeks to Cape Town. ‘Jack and Platon came for the final stretch of editing, and our biggest [and hardest] decisions were made then.’

April to May 2003: Proteus’ sound edit and mix is done at Tattersall Casablanca with Janice Ierulli supervising. Composers Don Pyle and Andrew Zealley create a score that juxtaposes traditional native instruments from the Cape (kelp horn, mbira) with a string quartet.

June to August 2003: Cinebyte does the 35mm blowup from PAL D-Beta.

September 2003: Proteus makes its world premiere as part of the Perspective Canada program at TIFF. *