Mulberry Red, No. 17
Format: 16 mm, b/w
Time: 5 minutes
Genre: drama
Year: 1999
Synopsis
A person’s life can be measured in a number of ways – minutes, days, years… and even lipsticks. Mulberry Red, No. 17 tells the story of women’s lives as chronicled by a lipstick.
Set in the former bedroom of the Elderly Woman (Barbara Davis), five women not necessarily related, appear before the mirror and examine themselves and explore the unique life-long relationship between women and their lipstick.
The film opens with two Young Girls (Caitlin Hurcomb and Sarah Hurcomb) peering into the mirror and applies lipstick for the first time. Enters an insecure Teenage Girl (Emily Kisko), who tries to apply lipstick in a near perfect manner. She is followed by the Young Woman (Sylvia Martindale) who demonstrates confidently the sensuality associated with the lipstick. The Older Woman (Jacqueline Brazeau) appears and her actions question her relationship with the cosmetic. Finally, the Elderly Woman, in the solarium of a seniors’ residence, finds her lipstick and puts it on in a manner that is poignant and mindful that life, like lipstick, has a beginning and an end.
Screenings
Cast and Crew
Cast
Caitlin Alexandra Hurcomb (First Girl)
“Cait” is a 18-year old Ottawa high school student enrolled in the Drama Program at Canterbury High School for the Arts. Her interests include anything dramatic, dance, music and a variety of sports.
Sarah Frances Hurcomb (Second Girl)
Sarah is a 15-year old high school student who like her sister, loves the arts, reading and is in the Ottawa-Carleton Children’s Concert Choir.
Emily Kisko (Teenage Girl)
Emily is a young inspiring actor, writer, director, and producer. She is a graduate of Canterbury High School for the Arts.
Sylvia Martindale (Young Woman)
A mother of two girls, Sylvia has worked on a number of local films, both as cast and crew. She is currently working as the art director on the television series, Butch Patterson.
Jacqueline Brazeau (Older Woman)
A resident of Ottawa, Jacqueline is a wife and grandmother. Since her retirement, she has taken drama courses and appeared in several corporate videos, short films as well as being an extra in the television pilot, Justice.
Barbara Davis (Elderly Woman)
Barbara was a much-loved mom and grandmother and resident of the Glebe Community Centre. Originally from Montreal, Barbara and her late husband moved to Ottawa and raised their family. Regrettably, Barbara passed away on July 11,2000. She will be sorely missed.
Crew
Director – Kelly Ann Beaton
Producer – Kelly Ann Beaton
Writer – Kelly Ann Beaton
Cinematographer – Brian McPhail
Assistant Director – Dan Sokolowski
Camera Assistant – Sheila Chapman
Grip – Jacob Hanna
Continuity – Janet Silifant
Editor – Kelly Ann Beaton
Music – Michel Renaud, Sound Engineer, Lise Maisonneuve, Piano, Charlotte Stewart, Voice
Production Assistant – Kiran Hanspal
Production Company – Pink Slippers Productions, Ottawa Ontario, Canada
Music
The soundtrack for the film is the song, Blame it on my
Youth (1947), composed by Oscar Levant and Edward
Heyman