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She has tried her hand at just about everything creative, so it’s not surprising that British photographer/London socialite/fashion editor/poet/writer AND artist Amanda Eliasch has produced and directed a film. And it just so happens the film has its LA premiere at the Bel Air Film Festival.
The Gun, the Cake & the Butterfly is being screened this weekend as part of the official selection and Amanda, the ex-wife of millionaire tycoon Johan Eliasch, is “thrilled” to be part of it. The film is an experimental and stylish docudrama portrait of Amanda that uses a variety of actresses including Justine Glenton who appear as Eliasch’s alter egos throughout.
The movie is a seductive glimpse into her life spanning from her childhood in the English countryside to her adult years looking for fulfilment in all corners of the globe.
A woman full of character and complexity, Amanda, who inhabits a modern world of luxury – balanced of course with a fair amount of heartache – shares her story with Hollywood Weekly.
She tells Tinseltown’s well-known glossy, “[My book] Cloak & Dagger Butterfly.” “(This was) written when I was having an affair, I was in total pain. I just did it… What happens is I write it down and it becomes useful so it’s no longer a waste of time.
“Out of misery comes positivity and I quite like that feeling. I’m always dealing with my loneliness, I find it most interesting.”
From this Amanda brought ‘As I Like It‘ to the stage, the same story that saw actress Elizabeth Karr playing Amanda and Lisa Zane (sister of Billy) singing her heart out to Amanda’s heartbreak.
Taking it a step further, what Amanda did next was to make a film of the book…of the play…and ‘The Gun, the Cake & the Butterfly’ is the outstanding result.
So far this eccentric piece of work has won awards for ‘most imaginative’ at the NYC International Film Festival and the Enrico Job Award for Art in Film award at the Ischia Global Film & Music Festival in Italy in July. Even top director Joel Schumacher went on record to say it was “One of the best films I have seen in years.”
Never one to sugar coat her words, Amanda added: “I was brought up in the country and studied how to be a young lady… I’ve had a great life and I think, ‘smile when the world smiles with you and if you’re being a bitch, then the door crashes in on you.’ You better put a smile on it and not moan on.”
How true is that, eh…?
And where is Amanda off to next? “The moon!” She tells me… “I want to go the moon with Justin Timberlake and Richard Branson!”
Knowing Amanda I’m sure she will fulfil that dream too!
The Los Angeles premiere of ‘The Gun, the Cake & the Butterfly’ can be seen this coming weekend at the BEL AIR FILM FESTIVAL on Saturday, October 12 at 4:30pm – James Bridges Theatre U.C.L.A. Campus 1409 East Melnitz Hall Los Angeles, CA 90095.
Not one to miss, I say!
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