Alone Together – An Intimate Portrait of a World in Lockdown

May 18, 2020

Voice over by Dr.Maya Angelou’s son, Guy Johnson.

You can see the broadway at 3:50

Maya Angelou's Alone is a poem about loneliness and togetherness, a ‘thinking out loud’ reflection on vulnerability and community ‘Nobody, but nobody, can make it out here alone.’ Though written in 1975, it clearly resonates with the alone/together experiences we’ve all lived through during the pandemic.

Film maker Andy Delaney explored this alone/together theme in a delicately moving short film shot as the world fell silent in lockdown. What started as a personal project in Southend-on-Sea, walking to film friends and family through their windows at dusk, quickly grew into a global projectas word got out and 18 accomplished filmmakers and DOPs from 13 cities in 11 countries offered to take part.

Working to Andy’s technical brief and within the rules of their local lockdown (some much stricter than others) each contributor captured small vignettes of their own friends and family. These images are now set to the resonant words of Alone, specially self-recorded for this project by her son, Guy Johnson.

Musicians from the Southend music scene, Luke Branch (Asylums) and Jennifer O’Neill (Indian Queens) created a beautiful soundtrack produced by Rees Broomfield with sound design by Louis Gaston.

The resulting film is an intimate portrait of a world in lockdown, a montage of tiny moments that make up this new reality. The architecture we live in might differ,but the impact is everywhere."

"The project really started as a way for me to keep busy and sane. It gave measense of purpose and a way to see my friend's faces. As it grew, something else happened, I reconnected with old friends and made new ones. Through this I’ve met film-makers from all over the world - what united us was the desire to do something positive with our time and the joy of working as a team. A kind of connectedness that wouldn’t have happened without the need for isolation.” Andy Delaney.

A huge thank you to all contributors who freely gave their time and talents to the project. And to the Dr Maya Angelou estate who kindly gave their permission to use Alone. Finally, special thanks to Guy Johnson who’s reading of the poem is so beautiful and heart felt.

Andy Delaney has made videos for George Michael, Lauryn Hill, Maroon 5, the SpiceGirls and many more. He co-directed the 2019 feature film ‘Love Is Blind”, starring Shannon Tarbet, Matthew Broderick, Aidan Turner, Chloe Sevigny and Benjamin Walker. He also runs www.newartfilms.com from Southend on Sea.

For more information: contact Andy Delaney on acdelaney@me.com