The creation of the film, Now Becomes Then, was initiated by dancer, Lea Ved.

She is an American-born dancer who is currently a company member with the Netherlands Dans Theatre (NDT). At the time of inception, she was with the Royal Swedish Ballet, and her recent departure from Rubberbandance Group (a dance company in Montreal) challenged her perception about her path as an artist; as a young person, leaving behind what is familiar in her life; and; about heart-break.

These human experiences have been explored ad nauseam, never-the-less, these stories are important to keep telling (whether as literal or conceptual artistic expressions) as they continue to empower us to find our way through the complexities of life.

Although this is Lea’s journey, I am no stranger to her experiences, especially about heart-breaks. Lea is also a dear friend whom I have known for many years, and I am humbled by her confidence in me to portray her emotional world through this film.

The cinematic inspiration came to me after I listened to Lea’s description of that part of her life that was filled with contradiction, disillusion, longing and solitude. A tiny island in Northern Quebec, where I had visited in the past, immediately came to mind as the perfect location for the film. During early summer, the island’s windward side always had cloud cover that created a very somber feel with the moody lighting, and the wind swept trees, reeds and the sea perfectly fitted the story as backdrop elements.

I have always been a fan of films that told stories mainly through a lot of visual details, silence or just ambient sounds, and filmmaker Lynne Ramsay’s early body of work served as influence.

The project was neglected for a few years when I relocated to Asia right after the shoot. Then, it was further pushed back when a long tour in the US immediately followed. I was also battling extreme anxiety during these times, which pushed work on the film farther back in my “to-do” list. However, while in San Francisco, and still recovering from panic attacks, I geared up to start post production as a means to occupy my anxious mind. While cutting, and re-living my time with Lea, I felt that the film should also represent her as the person that I know personally, and I really wanted viewers to know what that is like. I asked Lea to write the feelings and thoughts she had then. I was also aware of her musical abilities, so I also asked her to compose a simple piano structure, which I expanded on to create the main score for the film. I also tasked her to write, compose, perform and record the end song in low-fi using an iPhone—to further show Lea as a person with so much depth and humility.

In the end, we created a piece that I believe is beautiful, vulnerable and honest. I hope viewers of this humble work can see parts of themselves in it, and find some measure of salvation and solace.

Meet the artists

Paolo A. Santos

director / writer / dp / editor / music composer

Paolo is a Filipino-Canadian filmmaker and photographer based in Montreal, Canada.

He recently returned to Canada after working as head of the video and 3D projection mapping department at the Naba Theatre in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. He used his background in visual story-telling, and produced captivating animated video projection “skins” that helped successfully launch the show that inaugurated the newly built theatre.

In the past, Paolo worked with Universal Music France and Wolfgang Entertainment as director, cinematographer and editor for a series of music videos for the artist, Garou; Director of photography in Being and Nothingness, a short dance film with The National Ballet of Canada’s prima ballerina; Greta Hodgkinson; short-film projections for Le Capitole de Quebec’s "Elvis Experience" and “Man in Black”; and for CDA Productions’ (Celine Dion Angelil), VERO, by musical performer, Veronique Dicaire, where he worked closely with renowned Quebecois director, Marc Dupre.

During his time living in the United States, he conceptualized, The Inhabitants Project. A show that blended a series of film projections with dance. The show created awareness and helped support the efforts of the United Nations’ official coral reef monitoring program, ReefCheck Foundation. Paolo worked side-by-side with musicians and dancers from Celine Dion and Franco Dragone’s, A New Day show and company dancers from the Nevada Ballet Theatre. The project garnered the support of influential people such as: actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Daryl Hannah and Hollywood Producer Gale Anne Hurd.

In addition, Paolo also produces music. He composed and recorded one hour of music for Nevada Ballet Theatre’s, Neon Evolution, for the centennial celebration of Las Vegas. He also composed music for Narodni divaldo theatre in Prague, Scottish Dance Theatre in Dundee, Scotland and Ballet Pacifica in California.

L e a V e d

choreographer / dancer / text / music & song composer

Lea is a Filipina-Indian performing artist, creator, and collaborator from the USA. Since graduating from The Juilliard School with a BFA, she has danced internationally with RUBBERBANDance Group, The Royal Swedish Ballet, and is now with Nederlands Dans Theater. Her most coveted and influential creation experiences have been with Victor Quijada, Crystal Pite, Hofesh Shechter, Sharon Eyal, and performing the role of "Julia" in Mats Ek's 'Julia and Romeo'. She has choreographed for Göteborgs­­Operans Dans­kompani, NDT's Switch Program, Korzo Theater, and had work selected for the Rotterdam International Duet Choreography Competition. Her passion for collaboration, among other creations, has led her to also publish film and writing.

Official Trailer