The book didn’t have any of that, it was just a love story. At the time, the representation of homosexuality in cinema – literature too – was always problematic, it was always about conflict, coming out, transgression, guilt.
It’s a young adult novel – for teenagers at the time, gay teens especially, it was a revelation, because sexuality is never a problem in it. It took me 30 years to do it, but it was nice to think that now I was making a first film over again. In fact, I wrote a script with a friend, which I’d completely forgotten about.
I thought, if I ever make films, I’d love this to be my first feature. I read the book – Dance on My Grave by Aidan Chambers – in 1985. This is your 19th film, but apparently it was nearly your first.
