A dark independent film drama created by a Barnet filmmaker and filmed in Finchley chalked up 13 million views after going viral online.
Transference: A Bipolar Love Story is a story told by Raffaello Degruttola – the writer, director and producer.
The Contro Vento Films production also features Degruttola in the lead role of Nik, who plays an older male nurse who falls into a passionate love affair with Norwegian nurse Katrina, played by Emilie Sofie Johannesen.
Described as a “twisted psychological movie drama”, the film is said to be an obsessive love story about control as unresolved mental health issues concealed in Nik’s secret past put pressure on their relationship.
It draws influence from Degruttola’s “loving but difficult relationship” with his father, who struggled with severe bipolar disorder episodes throughout his life.
The production also features Outlander’s Lotte Verbeek as Marieke and Black Mirror’s Christina Chong as Natasha Wong.
Degruttola filmed much of the “guerrilla style” micro-budget film in his local area of Finchley and in the homes of friends and family.
Following its release on YouTube in May 2021, the film has reached 13 million views and continues to achieve roughly 30,000 views a day.
The Finchley filmmaker said: “The greatest currency for a creative is having people experience and appreciate their vision and work on a mass scale.
“Selecting YouTube as the viewing platform for Transference has provided so much gratification because my film has been found and shared by so many - and huge budgets weren’t needed to get here.”
Verbeek, who has also played roles in other major productions such as Marvel’s Agent Carter and The Blacklist, said: “Money was never a motivation when it comes to small projects like this. It’s all about the inspiration and the heart of the film. It’s inspiring to be on the creative level of storytelling.”
In the YouTube description for the project, it reads: “The film shows the delicate corrosion of inner past issues that are not dealt with and how patterns can repeat themselves without our awareness in relationships today – Transference resists falling into the trap of a predictable story arc and one-dimensional characters based on universally accepted mental illness stereotypes.”
On Rotten Tomatoes, a review-aggregation website for film and television, the projected scored an extremely high 90%.
Reviewers called it a “tragic story of insecurity and self-sabotage” and a “cautionary tale” while others said it was a story about the “messiness of real relationships with two great leads”.
Production company Contro Vento Films is no stranger to telling a low budget story with a skeleton crew – as it advertises itself as a company that exists to step outside the box and “push against the status quo” of film making.
The entire film can be streamed online through YouTube for free. To do so visit: https://youtu.be/Offta5hY2W0 or search ‘Transference: A Love Story [FULL MOVIE]’ on the platform.
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