THE ZERO ORDER

Back when I was a depressed, naive and acne-ridden teenager I stumbled upon a book of photographs by Henri Cartier-Bresson containing a seductive portrait of a young Truman Capote. With no regard for library etiquette, I ripped the page out of the book and pasted it to my bedroom wall. This was my chance introduction to Capote and his writing.
     After reading Other Voices, Other Rooms, a thinly veiled autobiography depicting Capote's struggle to comprehend and accept his sexuality, I found an unlikely role model at a time that didn't present many. Hungry for direction and inspiration I took in all things Capote except Breakfast at Tiffany's -- a book and film I regarded as overly stereotypical, obsessed with fashion, jewels, gossip, and diva-worship. Almost a decade passed before I was able revisit Breakfast at Tiffany's in print and on film. To my astonishment, I found Truman’s novel to be a and complex portrait of a wounded animal, Holly Golightly, who lashed out at anyone trying to endear her. Holly was a living contradiction, a polished and perfect socialite fraught with self-doubt, anger and loneliness. I soon discovered that Truman intended his protagonist to be male, but ultimately created "Holly" to make the character more accessible to his readers. What would happen if Truman had followed his original intention?
     The result is The Zero Order, a film in which a male incarnation of Holly Golightly braves modern New York: Vain, trend-obsessed, and chaotic. Within the narrative of the film, a dismal psychological space evolves as the director of the remake realizes he's the best candidate for the role of Holly Golightly and contemptuously discards the actor who was originally chosen. The director becomes Holly, roaming in a nightmare of role-play and self-loathing. In this film, the persona of Holly Golightly is ripped apart through reenactments, distortions of the original movie, and hypnotherapy recordings. The Zero Order attempts to dispel the paradox of this famous female persona and how it really relates to homosexual identity.