“Shortly after my birth, I became blind.
Now, that was a blessing because it’s allowed
me to see the world in the vision of truth,
of sight. See people in the spirit of them, not
how they look. Not what color they are,
but what color is their spirit?”
Stevie Wonder
(Cardiff, 2025)
STORYLINE
The year is 2082 the place Planet Mars, City of Ze:Hu 225 million km from Earth. Jeremy is an acclaimed author on the verge of death. When he encounters a young mysterious child, Elta, he recounts to him his unforgettable teenage love story with Georgia – a 17-years-old blind girl from birth and musical prodigy. We get transported to the summer of 2025, as a young adventurous Jeremy overcomes many obstacles to win over his forbidden love. This modern-day Romeo and Juliet coming-of-age story is set amidst the awe-inducing backdrop of Honolulu, Hawaii. After a tragic accident, Georgia falls into a coma and dies. When old Jeremy finishes his story, Elta is revealed to be the angel of death. 60 years after losing his first love, Jeremy only has one last wish: to see Georgia again.
GENRES
Drama, romance, comedy, fantasy, science fiction, musical, medical thriller coming-of-age, family, mystery, sci-fi, tragedy, slice of life.
LOGLINE
A young magician’s life is forever changed when he falls in love with blind, musically gifted girl, leading to a tragic turn of events that tests the depths of their relationship.
NARRATIVE GOALS
Love and romance, life and death, family and relationships, dreams and aspirations, regret and redemption, identity and self-discovery.
PLACE OF THE EVENTS
Planet Mars 2082 – Honolulu 2025.
4 Cinematic and Commercial reasons to produce Shadow of Light
1. Blending Two Highly Successful Genres
- Unique visual contrast: Shifting from the cold, red, high-tech landscape of Mars in 2085 to the warm, tropical, vibrant setting of modern-day Honolulu creates a stunning visual impact.
- Dual target audience: It appeals to both fans of futuristic sci-fi like Interstellar and lovers of tear-jerking romantic dramas like The Fault in Our Stars.
2. Strong Sensory Impact and Inclusivity
- Music takes center stage: The female lead being a highly talented singer provides the perfect opportunity for a memorable soundtrack. Music becomes her voice and the thread that connects their love across time.
- Representation and disability: Telling the story of a blind protagonist offers a major opportunity for inclusivity. It also allows the director to experiment with sound design, letting the audience experience the world through her senses.
3. The Power of a Timeless “Great Love”
- The Romeo and Juliet trope: Stories about tragic, all-consuming first love never go out of style. Bringing Shakespearian-style rivalry or social conflict into modern Honolulu offers endless contemporary narrative angles.
- Emotional catharsis: The ending featuring her coma, her death, and the old man’s final wish on Mars delivers a massive emotional punch. Audiences love films that move them to tears and celebrate eternal love.
4. Commercial Appeal and Originality
- An original frame for a classic story: While dramatic love stories are common, none start on Mars in 2085. This narrative hook is perfect for marketing and catching the attention of distributors and streaming platforms.
- Potential for standout performances: The roles of the blind singer and the elderly protagonist are ideal for attracting top talent looking for intense dramatic parts, boosting the film’s festival potential.
Main Characters
Jeremy O’Brien (2082) – age 78
An elderly man, raised Catholic but later embracing Buddhism, faces life with stoic acceptance. His journey culminates in a moving response to Elta’s revelation and his own fate. Though many things lie beyond his control, he finds freedom from grief by documenting his experiences, using his gifts to transform burden into understanding.
Jeremy O’Brien (2025) – age 18
A teenager who loves magic tricks, living with his guardian Judy, faces two life-changing events: his girlfriend Georgia falls into a coma from an accident he feels responsible for, and he discovers she’s pregnant, potentially making him an underage father.
Georgia (2025) – age 17
Blind from birth, a gifted singer and composer, Georgia is the daughter of a lawyer and Kristina, a failed singer. Neglected by both, she seeks love as the missing piece in her life. Her passion for Jeremy becomes all consuming, he dominates her thoughts and moods. After a bitter argument, her despair triggers an accident that leaves her in a coma.
Elta (2082) – age 10
A mysterious child who meets Jeremy on the planet Mars tells him that he is a big fan of his books, and after asking him about his latest novel, he gets him to tell him the story of his life and his great love for Georgia.
Kristina (2025) – age 40
A failed musician, Georgia’s mother numbs her loneliness and broken dreams with alcohol. Post-divorce, she gave up music, finding solace in whiskey instead of singing.
Dr. John Bilotta (2025) – age 40
A keen intellectual gaze, neurosurgeon who had moved to the Hawaii to further his studies in the field of neurological pathologies. He becomes the doctor in charge of Georgia’s care after her accident.
Sean (2025) – age 18
Brando and Sean are close friends of both Georgia and Jeremy. They are living on the verge of their own love story, struggling to come to terms with their relationship and sexuality.
Brando (2025) – age 18
Brando and Sean are close friends of both Georgia and Jeremy. They are living on the verge of their own love story, struggling to come to terms with their relationship and sexuality.
Judy (2025) – age 80
Jeremy’s Catholic guardian and grandmother, an accomplished trumpet player, supports his magic hobby while strongly opposing abortion. Her faith and artistry shape her role in his life.
Jack Friedman (2025) – age 60
Georgia’s father is a self important, wealthy commercial lawyer who is used to getting his own way in everything. His disabled daughter is a source of conflict as he cannot control her. He spends as little time with her as possible.
THE PRODUCER’S TOUCH
Ovidio Assonitis is a Greco-Italian entertainment executive, screenwriter and director best known for the 54 movies he financed and produced. Titles including blockbuster: Beyond the Door, Tentacles, The Visitor, James Cameron’s Piranha II: The Spawning and Al Pacino’s Scent of a Woman. Many of these were joint ventures with American International Pictures (USA), Nippon Herald films and Toho-Towa (Japan), with worldwide releases through Columbia Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Warner Brothers and United Artists. His former partners include HRH Prince Anusom Yukol in Thailand (brother of the King), The Shaw brothers in Singapore, Alex Tedja in Indonesia, Kong Cho Yee (Edko Enterprises) in Hong Kong.
In 1989 Assonitis became chairman and CEO of Cannon Pictures INC (USA). Recently Assonitis has developed two epic pictures: “My Name is Mr. Who” about Chinese immigration in California and the US railroad construction in 1860, and “Sound” about amazon rain forest deforestation. He is a keen philanthropist and includes mechanisms in his business that promote positive development of economic, social and environmental needs. In 2021, Assonitis was honored at the Oldenburg International Film Festival in Germany. In 2024 Assonitis was presented with a lifetime achievement award at the Sitges International Film Festival in Spain.
WATCH – “Diamonds Are Forever – The World of Ovidio Assonitis”
AESTHETIC VALUES: THE DIRECTOR
Maestro Stefano Poda, acclaimed worldwide opera director (with over 100 shows to his credit, including the recent Nabucco at Arena di Verona and Aida performed in major opera houses worldwide), will take the helm as the film’s director. While overseeing the entire project, Poda will bring his unique multidisciplinary expertise to the Martian sequences, where he will also serve as set designer, costume designer, and lighting designer. His distinctive vision for the Mars-based scenes promises to create a mesmerizing interplay of intimacy and grandeur, masterfully balancing light and shadow through avant-garde design, drawing from his renowned operatic aesthetic.
He is considered one of the most interesting and creative opera directors of his generation and he is known for his visually extraordinary and conceptually profound productions, where each scenic element has a precise meaning within the narrative.
Main characteristics:
- A strong visual and symbolic component
- Meticulous attention to detail
- Harmonious integration of all scenic elements
- An innovative approach that still respects operatic tradition
THE POWER OF MUSIC
The project’s soundtrack presents iconic Italian music pieces to an international audience, reinterpreted in English to reach global listeners. Music confirms its transformative power, capable of emotionally and narratively enriching every expression, creating through the piano an immersive atmosphere that captures the story’s essence. The protagonist of this transformation is Frida Bollani, an authentic voice in contemporary Italian music, whose art transcends mere performance: her unique sensitivity, developed through a deep listening of the world, transforms each performance into an intense sensory experience, demonstrating how music can overcome any barrier.
SOCIAL MISSION
This project is sponsored by the British organization Visable, international charitable institutions and agencies for the blind, whose mission is providing advocacy services on behalf of children and young people with visual impairments or blindness.
Author’s legacy is to support human beings living in conditions of fragility and social inequality, communities suffering from disease, poverty and social exclusion.
“The invitation to exec produce on a feature was new for me but having previously produced a large number of successful shows, my experience makes this easily within my comfort zone. As anyone who knows me will tell you, I am a details person, perhaps to a fault!”
Louise Dyson MBE
Follow along the journey
Follow Georgia and Jeremy’s love story on social and never miss a post about the novel and the movie.