EP 70 :: Writer/Director of Supernova :: Harry Macqueen

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Harry Macqueen trained as an actor at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, before turning to filmmaking in 2013. His acting credits include Richard Linklater's Me and Orson Welles and the hit British TV show Eastenders. Supernova is his second feature film as a writer-director.

“From the outset, my desire was to make an empowering, powerful, challenging, and timely film about what we are willing to do for the people that we love,” Harry says. 

Supernova stars Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci, as partners of twenty years, who are taking a road trip across England. Following a life-changing diagnosis, their time together has become more important than ever until secret plans test their love like never before.

“Supernova is the result of a lengthy and immersive research process. Over a three-year period, I worked closely with the U.K.’s leading dementia specialists at UCL and The Wellcome Trust and collaborated with many individuals and families affected by the condition,” Harry explains. “I have spent time with people who have since died both from dementia and suicide – in secret and in public – and seen the fallout from that first-hand.”

Through this process, Macqueen zeroed in on the exact condition Tucci’s character, Tusker, would be experiencing, and where we would meet him on his journey.

 “He has what’s called Posterior Cortical Atrophy, or PCA,” Macqueen says. “That’s a young-onset type of dementia where people experience a progressive decline in vision and/or literacy skills, but often preserve their memory in early stages. Outwardly, Tusker’s life seems pretty normal most of the time, but inwardly he’s being slowly and absolutely unraveled by his condition.”

To find out more about the movie, and where you can watch it, check out their website.

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