Life Up In The Air

I confess. I am a complete coward when it comes extreme sports. Under no circumstances could I see myself jumping out of a plane then dangling from a parachute. Yet there I was, at the Christmas Fair on Port Hercules in Monaco, standing in front of a sky diving simulator that pushed people with fans allowing them to effectively fly.

My filmmaker friends, who were in town for a festival, and I ended up spending an afternoon at the market. One of them, a young actress, Anna, was next to me. Mesmerized, we watched the brave souls in the cylinder “fly.”

“Would you do that?” I asked without taking my eyes off the spectacle.

“Absolutely. I would love to!” She did not hesitate. “It would be great to do anything like paragliding or parachuting.” And so a germ of an idea was born.

Within a few weeks, I had written a script, Julia. Anna agreed to take the lead role and filming was set in motion. It would be shot on the Cote d’Azur. Locations were organized, actors signed and film crew created. It came together remarkably fast, save for one minor critical detail: flying.

Only one day had been allocated to either paragliding or parachuting and so the activity had to take place within easy driving distance. Hello Google; au revoir parachuting. Not only was the location not viable but the sport is expensive and springtime would not work.

Paragliding, I learned, had many variations which played a huge part in where and when flights could take place. After much searching, I landed on a paragliding school in Roquebrune-Cap Martin and we immediately jumped in the car. However, arriving at what used to be a small cafe, we found the school was closed. Eventually a person living above the space emerged and admitted that he didn’t know if the school was functioning at all. The drive home was full of despair. What if all the other planning had been in vain?

Undeterred, I again dug deep into Google targeting the school. The school was by no means closed and I arrived at a name Serge (not his real name) and email address. Yet there were unexpected factors at play that Serge confessed. It was beginning to feel like a fly by night operation. Could I entrust Anna to Serge even if he was willing to do it? I was still in the dark about what was involved.

Having met with Serge, I became less confident. I had made the trip up along Route du Mont-Angel, above La Turbie, to the take-off point. The view was terrific but the thought of running and then jumping off into the clear blue yonder? Oh no, not for me. However, I did have someone willing to do it and I was not about to lose that. Except Anna spoke little French.

Serge spoke very little English, not helpful, but a deal was done. The arrangement was that we would have the flight on a clear morning on one of the key days in the filming schedule. And I would not have to buy another GoPro as he provided two. A definite thumbs up. Everyone knows that spring on the Côte d’Azur is generally lovely. It would be unlucky to have bad weather for an entire week of filming and, of course, it rained. It was not a torrential downpour, just enough drizzle to affect shooting outdoors. By midweek I had the distinct feeling that I would be giving birth to kittens. Midweek was for paragliding.

The first day was called off due to low clouds and light rain. The forecast called for clearer conditions the following day. It was agreed that Serge would call to confirm that morning. The next day arrived, the sun was beaming through my shutters. When I threw them open I could see blue sky with few clouds. It was all systems go. Anna was ready...No call from Serge.

Serge answered his phone, groggy. The Frenchman felt the weather was not good and he did not want to fly that day. “Could we delay for a couple of days longer?” I asked, knowing Anna was fine with staying a day or so longer and I could organize the few people needed to do the shoot then. “The response was a resounding: “Non!” As it was tennis time in Monaco, paragliding was prohibited. A sense of gloom set in. We talked about alternatives, nothing worked. Serge was using the weather as an excuse. The truth was that his car had broken down and the only solution was for me to drive my Mini with Anna to Roquebrune, collect Serge and head for the jumping off point above La Turbie. And so, the Wacky Races began. We made it to the paragliding school in double quick time. Serge packed his equipment into the back of the Mini with Anna being small enough to share the backseat with multi-coloured parachute wings. Once loaded, we took off for the take off.

Not so fast. The road from La Turbie was undergoing sewer replacement, which meant the take off point was only accessible for one hour during lunchtime. It was essential that I dropped Anna and Serge off at the jump point and get back before they closed the road. Once I reached La Turbie it was a quick return trip to Roquebrune and the landing point at Plage du Golfe Bleu, which does not have car access.

Mission accomplished. I was in position on the beach. I was going to be the main shooter for filming Anna’s flight down and my colleague Reni had her camera also. After a  nerve-wracking amount of time, we sighted a tiny parachute from way above as Anna and Serge appeared.

Filming started. Filming stopped. My memory card was full from the previous day. The past 24 hours had been a nail-biter and I forget to double-check, which was entirely my fault. This is why we always have two people filming. Reni was there to capture Anna and Serge gliding over the sea before landing on the tiny public beach. It was an awesome sight.

As for Serge, well, I paid him and he gave me back some money. In the end one of his GoPros had not functioned correctly. Fortunately, Anna had mine so disaster was once again diverted that day.

Filmed on location in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin and Nice, Julia (2018) is an award-winning short film written and directed by Mike Colquhoun and starring Anna Ash Mackay, Nicolas Carré and Stephanie Patout. Mike’s latest feature film, Berlin Cake, will premier at the Théâtre de la Cité in Nice at 5 pm on January 14, 2024.

By Mike Colquhoun

Contributor