Directors Statement, Mrs. Vera’s Daybook

A flamboyant subject from a feature documentary film I made wrote me an email and said ‘You should make a film about Mrs. Vera’. I didn’t know who or what Mrs. Vera was but after speaking with several people in the San Francisco art world, I set up a meeting. I soon learned that Mrs. Vera and the Verapshere was a costume-art collaboration born during desperate times when two people fell in love. Michael Johnstone and David Faulk, both long-term AIDS survivors met at a time when love was the last thing they were looking for.

This story turned into the Short Film VERASPHERE: A Love story in Costume in the summer of 2019 and aired on Truly CA thru KQED (PBS); but these two men that have created community art together for 25 years and delighted thousands of people was a much bigger story of historic activism and art, so we kept shooting.

This may be the sweetest film I’ve ever made. The idea that something shimmering and magnificent could spring from the plague years in San Francisco may not be the most original story, but the alien art experience offered for free by two loving souls that wish to include everyone sure is.

Mrs. Vera's Daybook Director, Producer & Writer

Director Bio

Robert began his film-making career at the age of 46 in 2009.

After 3 semesters of film production classes, he left school to intern for a celebrated documentary filmmaker in Los Angeles. Traveling the world with camera in hand he assisted on several projects learning videography and editing skills. This led to Robert co-directing his first short film ‘Library of Dust’ in 2011.

Producing that film and winning several awards inspired him to launch right into future projects and soon after NuReality Productions was born. This small independent documentary film company located in Berkeley has fostered many talented collaborators that would assist in an array of diverse media ventures. Two documentary short films, a doc feature film and a five-part series along with a rich collection of commercial work, music video and web content has Robert and his crew busy with several future projects in the works.

Producer, Editor & Co-Writer, Nick Blond

Producers Bio

Since moving from Humboldt County to the SF Bay Area in 2011, Nick Blond has worked as a freelance videographer, capturing and editing commercial productions, corporate events, music videos, and award winning documentaries including Ruminations (2018), VERASPHERE: A Love Story in Costume (2019), and King of the Road (2019).

Though focusing primarily on editing, Nick has worn almost every hat in the industry at one point or another. With a wide range of projects under his belt, Nick finds most of his passion in telling lesser-known stories that educate, challenge, or otherwise make an impact on viewers and promote positive social change.

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Verasphere: A Love Story In Costume