The Duel and the Dye

When their terminally ill father decrees that a fencing duel will decide the family inheritance, two estranged professional fencer siblings – one biological, one adopted – must confront whether fighting for his approval is worth the cost of their relationship.

Genre: Action • Drama • Sport • Thriller

Shooting Location: International

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Screenplay Synopsis:

Vera, a decorated professional fencer in her late 20s, arrives home at Hawthorne Manor – the grand, imposing family estate she was raised in. She is met by her brother Marcus, a markedly less successful fencer who is hampered by a recurring, and worsening, elbow injury. They have been summoned to the bedside of their dying father Giles Hawthorne – patriarch of the Hawthorne family, an esteemed legacy name in the world of British fencing. As a child, Vera was adopted by Giles for her skill as a fencer, and raised and trained in tandem with Marcus, Giles’ sole biological heir. Despite the sibling love that grew between them, the two spent their childhood pitted in competition. Vera always triumphed, thereby gaining Giles’ favour, whilst Marcus suffered painful, degrading punishments at his father’s hands – punishments that caused the injury that has plagued his career. A tense reunion between siblings is compounded by Giles’ declaration that they have been summoned home for a final duel, from which the winner will be named his sole material successor – but which Vera and Marcus understand to represent the true inheritor of their father’s affection, approval, and legacy. When a desperate Marcus, prospectless with the injury-enforced end of his failed career looming, petitions his sister to let him win, Vera is faced with a choice – can she bring herself to finally lose, or she will step up to truly claim the mantle, and validation, that she has fought for her entire life? Under their father’s judgemental eye, sister and brother cross swords in a duel that will define what love, loyalty, and ambition mean for each of them – and risks shattering their relationship forever. Can Vera and Marcus overcome the inflicted competition of their childhood, or are they doomed to inherit, and repeat, the toxic ambition of their father? 'The Duel and the Dye' draws on the tension between familial pressure and our individual quest for identity, invoking the spirit of Greek tragedy through the lens of a pulsing contemporary sports thriller.

Director's statement:

Vivian Full, Director: My father worked night shifts when I was growing up. He did it because it was the only job he could get at the time as a refugee of the Vietnam War. I grew up watching my parents work twice as hard as my peers' parents because of our background — the most difficult part of that was we had no choice but to accept the hierarchy of things. I was raised with the idea that I was lucky to be born in a Western country, therefore failure was not an option. For most of my life, I never questioned that. Now that I am the age my father was when he started working nights, I realise it is a privilege to be allowed to fail. Most of us do not have access to that privilege. Vera's story in 'The Duel and The Dye' captures the essence of that truth so well — some of us climb mountains that others call hills. One step for Marcus is two for Vera, regardless of talent and merit. The parallels between Vera's story and the immigrant experience drive my belief that "The Duel and The Dye" is an important story to tell. Vera's desire and determination to be regarded as an equal in the systemically White, privileged environment she's been raised in is an experience I have no doubt so many of us can understand. The conversation we challenge even further is whether Marcus's stance on his birthright is a symptom of nature or nurture. The central vehicle of fencing literalises the conflict at the heart of this story — "The Duel and the Dye" is an opportunity to represent the underprivileged using sport to physicalize the determination that is needed to succeed in a world set up against you. The film challenges deeply entrenched notions of privilege and meritocracy which feels increasingly resonant as we see wider inequality globally and in Britain, and reinforces my belief that audiences need this story.

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