A film about Men, Real Men. Named James Bond.
Meet a diverse group of men, real men across the globe all sharing the same name: James Bond. Australian director Matthew Bauer's energetic exploration of masculine identity features a gay New York theatre director, a Swedish 007 super-fan with a Nazi past, an African American Bond accused of murder, the ornithologist whose name was stolen by author Ian Fleming to name his fictional secret agent, and two resilient women caught up in it all.—The Other Fellow Limited
An energetic exploration of male identity via the lives, personalities, and adventures of a diverse band of men, real men across the globe all sharing the same name - James Bond. 1952. Jamaica. When author Ian Fleming needs a name for his suave, sophisticated secret agent, he steals one from an unaware birdwatcher and creates a pop-culture phenomenon about the ultimate fictional alpha-male. 2023. Seventy years after the publication of the first Bond novel and as all eyes turn to who could be the seventh 007, Australian filmmaker Matthew Bauer is on a global mission to discover the lasting, contrasting and very personal impacts of sharing such an identity with James Bond. From a Swedish 007 super-fan with a WWII past to a gay New York theatre director, an African American Bond accused of murder, and two resilient women caught up in it all, Bauer's cinematic mission is an audacious, poignant, and insightful examination of masculinity, gender, and race in the very real shadows of a movie icon.—The Other Fellow Ltd
1952. 'Goldeneye', Jamaica.
When British author Ian Fleming creates the character of 007, he needs to christen him with a "really flat, quiet name". Perusing one of his favourite books BIRDS OF THE WEST INDIES Fleming steals the name of a Philadelphia ornithologist by the name of James Bond...
2022. Seventy years later.
In SWEDEN we meet GUNNAR SCHÄFER. A superfan of all things 007 with his own James Bond Museum, there is more to his persona than simply fandom. The son of an escaped Nazi who vanished mysteriously after World War Two, GUNNAR now sees James Bond as a replacement father figure and immerses his life in all things 007.
In NEW YORK CITY theatre director JAMES BOND has made countless media appearances as his famous namesake and finds the name a reoccurring hindrance. As a gay man, JAMES has apparently very little in common with Commander Bond and the alternative version of himself ad agencies, concierges and casting directors always wish to exploit.
South Bend, INDIANA. JAMES BOND JR.'s life has been marred by several disbelieving police officers and the weight such a name lends a black man in Indiana. THE OTHER FELLOW finds him in Indiana State Prison where he is awaiting trial for murder. In the same town a white man also called JAMES BOND is about to be caught up in a confusing media frenzy and mistaken identity.
Somewhere in ENGLAND an unnamed mother chronicles a tough past with an abusive ex-husband. A bold identity change creates new challenges in the face of 007, and soon dramatically contradicts the other James Bonds across the world and their sometimes-shared experiences.
And in PHILADELPHIA - amid the 1960s Bond mania - ornithologist JAMES BOND and his loyal wife MARY travel to Jamaica to finally confront IAN FLEMING about an identity theft that is changing the lives of all James Bonds across the globe, including theirs.
Via Vancouver, Toronto, London, Denver, Guyana, Europe, the US and Baghdad, THE OTHER FELLOW paints a rich picture of the worldwide digital and cultural footprint of cinema's most famous spy. And what being in that looming shadow actually means for people when it creates an identity crisis like no other.
