Glamour of the Spheres: Mrs. Vera’s queer survival, in glorious adornment

After meeting Michael Johnstone and David Faulk—and seeing the fruits of the couple’s decades-long collaboration on the photo diary “Mrs. Vera’s Daybook” and collective art project Verasphere—seasoned filmmaker Robert James knew their story was ripe for the silver screen.

But partway through the filming of 2019’s Verasphere: A Love Story in Costume, the writer-director was convinced that a brief short was inadequate to cover the AIDS survivors and community builders’ overwhelming affection for one another, heroic activism during the epidemic, and mind-bending, joy-bringing art. 

“Michael and David’s personal stories were as intriguing as Verasphere,” James told 48 Hills. “They have a lot of history, a lot of activism. They’ve been around the planet for a while so they’ve lived through good and bad times. I wanted the film to reflect David and Michael’s story and Verasphere.”

To do them justice, he set to work on what would become the feature-length movie The Unabridged Mrs. Vera’s Daybook.

Incorporating photography, video footage, and in-depth interviews with the film’s subjects and Verasphere collaborators known as “Spheres,” the moving film tells the story of a dynamic duo who found love, light, and creative liberty in a hopeless place.