The darkroom

Set in rural England in 2003 at the turn of the digital age, 'The Darkroom' follows Joe, a man in his mid 60s who has devoted his entire life to developing photos in his own darkroom shop. Joe's only social interactions occur through his relationship with the photos he develops of everyone in his village. Through the photos he develops, he's never felt alone, witnessing all stages of human lives' such as children growing up, marriages, careers, love and loss, becoming intimately connected to these individuals he's never truly met. When the story begins, England is in the final phases of the transition from analog to digital photography and Joe's shop is no longer financially viable, teetering on closure. However, when Archie, a vibrant teenage boy shows up at Joe's doorstep, inexplicably insisting on working at the shop, Joe's secluded world, albeit somewhat begrudgingly, opens up. Over the course of one summer, the two grow closer, becoming the missing pieces in each other's lives.