Tuesday 5 February 2013

Here We Go Again! - SF4813

I'm now in pre-production to have another go at the London Sci-Fi Society 48hour filmmaking competition over the weekend of 6th and 7th of April 2013. I'll be directing this time and no doubt producing a lot as well but already have the makings of a good team. Guillermo Del Toro is on the jury so I'm going to have to pull a really big rabbit out of the hat to try and win this one. The Facebook group for the project is here if you wish to take part.
Around Again shoot. May 2012.
Fortunately some of the people who helped me with our World War 2 themed film Around Again are keen to have another go. We managed to get tremendous buy-in and Esprit d' Corps on that project -  the second time I have put together 50 strong cast and crews to help make nano budget, high production value films - so I'm hoping for more of the same.
Some of the Around Again crew in the bunker below Ort Cafe in Balsall Heath
I'm very pleased that talented crew like sound man Sirajuddin 'Sam' Cousins, cameraman Richard Twilton, pyrotechnics maestro Matt Harley as well as my good friend and co-writer Dominic Carver have signed up for more 48hr madness.

I'm also hopeful that I can work again with Roger Harding - the scary interrogator in Internalised our 2011 competition entry. Internalised recently made Film of the Day on Brett Gerry's blog.

Michael Parle who won Best Foreign Actor at the Melbourne Underground Film Festival for his performance in Ivan Kavanagh's brilliant Tin Can Man is also hoping to take part. Tin Can Man also won a Dublin Film Critics Circle award at the 2012 Jameson Dublin International Film Festival.

I'm also very pleased that Isla Eleri Ure who won Best Actor for her own film Passengers at the 2012 Underwire Festival has also agreed to join the team.


I'm hoping to warm up for the Sci-Fi competition by doing another 48hr competition which takes place at the beginning of March as part of the Stoke Your Fires festival.

Serendipitously I've been asked to be on a Staffordshire University sponsored panel at Stoke Your Fires to talk about film in the region. I was put forward by Tim Beasley who runs a great locations agency called UKFilmLocation.com. I'm very pleased to be invited on to my first film festival panel especially as my friend and mentor Professor Roger Shannon is on the same panel.

Incidentally Roger is presenting the Egyptian film El Shooq (Lust) as part of his Departure Lounge series at the Midlands Arts Centre on 23rd of February. It was selected as the Egyptian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 84th Academy Awards and was directed by our mutual friend - the Pharaoh of Film Khaled El Hagar. Please note that this event is invitation only.

Last but not least I'd like to thank all the people who have donated towards my next production.  I couldn't do it without them so will credit their names with pride. If you haven't donated then you still can via this link to my Indiegogo Crowdfunding camapign.

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/sf4813/x/8189

Thats all for now folks!