Exeter Phoenix Devon Short Film Commission 2014

Exeter Phoenix Digital invited applications for the development of a short film project. The application had to be an original idea or script for a short film between 5-12 mins long. We welcomed applications for all kinds of film, including documentary, animation and of any genre.

This commission was open to filmmakers from Devon.

The selected films and filmmakers are…

Site Specific

Filmmakers: Katie Beard & Lucy Green

The film combines site specific performance and dance. By creating this film they hope to offer opportunities for both students and the local community; casting from both sectors regardless of previous dance experience. Katie and Lucy will invite audiences to reconsider familiar locations in Exeter that are sometimes overlooked or undiscovered. These sites will be the basis of the choreography with particular emphasis on everyday pedestrian movement. In this way they hope to make dance a more accessible art form whilst exploring the possibilities of site specific performance.

About Katie:

Katie has been living in Exeter for the past two years studying for a BA Drama degree at the University. She has a strong interest in performance making, and is particularly intrigued by site specific performance. Katie is very excited to explore the possibilities of site and film in this new upcoming project.

About Lucy:

Lucy is a drama student from the University of Exeter, and this is her first opportunity to make a short film. Lucy has experience in a lot of aspects of theatre productions, but this is a new challenge, which she is very enthusiastic to be a part of.

Seeing Red

Filmmaker: Luke Jeffery

Straight-laced wedding photographer Drake Dalton is prescribed an experimental new drug for his colour blindness and soon begins to experience some unexpected side effects. 

The year is 1967, the drug is LSD, and Drake’s world is about to change beyond all recognition.

About Luke: 

Luke studied film at Falmouth University and since graduating last year has been involved in a variety of film and theatre projects across the South West. He currently works as a freelance writer/director and runs the Devon based production company Wandering Tiger.

http://www.wanderingtiger.com

Ashes

Filmmaker: Nick Gordon

Ashes is about two estranged brothers, reluctantly travelling together to their Cornish hometown to dispose of their father’s ashes. Along the way they reunite with a childhood friend and journey to the isolated village they had fled from as teenagers, slowly coming to terms with their differences and the unresolved issues in their own lives.

The brothers slowly bond through their time together and begin to understand more about themselves and each other. By the time the film reaches its denouement the two brothers will have reflected on their relationship and their own lives, coming a step closer to dealing with their own problems.

About Nick:

Nick Gordon has worked freelance in video production and audio recording for over 10 years. Nick has directed a variety of product commercials and music videos, and also specialises in motion graphics and animation. Between projects, Nick also directs short fiction films and visual shorts.

The Exam

Filmmakers: Simon Lex & Chris Jones

A huge wood panelled hall, filled with rows of single chairs and desks set up for an exam. Silent but for the ticking of a clock.

The Exam tells the story of a woman who arrives to sit an exam, but through a series of strange events, in which the invigilator for the exam suddenly dies, and under the guise of ‘the practical’ section of the exam, eventually becomes the invigilator for another timid looking woman in an identical looking examination hall.

About Simon:

Simon is relatively new to short film production. Following two successful 48 Hour Film entries to the Two Short Nights Film Festival, his interest in filmmaking led him to apply for the Exeter Phoenix commission.

About Chris:

Chris is a very experienced cinematographer, working on award winning films all over the world. In 2007 Chris was awarded a Short Film Bursary for his film Small Change, which went on to win the Two Short Nights Film Festival audience award.

http://www.chrisjonesdop.co.uk

Baby Bird

Filmmaker: Richard Gosling

Baby Bird is the story of eight-year-old Arthur and his attempt to nurture the abandoned bird eggs he has discovered. His efforts intend to be redemptive for numerous casual acts of cruelty toward insects during his friendship with misbehaving William. Arthur’s neighbour meanwhile, disapproving of taking birds eggs from the wild, reports him, forcing Arthur to act deceptively. Animated segments show the embryo’s in the eggs evolving with the shifting of Arthur’s attitude toward himself.  Drawings and still images show Arthur’s fantasies for the lives of the birds. We see Arthur’s world, his anxieties, and need for redemption.

About Richard:

Via numerous creative frustrations, from wanting to be a comic illustrator, a musician, a writer of screenplays, poems and songs, Richard eventually chose to study animation as a route to becoming a filmmaker. Graduating with a 1^st class Degree in Animation from the Arts University Bournemouth he now makes short films.

Exeter Phoenix Crowd Funder Short Film Commission 2014

Exeter Phoenix Digital invited applications for the development of a short film project. The application had to be an original idea or script for a short film between 5-12 mins long. We welcomed applications for all kinds of film, including documentary, animation and film ideas of any genre.

This commission was open to filmmakers from Devon or Cornwall.

The selected film and filmmakers are…

Penny For Them

Filmmakers: Paul & Tanya Morel of Oddbodies

Penny For Them is Oddbodies’ latest project in collaboration with Exeter Phoenix.  An uptight English businessman is troubled by reoccurring nightmares of endlessly running for his life. Distraught and exhausted, he goes to see a Scandinavian psychiatrist specialising in sleep problems.  She hypnotises him in an attempt to get to the root of these anxieties. What she discovers takes them both on a journey of unexpected consequence.

A darkly comic psychological thriller with a twist in the tale, Penny For Them will bear all the hallmarks of their previous work  – a compelling story shot in an intriguing setting, beautifully drawn characters, imaginative art direction and scrupulous attention to detail, all brought together with a highly distinctive and originally composed soundtrack…

About Paul & Tanya:

Paul and Tanya Morel are two of the founder members of Oddbodies, an independent production company specialising in creating original and compelling new work for film, theatre and visual arts. Renowned for their physical invention and visual ingenuity, Oddbodies’ acclaimed theatre work has been seen all over the UK, in Europe, Canada and the USA.

More recently, Oddbodies have begun to make darkly comic and beautifully colourful award winning films that have been screened at International Film Festivals both in the UK and in Europe.  Past bursary films include the wryly melancholic Fat Lady Dances On The Head Of A Pin and the fabulously grotesque Mrs Lustleigh’s Fancies.

Visit our Digital pages for more information on filmmaking news and opportunities.