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Hi everyone,
I'd like to ask you to make a donation to In From The Dark, a new collaborative feature film I am making that is designed to progress my filmmaking career, and build opportunities for young working-class creative voices in and around Lincolnshire.
As many of you know, my first low-budget feature film, Mind-Set was released in UK cinemas in 2022 to critical acclaim. Mark Kermode said Mind-Set was "Oddly effective, thoughtful and sensitive". Peter Bradshaw's Guardian review awarded it 4-stars and he commented that it was "likeable for its morose stoicism and unexpected romanticism". The film also won Best British Feature at Manchester International Film Festival and I was shortlisted among ten other directors for Best Debut Director at the British Independent Film Awards.
Mind-Set poster:
Mind-Set was very much made as a cooperative project that involved giving many up-and-coming filmmakers their first professional credit, and I want to keep up momentum with a follow up film. Funding film projects is always the biggest hurdle of course, and while I do intend to put a significant investment of my own into In From The Dark, my own resources are not enough to cover the full budget necessary to develop and fund this film. In total I aim to secure external investment for a budget of around £80,000 for this film, but as you may already know, the route to securing significant finance begins with attaching a recognised cast. This is where your donation and the £3000 initial target comes in. I aim to use that target to recruit a casting director who will help engage the cast, and all of your donation will be used for this initial development process.
More about the film and my plan...
In From The Dark - Synopsis:
Talia, a cynical teenage girl who is obsessed by death discovers a reclusive and mentally under-developed teenage boy living next door to her Grandma's house. The two escape their respective troubles by embarking on a road trip together, but Talia ultimately discovers that the dead only know one thing: It is better to be alive.
The film is about a teenager who is disillusioned and careless, and is simply trying to navigate her young life; she's by no means perfect, and is prone to all the mistakes and foibles we all had as teenagers.
Excerpt from the screenplay:
The film's pertinent thematic is inspired by The Guardian's current campaign highlighting women who have been killed by men in the UK. It is a fictional tale about a young woman who overcomes an obsession with her own death, and through a road trip with a fledgling serial killer, realises that she wants to live.
Collaborators:
In From The Dark is co-written by writer Georgina Mitchell, who delivered the initial screenplay story for this film as the graduation project for her degree in Film Production at the University of Lincoln.
Cinematographer Jack Shelbourn (who also shot Mind-Set) is already attached to this project and we are both committed to creating this film with the highest sustainability values.
BAFTA nominated Producer Heather Greenwood (co-producer on Gavin & Stacey) is also attached, and Heather's primary goal is to put Lincolnshire on the map as a filming location for major productions, and create local film jobs, through her Location Lincs initiative. In From The Dark will be made through her production company, Keal Productions.
As with Mind-Set, my aim for this film is to create several entry level film crew positions for young filmmakers in Lincolnshire, including giving Georgina her first professional screenwriting credit. As a filmmaker from a working-class background, I want to support new talent and create openings for filmmakers who are from similar backgrounds, and create opportunities for young people to work alongside industry professionals and 'break through' in a difficult industry. My intention is to progress my own filmmaking reputation too of course, but I'm committed to the collaborative nature of filmmaking and I believe that film genuinely has the power to support community and change people's lives.
Thank-you for reading and please donate what feels comfortable...
Mikey x
Organizer
