LIFE ON THE LINE
A SHORT FILM BY
!
!
LEFT EYE BLIND & LITTLE NORTHERN LIGHT
! ! ! ! ! ! ! Booking Contact:
Aurora Fearnley, Little Northern Light 07816954492 • Littlenorthernlight@gmail.com
! www.lifeonthelinefilm.co.uk
Film Information !
PRODUCTION COUNTRY: UK COMPLETION DATE: JUNE, 2013 RUNNING TIME: 14 min LANGUAGE: English SUBTITLES AVAILABLE: English PICTURE: Colour ASPECT RATIO: 1.85 (16:9 Video) SHOOTING FORMAT: RED EXHIBITION FORMATS: DCP - .mov – HDCAM – DVD SOUND: 5.1 STEREO
! ! ! ! NORTHERN FILM SCHOOL !
Festival Administrator • Lisa McKnight - L.McKnight@leedsmet.ac.uk Electric Press, 1 Millennium Square, Leeds, LS2 3AD • +44 0113 812 8050
!
! ! www.lifeonthelinefilm.co.uk
LIFE ON THE LINE Synopsis
!
Kieran struggles to rejoin life after waking from a four year coma. Detached from reality he works the graveyard shift for a banking call centre, life happens to him while he watches. Nightly he slips into apathy until he receives a wrong number call for The Samaritans and with this the opportunity to save a stranger whose life is on the line. (62 words)
! ! ! Short synopsis !
Kieran is detached from reality working nights at a banking call centre. Nightly he slips into apathy until an unexpected caller challenges his anaesthetic state bringing past and present colliding together. (31 words)
! ! !
! www.lifeonthelinefilm.co.uk
Director’s Statement Life on the Line was shot in Leeds in partnership with Left Eye Blind, a production company we founded in 2007. The Northern Film School funded the short film with myself Directing three years after having graduated. I proposed the project would be an opportunity to bring back together many other talented graduates who were then all spread across the UK. Excitingly the film was a reunion of Film School crew collaborating with local up-and-coming professionals.
Kirean is a character in apathy who sees himself as a victim and feeds that energy with anger. The viewer hungers for that transformative release that will enable Kirean to accept himself. I’m attracted to characters who are almost immobile by their fear of change, especially at a point where they risk everything if they cannot move on, move forward or let go.
I’m passionate about giving a voice to disability in media. I want to explore the inner doubts of those categorised in society as disabled and how that affects their mental health and behaviour.
We wanted the film to feel claustrophobic with no daylight, the tone of the film was discussed in depth with all HOD’s. Throughout there are constant references to comas and dreams. Kieran, a coma survivor, tells the audience that within his dreams he was able to control things that happened around him. We explore the possibility that Kieran may still be asleep, the film follows Kieran as he realises that he is awakening.
! !
The main storyline drew on my own experience of a missed adolescence through illness. For four years I was completely bed bound, so my affinity to Kirean’s character was immediate. What I recognised in Matt’s script was a character who was identifying through the label of disability instead of accepting themselves as an individual.This personal connection with the themes was vital for working with actor Will Rastall on his characters journey. It also permeated the other call centre staff with Clare’s OCD, Barry’s wheelchair and Hilary’s depression. The entire night staff appear to be in limbo, a band of social misfits who are empowered by each others company just as they are trapped by self perception.
! !
!
The vision of someone breaking through the mind’s psychological barriers is powerful and has cinematic beauty. I hope that we have created a film where the story is relatable and the visuals extraordinary
! !
!
! www.lifeonthelinefilm.co.uk
- Aurora Fearnley
Cast
!
Anthony Flanagan // Steve
!
Anthony is best known as Tony in the award winning SHAMELESS (Channel 4). He played Andy in PRISONER'S WIVES (BBC), and regular character Fergus in series 4 of BEING HUMAN (BBC). Also Barry in Channel 4's highly acclaimed RED RIDING TRILOGY and Dexter in SURVIVORS (BBC). Other lead roles: INSTINCT, CRACKER, SPARTACUS THE VILLAGE, PRISONER’S WIVES and VINCENT. TV credits include Stephen Poliakoff's 1939, DOCTOR WHO, SPOOKS, LIFE ON MARS, FOYLES WAR, ALL ABOUT GEORGE, STATE OF PLAY, LIE WITH ME, RED CAP, BURIED and REAL MEN.
! ! !
Introducing
Will Rastall // Kirean
!
Will's TV credits include Game of Thrones (HBO) and Hollyoaks (Lime Pictures). For film; Cupid Wears a Balaclava (Irresistible Studios) and Finding Lara (Left Eye Blind). Theatre credits include, Short and Stark (Southwark Playhouse), The Hospital At The Time of The Revolution (Finborough) and Sense (Hen & Chickens).
www.lifeonthelinefilm.co.uk
Linzey Cocker // Clare
!
Linzey Louise Cocker (born 19 May 1987 in Salford) is a British actress best known for playing the roles of Jade Webb in BBC Three comedy-drama series Drop Dead Gorgeous, Josie in the 2008 feature film Wild Child, and Jess Fisher in Waterloo Road.
!
In Drop Dead Gorgeous, Cocker's character is the fraternal twin of Ashley Webb, played by actress and model Sinead Moynihan. Jade, being the popular and charismatic sister, finds it difficult to adjust to her shy sister's rapid success as a model.
!
! !
Jo Adamson-Parker // Casting Director
!
Jo has been casting for theatre, television and film for over 15 years. Her most recent credits include 30 episodes of ‘The Bill’, ‘Red Riding’ ‘Getting On’, ‘ChuckleVision’, ‘The Last of The Dragons’ (Manhattan Children’s Theatre) and ‘Lord of The Flies’ (Pilot Theatre Company). From 2005-2008 Jo was one of the core casting directors on 'The Bill' casting a range of storylines including a two part special filmed in Romania. Guest leads and featured casting included - Denise Welch, Janet Dibley, Emma Samms, Stephen McGann and Steve Toussaint.
! !
!
www.lifeonthelinefilm.co.uk
!
Aurora Fearnley // Director, Co-Producer
!
Graduating The Northern Film School with a BA 1st in 2005 Aurora set up her own company LITTLE NORTHERN LIGHT. She was simultaneously a founder of the successful Production Company LEFT EYE BLIND. Through the Green Shoots Scheme at Vision & Media she directed "Shades of Living" with British Council Film Funding. Winning funding through the NOKIA SHORTS contest, "Daniel" was filmed exclusively on the Nokia N8 phone and premièred at the Edinburgh Film Festival. Recently she entered The Pitch at Pinewood and won £25,000 to maker her sci-fi short film “Pulsar”. Currently she’s developing feature film “Tipping Point” and “Plagued” through schemes, including Birds Eye View’s FILMONOMICS, 104 Film’s Digital Revolutionaries, Screen Yorkshire’s Triangle and Elevator.- IMDB
!
!
Jamie Donoughue // Co-Producer, Co-Director
!
Jamie discovered his love for filmmaking whilst working on set at the age of 17. Jamie worked as a freelance director before moving back to Leeds to set up a broadcast and corporate video production company. He is one third of the creative collective Left Eye Blind.
! www.lefteyeblind.com !
www.lifeonthelinefilm.co.uk
Matt Maude // Writer, Co-Producer, Co-Director
!
Matt has been working in television since he was 15, firstly as a camera trainee, then as an actor. At 18, Matt directed his first music video, which appeared on MTV2, building his reputation as a young director. More music videos followed as Matt swapped study for work concentrating his time directing and producing promos. Matt has also worked extensively in America and India on documentaries for PBS National broadcast and MSN. He is the final third of Left Eye Blind.
!
Joe MacDonald // Director of Photography
!
Joe is a freelance Gaffer working in the film and TV sector. After studying Cinematography at The Northern Film School, he followed a career in to lighting, working as a spark in TV and Commercials stepping up to Best Boy two feature films and Gaffering Commercials. Recent credits include Utopia (C4) Survivors (BBC) and Shameless VI & VII (C4).
Donny Boocock // Editor
! ! !
!
Donny Boocock is an award winning Editor with over fifteen years' experience across a broad range of genres, both in the UK and overseas. From Drama and Documentary, to Advertising and Music Video's, his work has reached a surprisingly wide audience on screens across, Europe, Asia and North America. DARK MATTERS: TWISTED BUT TRUE (Series 1 & 2) Discovery (Wide Eyed Entertainment: 2012), PEDALS & BEER PUMPS (Proper Records / Hurricane Films: 2012) Feature length 'rockumentary' following Beautiful South front man Paul Heaton. BISHAASH (24 part TV drama) BBC 2010 / 2011. Editor & Supervising Editor for a pioneering international supernatural Drama series about a mysterious detective agency, set in an antique shop in Old Dhaka.
www.lifeonthelinefilm.co.uk
PRODUCTION CREDITS !
Produced & Directed by Aurora Fearnley Jamie Donoughue Matt Maude
!
Written by Matt Maude
!
Executive Producer Jennifer Granville
!
Director of Photography Berndt Wiese Joe MacDonald
!
Editor Donny Boocock
!
Production Designer Paul Mansley
!
Sound Design Alan Sheldon
!
Script Editor Simon Van De Bourg
!
Original music by VESSELS LOVED ONES
!! ! !
UK • 2013 • 13 mins • Color • 1.78 aspect ratio • Stereo • In English
NORTHERN FILM SCHOOL Electric Press, 1 Millennium Square, Leeds, LS2 3AD • +44 0113 812 8050
http://www.northernfilmschool.co.uk
www.lifeonthelinefilm.co.uk