Projects matching: ISO

Synopsis

The dark story of a young man freed from prison who betrays his best friend to escape London's seedy and depraved underground crime world, Shooters was written nearly seven years ago by three friends, Gary Young, Andrew Howard and Louis Dempsey. Last summer, they showed the script to young British directing and producing partnership Colin Teague and Marjory Bone of Cool Beans Productions, with whom Howard had worked as an actor on the 30-minute film North West One. "I liked the fact that it was gritty and raw and not in the same vein as the more cheeky chappy gangster films that have come out," Bone explains. "It was very realistic in the way it dealt with drugs and guns and not at all glamorous." Cool Beans agreed to produce the film with Dutch company Catapult Productions, run by Glenn Durfort, with whom Teague had studied at the London International Film School. Dutch producer Jan Bruinstroop came in as executive producer as both Bone and Teague were both first-time film-makers. The budget was raised via a private investor connected to Catapult Productions. Howard and Dempsey took the lead roles of the two friends while the cast was filled out with familiar names, such as Matthew Rhys and Ioan Gruffud. "We were lucky that Colin and Andrew played in a football team with some lads who happened to be up-and-coming British actors," says Bone. Principal photography took place during November and December in London. The production took up residence in a huge disused warehouse above a McDonald's in the King's Cross area. In addition to providing sets and studio space, the warehouse also housed production offices, wardrobe and prop departments. Several international sales agents are now in talks with Cool Beans to acquire the project.

Synopsis

A down-on-his-luck Italian backpacker thinks his luck has changed when he sees an advert for table help. But this is before he falls into the clutches of the owner of the Embassy Bar...

Synopsis

Jenny Adams, an immature young woman, hidden away from the world by her protective psychiatrist father, Dr Madsen Adams, is plagued by nightmares and visions. Some of these suggest that, as a child, she brutally killed her mother. At the time of her mother's death, the family lived in the grounds of the asylum which Dr Adams ran and it was assumed, although never proved, that one of the inmates was the killer. Without her father's knowledge, Jenny enlists the help of William, a disturbed young man in Dr Adams' care, to help her to return to the now abandoned asylum to try to solve the mystery. Once there she finds several former inmates, including a priest, Father Matthew, a medium Isobella, and a drug addict, Neville, sharing both her visions and the sudden, irresistible desire to return to the asylum. When people again begin to die and Jenny is trapped within the decaying hulk of the asylum with her terrifying memories, she realises that she is in danger of losing both her sanity and her life. Review from Edinburgh Film UK catalogue 2000 Boasting a cast that unites the queen of Hammer Horror with the saucy joker from the Confessions... films, The Asylum looks ripe for cult success. Directed by John Stewart, whose short films The Break-In and Crash won many fans on the international festival circuit, The Asylum is a psychological thriller about a woman (Stephanie Pitt) tormented by the suspicion that, as a child, she killed her own mother. Teaming up with an unstable young man (Nick Waring), she returns to the mental hospital where her unbalanced father (Patrick Mower) used to practice. There she meets former inmates (Hammer queen Ingrid Pitt and Robin Askwith from the Confessions... films) and events take a murderous turn when they become trapped inside the asylum. "The film is more of a thriller than a horror film," says producer Carol Lemon, who set up Nunhead Films with John Stewart to make genre films. "Casting Ingrid Pitt was not a cynical move: we thought about who would fit the part and asked them. Some said no, some said yes and she said yes. Then we met her daughter who we knew immediately would be perfect for the lead role." When original financing failed to materialise, Lemon and Stewart raised the budget through the Enterprise Investment Scheme. The film premiered in June at the Fantafestival in Rome, where, says Lemon, it was enthusiastically received. She now is fielding offers from three US-based sales companies for international rights. In the meantime, Stewart is working on the company's next project. Also starring Ingrid Pitt, The Block is about a woman who moves into an apartment block and discovers that the neighbours are up to something sinister.

Synopsis

Callum Crane (Bill Pullman) is a high-powered lawyer on the verge of becoming a judge, fuelled by alcohol inspired lust, he commits an act that will have devastating consequences. He assaults his pretty new legal assistant Sophie (Gabrielle Anwar). She subsequently threatens to expose him, to destroy both his career and his fragile relationship with his wife Nathalie (Joanne Whalley). In the meantime, Nathan (Devon Sawa), a young petty criminal, discovers that Crane is his real father and decides to find him. By a strange twist of fate, Nathan is befriended by Sophie's roommate, Tanya (Angela Featherstone), after encountering her near Crane's office. Finally, late one night, Nathan comes face to face with his father after he thwarts some hoodlums about to break into Crane's car. With no idea of his rescuer's true identity, Crane desperately offers Nathan money to kill the young woman who is about to wreak havoc on his life. The dramatic and complex chain of events unleashed by this act lead to Sophie's death. Although he is innocent, Nathan finds himself an accused killer and the subject of an enormous manhunt. Ultimately Nathan confronts Crane with his paternity and later, during a terrifyingly dramatic confrontation, forces him into a full confession. In attempting to save both his son and himself, Crane subsequently concocts an intricate scheme that is destined both to fail and to succeed as fate deals the final ironic hand.

Synopsis

The Last of The Blonde Bombshells tells the story of Elizabeth (Dame Judi Dench) who upon the death of her husband realises that the happiest days of her life were when she played tenor saxophone in an all-girls dance band, The Blond Bombshells, during the Second World War. To the horror of her children Elizabeth starts busking in Camden where she is spotted by Patrick (Sir Ian Holm), a dedicated Lothario who played drums in the band to dodge conscription. Encouraged by her granddaughter Joanna, Elizabeth sets about to reunite the band with a reluctant Patrick. Travelling across the country they find their fellow band members in a range of locations from old folks homes to prisons and a variety of lifestyles from the predictable to the bizarre. The search is haunted by the past. Elizabeth learns that Patrick systematically seduced every member of the band except herself primarily because she was under the age of consent but more probably because he was threatened with castration. Despite the odds, Elizabeth and Patrick using a mixture of charm, cajolery and bribery, reassemble the band. At Joanna's school concert The Blonde Bombshells triumph and Elizabeth agrees to become the last and only rose on Patrick's drum.

Synopsis

The Loss of Sexual Innocence directed by Mike Figgis is a beautiful, richly textured film of interconnected short stories concerning the events of one man's life and paralleling them with the classic story of the fall from grace of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Told in a non-linear structure, The Loss of Sexual Innocence is the story of Nic, told through the crucial, sometimes humorous an often heart-breaking episodes of his life. As the film weaves it's vivid, hypnotic narrative, we catch glimpses of what makes Nic the man that he is, tracing incidents that happen to him as a five year old boy, as a twelve year old adolescent, as a 16 year old teenager, and as a fully grown man. Cross-cut with the tale of Nic is the classic parable of Adam and Eve, which serves as an allegory to the events of Nic's life and, the two tales intertwined, ultimately serves as a powerful summation of the loss of innocence of not just Nic, but of the humanity of our species. Bold, visually striking images, combined with a sonorous musical soundtrack composed and recorded by Mr Figgis make for a deeply moving, visually exhilarating piece of filmmaking that grows increasingly powerful with each viewing.

Synopsis

A motorway - a woman - a telephone - a car - another man. A short film about love in the city.

Synopsis

Megan sees her mother through the keyhole of the red wardrobe. As her memories slip into fantasy we realise she is not hiding, but is imprisoned in the wardrobe.

Synopsis

A joyrider once asked me to get into the passenger seat. I might look stupid but I'm not that stupid. We play golf. You gotta keep your eye on the ball 'cause it's a dangerous game'.

Synopsis

'One man's decent through Dr Rex Otto's infamous rules'.

Synopsis

To Anyone Who Can Hear Me is a magical, vivid and poetic exploration of damaged human relationships. Nine passengers on a train must confront their fears, solitude and emotional emptiness. Each passenger has a different direction and all of them have something in common - their impotence to deal with their own emotions. The story aims to establish a conversation with the audience about life: about men and women, their suffering and incomprehensible frustrations, their isolation at not being able to communicate their emotions to one another, their self-destruction, and most of all their powerless search for love and truth in a world with now answers. To Anyone Who Can Hear Me is a film project characterised by its dramatic black and white photography accompanied by a haunting and evocative soundtrack. It is innovative in its structure and story-telling techniques and it breaks with conventional cinematic practice. The film takes a unique approach to the themes of love and isolation offering the audience the opportunity to be voyeurs of the suffering of others. Through this experience they are invited to reflect and look at their own lives with an honest eye.

Synopsis

A short film trilogy about prison life. Based on real events in a British prison, its themes are the sense of collusion and community between the inmates and the savage reminder that violence always lies beneath the surface of the fragile community.