Project Detail

Kingdom

Celine the dragon catcher (Manouk van der Meulen) confronts the warrior dragon

Synopsis

A modern urban fairytale, Kingdom is the story of an accountant (Simon Kirk) who unwittingly stumbles on a centuries-old plan by a duplicitous feudal lord (Peter Campbell-Orde) to claim the crown of a kingdom ruled by dragons.

With its ambitious mix of live action and complicated computer-generated images, Kingdom is a tribute to writer-director Kenneth D Barker's perseverance and resourcefulness. Determined to make a film that would stand out from the crowd of Tarantino-wannabes and have a wide consumer appeal, he decided to shoot the film on digital video directly for the video sell-through market because it would be quick and cheap. He teamed up with model-maker and special-effects designer Gary Rowntree, who suggested combining rod-controlled puppetry with CGI to create the dragons.

By spring 1998 cast and crew were in place and Barker sent out a business plan to potential investors via the Yorkshire Association of Business Angels. Barely 10 days before principal photography was due to start, an anonymous businessman came forward with enough cash to see the film through to post-production.

The film, which, with its images of dragons flying over the Leeds skyline, certainly seems to fulfil Barkers original aim, is available to order from Barker's website www.wotr.co.uk. He is now working on two projects which he will write and produce - the period sci-fi The Last Great Adventure and the futuristic 2642AD.

Details

Year: 2004
Type of project: Features
Running time: 96 mins
Format: DigiBeta
Director: Kenneth D Barker
Producer: Kenneth D Barker
Editor: Heidi Stiene
Screenwriter: Kenneth D Barker
Director of Photography: Kay Ferris
Production Designer: Kirsty Willigan
Principal cast: Simon Kirk, Peter Campbell-Orde, David Bowles, Manouk Vandermeulen, Andy Moore, Guy Fonquernie, Emily Franks