Latest from Anna Higgs

Who is Dr. Easy? It’s the question on everybody’s lips here at Film4, and something I’m very excited about as the Executive Producer of the project. Visual arts collective Shynola have provided us with an answer, by way of introducing you to their new production blog charting the progression of this new Film4.0 and Warp commission:

“It is not a ‘who’ at all. What is Dr. Easy? Our first foray into film, without music or the safety net of a pop star and their legions of fans.

It’s also a teaser for a feature film we’re developing with Warp Films and Film4.0, called ‘The RedMen’. An unorthodox UK based science-fiction. There are no laser guns or aliens, rather a horribly plausible invasion of technology into personal identity. And robots.

We’re keeping a Dr. Easy production diary here. We’ll be posting any novel items we find that may amuse you.

Please add us to your blogroll and join us when you can.”

- Chris, Jason & Kenny (Shynola)

Exciting news or what? We’ll be posting select updates from Shynola on key Dr. Easy milestones here on the Film4 blog, but hardcore fans should keep checking the Dr. Easy production blog to make sure you don’t miss a moment of their creative process.

 

 

 

Anna Higgs announces two new Film4.0 projects working with emerging filmmaking talent, plus a Digital Partner Project to Ben Wheatley’s A Field in England

We’re completely thrilled today here at Film4.0 today to be announcing not one but two new projects from exciting emerging filmmaking talents, plus a unique digital partner project to our first feature film, Ben Wheatley’s A Field in England, which you’ll hopefully have seen announced by me on the Film4 blog in November (click here if you didn’t!)

We’re very proud to be working with Shynola – renowned for their extraordinary commercials, music videos and title sequences – on Dr. Easy, a London-set short film based on Matthew De Abaitua’s novel The Red Men. It stars Tom Hollander, is shot by DOP Barry Ackroyd and produced by Warp Films. Michael is a broken man with a gun, surrounded by armed police. A robot with a medical degree is dispatched – but can it save him?

Next up, Jonathan Entwistle has written and will direct End of the F*cking World, a dark teen comedy based on the comic book by cartoonist Charles S. Forsman, following the journey of James and Alyssa, two teenagers on the brink of adulthood who are forced to go on the run from their boring town. Produced by Dominic Buchanan and set to shoot early 2013, my ambition is for it to be the first in a series of beautifully crafted cinematic shorts that will be released in instalments to audiences online.

And last but far from least, I’m thrilled to announce A Film in England, the interactive digital accompaniment to Ben Wheatley’s A Field in England. Ben and Rook Films are working with Film4.0 on an integrated digital masterclass charting the development, shoot and post of the film – and we hope the project will engage audiences in the wider world of A Field in England, with content including an in-depth look at a specific scene to allow film fans, audiences and emerging filmmakers alike to understand Wheatley’s unique filmmaking approaches.

Another part of what we’ll be doing with Ben’s film is a series of really beautifully crafted bespoke items – starting with the gorgeous teaser poster you can see above, exclusive to the Film4 blog of course! The poster was designed by the brilliant Luke Insect Studio and features Michael Smiley in a very evocative image. A limited edition run of 75 hand-crafted posters will go on sale soon, signed by the designers and Ben himself. We’ll post info on how you’ll be able to get your mitts on one here next week…

Between them, these projects showcase exactly what Film4.0 is about – innovative storytelling, experimenting with ways of reaching and engaging with audiences, bridging the gap between other creative industries and film – and at its heart brilliant, distinctive talent. Ben, Shynola and Jonathan are all at the cutting edge of their creative disciplines, and share our passion at Film4 for doing things differently – I’m so excited to be working with them.

 

As you’ll hopefully have seen announced here, Ben Wheatley’s A Field in England is the first feature to go into production from my Film4.0 slate, and it’s been quite the journey thus far!

From that announcement in September to today, the team have moved at lightning speed to prep and shoot.  They’re now editing away on the English Civil War-set film that stars Michael Smiley (Kill List), Peter Ferdinando (Tony), Reece Shearsmith (The League of Gentlemen), Julian Barratt (The Mighty Boosh), Richard Glover (Sightseers) and Ryan Pope (Ideal).

The film follows a small group of deserters fleeing from a raging battle through an overgrown field.  As they are captured by O’Neil, an alchemist, they are forced to aid him in his search to find a hidden treasure that he believes is buried in the field.

Crossing a vast mushroom circle, which provides their first meal, the group quickly descend into a chaos of arguments, fighting and paranoia, and, as it becomes clear that the treasure might be something other than gold, they slowly become victim to the terrifying energies trapped inside the field.

Fortunately on the shoot itself, which took place in a beautiful field in Surrey, the energies in the field were nothing but brilliantly creative and it is a testament to the team that these weren’t ever dampened by the cold October rains they faced on a few days!

As the Executive Producer I had the absolute pleasure of visiting set – though it seems odd to call a field a set! – twice, and it was brilliant to see Ben working with the actors and his regular team of collaborators including Claire Jones & Andy Starke, his producers, and Laurie Rose his Cinematographer.  You can get the tiniest taste of their work together in this exclusive (and gorgeous!) still from the film:

It’s coming together to be a unique film, and a perfect next project for Ben following up on Down Terrace and Kill List, just as Sightseers is released in the UK and a whole new audience is introduced to the Wheatley world.

Film4.0 will also be working to open up this world for fans and filmmakers alike, with a very exciting digital partner project to the film.  But we’ll be bringing you more on that soon, so as they say: watch this space!

 

 

Head of Film4.0 Anna Higgs announces the shortlist of thirty entries to Film4.0 initiative Scene Stealers

Seeing the Scene Stealers entries roll in over the last month has been a phenomenal experience, making all the hard work getting the competition off the ground very much worth it for our team. We asked entrants for a take on an iconic Film4 moment from our list of selected films with an individual stamp on it. We were looking for entries that did this in the most original and creative way encapsulating the Film4 ethos and celebrating some of its finest moments with a fresh, inventive approach….

… And boy oh boy did you guys give us that and more! The flair, invention and creativity that poured in from every corner of the UK and around the world was simply amazing. From silent movies to animation, sci-fi epics to comedy mashups and all sorts in between, we’ve been bowled over by all your talent. Every single filmmaking team put in so much effort and imagination in to every single second of their films. Just look at a small selection of what we got!

So while it was wonderful to get so many brilliant entries, a wise man once (sort of) said: with great films, comes great responsibility.

We had to shortlist hundreds of entries down to a manageable number, and it’s a cliché, but a very true one, that this was one of the toughest tasks imaginable. Everything was so strong, and so hard to compare, that everyone who sent us something should be incredibly proud. We want every single entrant to know that we admired their hard work, determination and talent and look forward to seeing more work from them in the future.

We’re very happy to announce the 30 films that make up the Scene Stealers shortlist, and congratulations to everyone that got involved. The final winners will be announced on 24th August, so watch this space…

 

The shortlist

Presented in alphabetical order – click the title to watch the film, and please note, some films may not be suitable for under 18s

Attack the Block: Movie Maniacs

Attack The Block 2: War Of Shadows

Dead Man’s Clown Shoes

Dead Man’s Kombat

Dead Man’s Pizza

Dead Man’s Shoes

Dead Man’s Shoes: A Tale Of Revenge

Dead Man’s Shoes: The Elephant Man

Dogspotting

Filmspotting

Gingerbread

The Inbetween-sirs

In Bruges: A Magical Realist Scene Steal

Kill List: The Musical

The Last King Of Stockland

The Last Queen Of Scotland

The League Of Gentlemen Of Clay

Looking For Secrets & Lies

Naked Froggy

Reasonable Don*

Respect 4 Bob: 127 Hours

Sexy Biscuit

The Shootout

A Stolen Scene of Elizabethan Proportions

Submerged

This Is England Scene Steal

This Is England?

Trainspotting 2018

Trainspotting: Choose 2012 Life

Witches

 

*Reasonable Don is very much in the shortlist and in the competition, but we couldn’t showcase this entry on site due to use of the very strongest language!

We’re very pleased to announce that the Scene Stealers jury is now complete – with acclaimed Danish filmmaker Lone Scherfig joining Joe Cornish, Asif Kapadia, Charles Gant (and me!) on the selection panel.

Her most recent film One Day was written by David Nicholls as an adaptation of his best-selling novel.  Prior to this she directed An Education written by Nick Hornby, starring Peter Sarsgaard, Carey Mulligan, Emma Thomson and Alfred Molina; it won the World Cinema Audience Award at Sundance 2009. Lone made her mark with the Dogma95 film, Italian for Beginners, a romantic comedy which won many international awards.

When asked about her support of the Scene Stealers talent search, Lone said:

“An inspiring, unpretentious way to celebrate Channel Four’s invaluable contribution to British film, and for everyone to find and give space for new voices in cinema.”

We of course couldn’t be happier with the range and experience of our jury and think they’ll do a brilliant job of helping us select the outstanding talents from an already incredibly strong field of entrants.

The full low-down on our fabulous jury can be seen here on the Scene Stealers site.

And the rest?  Well that is up to you guys – there’s only 8 days to go until the absolute and final deadline of 23:59 on 31st July!  But don’t wait until then, get your films seen and be in with a chance of stealing the scene by submitting now… everything you need to know is here!