The Crossing is a psychological drama about Terry, a delivery man approaching 40 whose life has taken a downturn since he discovered he was infertile. Alone and destitute, Terry is plagued by a recurring dream of a little girl alone on an empty island she’s desperate to leave.
When Terry’s estranged ex-fiancée, Kesh’s address inadvertently lands in his lap at work, he sets out on a journey to make amends and face his demons but he soon discovers that she has moved on. Having the door closed in his face triggers a harrowing chain of events that leads him to a difficult truth.
Globally, around 1 in 7 couples are faced with fertility problems. Perhaps surprisingly, in 40-50% of cases, this is due to problems facing the male partner. With this film, we want to give a voice to the psychological issues men can face as a result of infertility.
Whilst the film is a work of fiction, we hope to reflect the genuine problems of a man who feels helpless in his relationships and unsure about his wider place in the world.
Terry’s story is told through an asynchronous timeline, taking the audience on a journey through his past and present, and also into his mind; the tumultuous mind of a man struggling with his infertility.
Our goal is to make a cinematic, poignant and thought-provoking film whilst painting Terry’s troubled world in a stylistically bold and creative way. With a little bit of money behind us and a lot of hard work we will achieve this. This is an important story that we feel needs to be told because of the issues and taboos around male infertility.
We are extremely fortunate to already have the support of Creative England and BFI NET.WORK, who are working closely with us on developing the script and planning the production. They have contributed £5,000 which is a fantastic springboard and gives us the opportunity to make a good start on the film.
However, through this site, we are seeking contributions in return for a range of rewards that we hope you will find appealing. Filmmaking is expensive and every pound really does help to make a more filmic product. We will ensure that the money raised is used to make a more expertly crafted film that tells the story in the most professional and cinematic way possible for the budget.
Elements of the shoot such as equipment, catering, travel, art department and post-production can very quickly become costly. Simply put - the more money we have the more we can spend on making the film look, feel and sound higher quality, making the end product even more slick and professional. Not only will a more polished product make the film more accessible - it will allow the story and the work of the cast and crew to be exposed to larger audiences and have a higher prospect of competing at film festivals worldwide.
Having worked on a great number of film projects, this project is not only about the end product but is about the process for the entire cast and crew. We encourage people to get involved with the project to sharpen their skills and get more experience on film sets. We actively support junior crew members stepping up, working with more experienced crew members to learn and develop. We believe that as we progress so should our crew. The funds we raise will help provide opportunities for everyone involved to advance with their careers.
Finite Productions was established in 2006 by producer Garry Paton with one main aim; to make engaging and entertaining films. Telling stories by talented writers and working with strong regional talent in the North of England and Scotland has enabled the company to form a solid filmmaking track record and support new filmmakers from the locations they shoot in.
The work Finite has produced has gone on to receive recognition both at film festivals and online including:
The Cull (57,000 hits on Vimeo): Nominated for Best British Short Film at Edinburgh International Film Festival; Vimeo Staff Pick; Shooting People Top Pick
Irreversible: Winner of Best British Short Film at Raindance Film Festival
The Hive (37,500 hits on Vimeo): Official Selection Encounters Film Festival; Vimeo Staff Pick; Shooting People Top Pick; UK Film Council Short
Shades of Living: Official Selection Citizen Jane Film Festival; The Smalls Film Festival; High Falls Film Festival; Sarasota Film Festival; UK Film Council Short
Hello, Spaceboy: Official Selection European Independent Film Festival
Geezer: Official Selection Aesthetica Film Festival; Winner of Best Short Drama at Isle of Wight Film Festival
Pit Stop: Official Selection London Short Film Festival
Producer | Garry Paton | Finite Productions
Garry Paton is a Scottish producer based in Manchester. Garry has an array of short films under his belt, some of which have gone on to be selected at festivals worldwide. From each project, Garry has learned more skills to help produce his next project to a much higher calibre and has progressed to a more bold, cinematic and entertaining style of story-telling.
In 2015, Garry produced Pit Stop, a twenty minute short. The longer form enabled the story to play out much more carefully and stylistically. The Crossing takes this experience and adds a much more layered narrative with multiple locations and three timelines. Garry’s strong work ethic, determination to tell gripping stories and keen attention to detail will ensure that the production is executed economically, delivering an entertaining and thought-provoking film that will excite audiences.
Writer / Director | Jack King | kingjack.co.uk
The Crossing is written and will be directed by up-and-coming Bradford filmmaker, Jack King, who recently wrote and directed Pit Stop with the support of UNESCO’s City of Film initiative. It subsequently premiered at the 2016 London Short Film Festival. The film starred Aqib Khan who is known for West is West.
Before making the move into shorts, Jack made his name directing music videos with a strong, narrative bent for the likes of EMI, Universal and other major labels under representation by world-leading agency 'colonel blimp' among others. Jack has amassed over a million views on his work which saw regular acclaim from the likes of Vimeo staff picks, hunger TV, 1.4, young directors award, promo-news and Vevo.
Jack is interested in telling layered stories with real issues and locations at heart, films with a social-realist filter but expanding into imaginative and often dark, hyper-real situations which reveal real psychological and emotional truths about the characters in them. Stylistically Jack uses and experiments with genre and tone to tell a story in an original and surprising way.
Director of Photography | Phil Wood | philwooddop.com
Phil works internationally shooting features, TV drama and commercials. He shot the Oscar and BAFTA nominated short film, The Voorman Problem (starring Tom Hollander and Martin Freeman), which was also nominated for the Best Cinematography Award at the Fastnet Film Festival. He also shot the multi award winning short film I am Sami filmed on location in Kurdistan, Iraq.
His recent credits include:
The Voorman Problem: Nominated for Best Live Action Short at the Oscars; Nominated for Best Short Film at the BAFTAs; Nominated for Best Cinematography at Fastnet Film Festival; Winner of Best Live Action Short at Cinema St Louis International Film Festival; Winner of Best Fiction Short at Let’s All Be Free Film Festival; Winner of Best Short Film at Colchester Film Festival; Official Selection at over 36 film festivals internationally
Stan Lee’s Lucky Man (Episode 7 & 8): TV drama by Carnival Films for Sky 1
Our World War (Interactive Episode): TV drama for BBC 3
Chicklit: Feature film starring John Hurt and Dame Eileen Atkins
Peekaboo: Short film starring Lesley Sharp and Shaun Dooley
Phil studied at the Northern Film School where he was trained on Super 16mm. Phil is equally proficient working with both film and digital formats, and has built a reputation for creating strong cinematic images.
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