A Thousand Yard Stare

Aim: To honour the emotional journey of soldiers, showing the moment they accept death and the unseen battles they face within.

A Thousand Yard Stare is a short film about a wounded soldier trapped in no man’s land, wrestling with the reality of death. It’s a raw, dialogue-free piece designed to reach a global audience. After speaking to my cousin, a real veteran who was shot in combat, I realised how powerful this story could be for those who’ve fought, and those who’ve never truly understood what it’s like.

In this powerful interview, former Paratrooper George shares the moment that changed his life forever, when he was shot while deployed overseas. Raw, honest, and deeply human, this conversation explores what it truly means to face death, and the silent war many veterans continue to fight once they return home.

This interview was recorded to support A Thousand Yard Stare, a short film inspired by real soldiers experiences of trauma, isolation, and the quiet acceptance of death. George’s story brings truth and weight to the film’s message and serves as a voice for countless others who’ve walked the same path.

A Thousand Yard Stare is a grounded, dialogue-free WWII short film told in a single continuous shot. It follows a wounded British soldier trapped in a muddy crater in no man’s land, left to confront the inevitability of death. As the battle rages overhead, the soldier drifts between panic, reflection, and acceptance.

This is a minimalist, performance-led film driven by visual storytelling and raw emotion. Shot entirely on location with natural light and designed for a festival audience, the project aims to explore the internal cost of war, not through action, but through stillness and intimacy.

A Thousand Yard Stare stands apart for its combination of formal restraint and emotional intensity. While most war films rely on combat, spectacle, or large-scale narrative, this film deliberately avoids any depiction of fighting. Instead, it strips the genre back to a single soldier, a single location, and a single moment.

Told in real time, through one continuous shot and with no dialogue, the film creates a deeply immersive and intimate experience, placing the viewer inside the psychological headspace of a man facing the inevitability of death. With no explosions, no gunfire exchanges, and no enemy in sight, the real conflict becomes internal and universally human.

Its minimalist execution, quiet power, and emotional precision offer a unique contribution to the war film canon. It’s not a film about war. It’s a film about what war leaves behind.

With a committed team and a finished script, we’re ready to shoot. Our target is to film this summer and begin submitting to festivals by autumn. Your support now makes that possible.

Your support helps us cover essential costs including location, gear, cast, insurance, and post-production. Every pound helps elevate the production value and allows us to pay people fairly for their time and skill. We’ve budgeted carefully to make this happen without any waste. Even with a modest budget, we can deliver something cinematic, honest, and unforgettable.

If we raise more, it will allow us to expand the festival run, hire a professional colourist, and reach even more veterans and film lovers around the world.

Thank you for reading, sharing, and supporting this project, it truly means the world.

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 13th August 2025 at 9:54am