A Father’s Day tells the story of a man and his estranged daughter who are re-united after the world has fallen apart because of a zombie apocalypse. The only thing is: they’re the zombies.
These two characters stumble upon something special - echoes of their lost humanity, and faded memories of caring for a loved one. But they cannot fully understand it, and so, as if tamed by their human tendancies, they begin a journey to rediscover who they might have been.
We want to take a universal concept about a father/daughter relationship and place it in a genre narrative. Our hope is to make a film that breaks down genre barriers and appeals to a wide audience.
Our aim is to make a film that is dramatic, cinematic and accessible with high production values. We are delighted and honoured to have SHAUNE HARRISON (Harry Potter I-VII, World War Z, Avengers 2: Age of Ultron) onboard as the lead make-up artist.
From the outset of this project, our intention has been to make a micro-budget independent short film that feels like a big-budget studio blockbuster.
Filmmaking is not a cheap process, we’ve done the sums, and the minimum we need to do this script justice is £7000.
Creative England’s award of £5,000 allows us to make the film, covering the essentials such as locations, kit hire and catering costs, but the additional monies that we raise via Crowdfunder will allow us to make a significantly better film. Any further funding will be spent on prosthetic makeup and also specialist kit which allows us to achieve cinematic photography that we would not be able to obtain otherwise. The pie chart below shows a breakdown of how both Creative England's money and the money that we raise via Crowdfunder will be spent.
The additional £2000 that we are asking for may sound like a lot, but the prosthetics for our lead actor alone is £500. Your money will be used to ensure that our film has the highest production values possible. The more money we receive the better our production values are going to be, and the more believable our zombies are going to be.
The selection of wounds and prosthetic props which we are looking to incorporate into the film include lifecasts of our lead actor's heads, various body parts, including a severed arm and a severed foot, bite marks, scratches and a fake arm with a compound fracture.
If we raise the £2000 via Crowdfunder we will be able to have all of these prosthetics in the final film, as is written in the script. Please make a pledge today, YOU can be part of this film and make this happen!
Get involved. Help us spread the word.
- Follow us online. We're on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Vimeo.
- Annoy your friends. We need to reach as many fans as we can, and we can’t do it alone. Following us? Help us spread the word. Repost our stuff. Or post your own. Don't forget to include the hashtag #AFathersDay with any posts. We’ll share the stuff you post, and if you make your own cool stuff, let us know and we’ll share it.
- Update your Facebook cover and share your social media badge. Once you've made a pledge you will receive a ‘Campaign Supporter’ Facebook cover and a personalised social media badge via email. Help us spread the word by updating your Facebook cover and by posting your badge online. Additional brownie points are awarded if you are able to post any of the above with a link back to our Crowdfunder!
- Put us in touch. Do you have any friends who work in media, perhaps a friend who runs a blog or radio show? Send them a link to our Crowdfunder or get them to contact us direct via email.
Mat’s recent short films include Kiss, Run and Radio Silence. Kiss has been selected for a number of high profile festivals including the London Short Film Festival and the New York Independent Film Festival. Mat was awarded the accolade of Best Director for Kiss at Newport International Film Festival.
Run has been regarded as somewhat of an internet sensation. Made from start to finish in under four days at the Filmonik Kino Kabaret in Manchester, the film gained much critical and professional acclaim after it was shared by Stephen Fry with his followers on Twitter. It has since gone on to be featured on aintitcool.com’s Saturday Shorts and shortoftheweek.com as well as dozens of other websites and blogs, gaining over 100,000 views.
Mat is currently developing a slate of feature films, including a feature length version of Run, currently at script stage.
Chris has produced numerous independent short films to date and, in recent years, has been working almost exclusively with writer and director Mat Johns. During this time, Chris has worked alongside Mat as Producer on his short films When I'm Sixty-Four, Radio Silence and Moving In, the last of which is a 16 second horror that won the Runner Up prize in River Film's Four4 Short Film Competition.
Producing films through his production company Leapling Films, Chris is currently developing a slate of feature films with Mat and initiating funding from private investors.
Chris currently works as Hire Administrator at 24/7 Drama, operating from the hub of the MediaCityUK development in Salford Quays, supplying high-end production equipment to flagship TV drama for BBC, ITV and SKY, amongst others.
Sam and Judith established Envelope Films, a Manchester based video production company in 2013. The company has gone on to work on many high profile productions including advertisements for CITV, M&S Bank and Bridgestone Tyres.
Sam is an experienced Director of Photography, and has worked on over 200 film productions including short films, music videos, documentaries and adverts for both TV and online. He worked for several years as a teacher at Futureworks in Manchester, teaching camera, lighting, sound, editing and scriptwriting for the TV & Film Diploma course. Sam has also worked as a video game animator on several titles for Rockstar Games and was recently invited by Contact Theatre to mentor the prestigious Future Fires team in developing and creating their film, Growing Up, a collage of short films, interviews and documentary exploring issues surrounding early adulthood.
With a degree in Environmental Science and a diploma in Acoustics, Judith previously worked for global consultancy firm Arup for four years as an acoustic consultant. Her projects covered the length of Britain and included exciting new builds such as Leeds Arena. Following her passion for TV and Film, Judith has since worked on numerous high profile short films, music videos and documentaries. Judith recently directed Cyberbully, an interactive film for learning disability charity Mencap.
Shaune began his film career as a special make-up effects artist on Clive Barker's Nightbreed, where he worked for Bob Keen's Image Animation. Shaune remained there for six years prior to meeting Nick Dudman, with whom he first worked on Luc Besson's The Fifth Element. Shaune and Nick then went on to work together on Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, The Mummy, and the entire Harry Potter film series. Shaune has also contributed to other films such as: Sleepy Hollow, Danny Boyle's Sunshine, World War Z, Jupiter Accending and Avengers 2: Age of Ultron.
Whilst working on the Harry Potter series, Shaune decided to start making his own short movies, and over the next few years Shaune wrote, produced and directed four shorts. These short films have gone on to win numerous awards around the world.
In May 2014, Shaune opened his doors to the Shaune Harrison Academy, a prosthetic make up academy set in the heart of Manchester. The Academy teaches up and coming artists and students the art of prosthetics and special make-up effects.
Gareth is a Motion Graphics Editor and Head of Post Production at Fresh, a Manchester based agency whose clients include Santander, Tesco, Direct Line and Virgin. Gareth creates bespoke animations, film production work including Will Power, Radio Silence, SPASM, Band on the Wall, Grimm Up North. Gareth is also a contributor to Filmonik, the Manchester cell of the much respected worldwide Kino Movement.
William is a composer and sound designer working in film, television and advertising, with credits for Playstation, Shell, 7-UP, Speedo USA, Gatorade and fantasy drama series Making Sparks. A graduate of Leeds College of Music Conservartoire with first class honors in composition for screen, William studied under BAFTA nominated composer Neil Myers.
William is internationally published with Quantum Music Works and The Eggplant Stereo.