Belle and Bamber is the story of Belle; a 10 year old girl with a thirst for adventure and Bamber; her fuzzy, blue imaginary friend who spend their days exploring and getting into mischief. However, when Belle’s mother tires of her fantasies and pressures her to grow up and forget him, Bamber is faced with the possibility of being banished to Belle’s subconscious. Rather than letting her go, Bamber decides to fight back, making Belle act out, run away from home and when nothing else works, realises there’s one last resort - they have to kill Belle’s Mother.
The film is a coming of age, dark comedy drama mixing familiar themes of fearing the future and losing ones childhood with the comically sociopathic (and increasingly vicious) Bamber as he is willing to do whatever it takes to stay in Belle’s life.
We founded "Fancy a Jam Pictures" in 2013 by pooling the collaborative skills of our talented friends whilst studying film production at university. Since then, we have spent the last 3 years honing our own distinctive film making style. The shorts we create focus on dark yet often comedic elements and we enjoy the dramatic effect of mashing two opposing genres together.
Our 2014 graduation film ‘Sunday Dinner with the Morgans’ saw great success at film festivals around the world, with inclusions in ‘Camerimage Festival of Cinematography’ in Poland and ‘Big Bear Lake IFF’ in California. The film is the recipient of 6 varying awards including a ‘Learning on Screen’ award and a regional ‘Royal Television Society Award’. As part of the RTS showcase the short was broadcast on Sky Arts in 2015 and is still available on-demand today!
Following this success we were commissioned in 2015 by Screen South to create a 3 minute dark comedy short entitled ‘I Dream of Zombies’. It was produced in partnership with the Arts Council and starred ‘Game of Thrones’ actor Joseph Altin. This short is set to be released by Channel 4 online on the 3rd of May!
Now we are turning our attentions to the most ambitious project to date: ‘Belle and Bamber’, with the support of Creative England’s iShort’s scheme and the help of the lovely people of Crowdfunder!
Alex Forbes (Director) - Alex has been making films since he first picked up a camcorder, starting from the back-garden kung fu movies of his childhood to the weird mix of dark comedy and drama that he now concocts with the team. He is filled with the insatiable desire to tell stories… usually ones with a little sex, vulgarity and/or gratuitous violence sprinkled in just to spice it up. He enjoys moaning at Jack, actors who ‘really get’ him and writing about himself in the third person.
Jack Pollington (Producer) - Jack found a love for producing when getting together his mates to shoot short comedies on Sunday afternoons, cultivating a passion for collaboration which has never left him. Jack's work spans fiction, documentary, comedy, drama and plenty in between. From working closely with Alex and his team at Fancy a Jam Pictures he has produced award winning work which has been screened at Camerimage festival in Poland, the BFI, the Skinny awards in Edinborough and New Filmmakers Festival in LA to name a few. He can mostly be found sat in his office grumbling over a spreadsheet or on an odd occasion, enthusastically handing out coffees on a busy set.
Daniel O’Flaherty (Director of Photography) - Daniel is a 'Guild of Televsion Cameramen' award winning cinematographer. He has been working with the team at Fancy a Jam Pictures since 2014 and has been the director of photography on all of their major projects since including 'Sunday Dinner with the Morgans', 'No Trace' and 'I Dream of Zombies. In 2014 Dan had his work featured at the prestigious Camerimage festival of Cinematography in Poland. He can mostly be found joyfully doodling storyboards or engaging in a rousing sing-song with his camera department.
Will Chapman (Sounds Recordist/Editor) - Will is Fancy a Jam Pictures sound recordist and editor/mixer. His ear for detail and musical background make him an irreplacable part of the group. He has been collaborating with the team since 2014 and has been the go-to audio guy for every project since. Will currently works as a audio production runner at The Farm Group. He can mostly be found twiddling nobs on a large mixing desk or hurridly asking everyone to 'Shhh... wildtrack'.
Chloe Hardwick (Editor) - Chloe began her studies at UCA Farnham, where she realised her passion for editing - its creative structure and its narrative role within media. She has been offline editing for 5 years now, working with 'Fancy a Jam Pictures' to create a series of dark comedies. She has also been nominated for awards in the field, the most recent being the Royal Television Society for our graduate film Sunday Dinner with the Morgan’s (in which she recieved a nomination in editing). She currently works at Envy Post Production as a senior edit assistant, working on multiple shows broadcast on Channel 4, BBC and Sky. She feels that a film is a only as strong as its weakest member, an issue she never has to worry about when working with Fancy a Jam.
This is Bamber, Belle’s imaginary best friend and the star of the short. He was crafted in collaboration with the fanatastic team at Lunas Puppets. We wanted Bamber to be as expressive as possible so the puppet is fitted with a number of mechanical facial triggers and animatronic eye movements. We think this means that Bamber will jump to life on screen. He has to be seen to be believed!
Bamber in the workshop!
Bamber arrives from the USA!
We are really pleased with Bamber's final design and believe it perfectly compliments his character. We are currently searching for the perfect pupetter to bring Bamber to life.
We are thrilled that ‘Belle and Bamber’ is being supported by Creative England and the BFI.NETWORK through their iShorts scheme. This iniative matches the project with invaluable industry support and £5000 of the films budget. This funding will be a great help in getting the film made.
However Belle and Bamber is an exceptionally ambitious project and to see our vision though we require just a little more funding. We are looking to raise an extra £2500 through Crowdfunder. This might seem like a lot but the money will go directly into the production of the film and will ensure that we have: the absolute best puppeteer to bring Bamber to life, the best equipment to tell the story, highest quality studio space, fantastic locations, transport, food and shelter for the cast and crew as well as many more essential components to making this the best film it can be.
The pie chart below breakes down how the money from Creative England and the money raised through Crowdfunder will be spent. The more we can raise through Crowdfunder the higher the production value, the better this film can be and the bigger audience it can reach. We can not achieve the vision for the film we have set out to make without this invaluable funding and remember you're not only contibuting to the making of this short but the growth of our production company and our careers.
As a big thank you for believing in our project and in us as film-makers we have a series of exciting and exclusive rewards for our backers.
We wanted to make this short as accesible as possible so for only £10 you can get an online preview of the film (both to stream and to download) before it’s released to film festivals and long before it’s public release online.
However, If you have always liked a physical version then you can get the DVD for only £35, packed with bonus content! There are also plenty of other fab rewards such as a directors commentary, an excluive Q+A session with the director and producer, you can have Bamber send you a personalised video message, a behind the scenes photo book, a digital copy of the film's script with shooting notes, a framed art poster, an invitation to the premiere, even a chance to win Bamber himself... and much, much more. Take a look a the full list of fantastic rewards below...
We will give you a big shout out across our social media accounts so you can help us spread the word! This will also get you access to the behind the scenes content. See an example of Behind the Scenes photos from one of our previous shorts!
An exclusive preview of the film online before it's first screening, be amongst the first to see it. Plus get exclusive access to the behind the scenes content and a high resolution digital poster.
Invitation to an exclusive Q+A with the Director and Producer of the film and the directors commentary MP3 download along with the film. Plus a digital copy of the shooting script with directors notes and storyboards. Plus a digital copy of the films poster. Plus access to the online screener of the film and behind the scenes content. Wheew!
Always loved the physical copy? Get the exclusive 'Belle and Bamber' DVD, packed with bonus behind the scenes content and other goodies. Grow your DVD collection with us! We promise it will look fantastic up on your shelf! Plus access to all previous digital rewards (Online Screener, Q+A, commentary, Digital Poster, Shooting Script, BTS).
The one and only Bamber will send you a message to camera, ask him to roast one of your friends or alternatively ask him a question and he will answer! Get a little bit of that Bamber attitude! Plus a DVD bundle and all previous digital rewards! (Online Screener, Q+A, commentary, Digital Poster, Shooting Script, BTS).
An invitation to the films premiere party where you can get a snap with the star of the film, Bamber! Watch the film with the filmmakers and enjoy a night of fun and entertainment. Also includes exclusive physical collectors book containing behind the scenes photos and concept artwork. Plus a DVD bundle and all previous digital rewards! (Online Screener, Q+A, commentary, Digital Poster, Shooting Script, BTS).
High quality poster artwork printed and framed, perfect for hanging on your wall! Plus the exclusive physical collectors book containing behind the scenes photos and concept artwork. Plus a special thank you in the credits of the film. Also you'll get a VIP invitation to the premiere! Plus a DVD bundle and all previous digital rewards! (Online Screener, Q+A, commentary, Digital Poster, Shooting Script, BTS).
That's right, not only do you get all previous perks, including the art print and collectors book, but you will also be entered into an exclusive raffle to win one of the actual Bamber puppets used in the film. Yours to keep forever! Plus a DVD bundle and all previous digital rewards! (Online Screener, Q+A, commentary, Digital Poster, Shooting Script, BTS).
An invitation to the 'Belle and Bamber' set, meet the team and see the action first hand! Get the VIP treatment and even the opportunity to operate part of the Bamber puppet in 1 of the shots! You must be available for one of our shooting dates in early August. Plus the exclusive physical collectors book containing behind the scenes photos and concept artwork. Plus all digital rewards (Online Screener, Q+A, commentary, Digital Poster, Shooting Script, BTS) and a DVD bundle and the framed artwork!
Get involved and help us spread the word!
- Follow us online, we're on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram! Share our posts and like our pages!
- Involve your friends! We need to reach as many poeple oas posible and can not do it along so get tweeting, posting and uploading. Don't forget to use #belleandbamber and we will share anything you post online!
- Do you have any creative ideas on how we could raise more, do you run a local newspaper or radio show, or know someone who does. Get in touch directly with us [email protected].