Always on
This project successfully funded on 22nd September 2026, you can still support them with a donation.
Burning Skies- Funding oil short film cinema tour
Bristol, Bristol City, United Kingdom
Aim
Help fund a UK-wide cinema tour for five films uncovering the oil industry including expert panel discussions
Why We Need Your Help
We want your help to take five short films on a cinema tour followed by with expert panels.
I am the director of Last Gasp - a short thriller starring Sir David Suchet.
We are doing something different. We use gripping drama to highlight the scandal of oil flaring in the Middle East. We’ve had great reviews –
Caroline Lucas - Former Green Party leader – ‘A must-see brilliant film…’
Kerry McCarthy MP – Former Climate Change Minister – ‘…incredibly powerful.’
We’ve won awards –
London Director Awards - Best Short Fiction Film & Best Director-Short Film
Activists Without Borders - Best Short Drama
Frome International Climate Film Festival - Best South West Film
Now, we need to get this film seen.
Getting this film seen by cinema audiences would highlight the scandal of oil flaring. But, ask yourself ‘have you ever been to the cinema to watch a single short film?’ No. Almost no one does.
So, we've found four oil-based short films which are powerful, award-winning, and cinematic to come together for a full evening’s entertainment.
They are cracking films showing lots of hidden aspects of the oil industry –
The Shutdown – poetically shows the dangers of a British oil refinery
Pouring Water on Troubled Oil – Dylan Thomas brings alive the early days of BP in 1950’s Iran.
Offshore – Talks to North Sea oil riggers about the coming energy transition.
Martha’s Delta – Shows the damage and restitution of oil damage to the Niger Delta in Nigeria.
We are already on the path to bringing these films to a much wider audience with a website, trailer and BBFC certificates. But it’s our belief that people truly engage with films if there is a strong lively discussion afterwards.
Why We Need Your Help
British cinemas want to offer panel discussions after showing films but do not have the resources to chair or organise them. We want to change that.
1./ To chair discussions we need expenses to travel and stay all around the country. We think expenses for each trip would average out at around £250.
Our initial aim is for 25 panels.
2./ We need to fund research finding local expert guests and covering their travel expenses.
3./ We want support to expand the reach of Last Gasp internationally in three ways -
- Get the film shown at Turkiye’s COP in November 2026
- Reach out to Bristol’s UNESCO Creative Cities Network cities to have screenings of the film in Potsdam, Galway, Rome, Sarajevo etc.
- Push to screen the film in Iraq and across the region. We already version with Arabic subtitles but would like to fund extending this to Kurdish, Turkish and Farsi subtitles.
Who We Are
Tom Cholmondeley – Writer/Director of Last Gasp
Tom has worked in television documentaries for over 25 years but Last Gasp is his first drama. Across his career he worked for BBC Newsnight and both the history and science departments at the BBC. He has directed Prof Jim Al-Khalili, Anita Rani, former President Mikhail Gorbachev and the Lord Chief Justice.
His documentaries have been BAFTA nominated and won Royal Television Society Regional Wards. His work has had much press acclaim - "...this exemplary series....clear persuasive and entertaining."- The Times “…moving and chilling” The Guardian and “a thrilling, not to be missed opportunity” Radio Times.
Sir David Suchet – He is world-famous as Belgian detective Hercule Poriot and he won an Emmy playing Robert Maxwell (BBC - Maxwell)
In our film he plays Robert Harper an oil shareholder confronted by his own investments. It is David Suchet as you have never seen him before.
Sir David said, ‘What drew me to the role is the very tragic situation we have in Rumaila. It's a real privilege to be in something that I hope will be used to cause waves.’
Aso Sherabayani plays Thabit Karim and said, ‘This is close to my heart. I’m originally from Iraq. I think the society, the environment have all been affected by these smoky black flares. When I read the script I thought ‘Wow now this is a subject to talk about.’’
Background
Two years ago, a good friend of mine was suffering from leukaemia.
As I searched for information on her condition my Google search suddenly highlighted a BBC Film - Under Poisoned Skies.
It told the story of an Iraqi boy Ali Hussein Julood who had leukaemia linked to ‘flaring’ at the Rumaila Oil Fields. As oil is extracted natural gas is ’flared’ or burnt off giving off carcinogenic smoke. The UN calls these areas ‘modern sacrifice zones.’ The BBC were blocked from filming but managed to give a camera to Ali.Ali documented both his own illness and his school friends. A school where cancer is so common ‘it is like the flu.’ He had planned to show his film to the shareholders at BP’s Annual General Meeting.
But tragically he died just days before the meeting.
Ali was 21.
It hit me hard that oil companies could blithely poison children giving them the same terrible disease as my friend.
I have reimagined this story for my short film.
In my film the young daughter of a Rumaila schoolteacher Raad is dying of leukaemia. In desperation, he and his brother scam their way into the home of lead shareholder Robert Harper.
Can Raad persuade lead shareholder Robert Harper to speak out against the flaring and influence that day’s Annual General Meeting?
We hope you can help us.
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made