Always on
This project successfully funded on 10th June 2026, you can still support them with a donation.
Chernobyl Journey 1986 - 2026 Version
Betws-y-Coed, Conwy Principal Area, United Kingdom
Aim
To cover the expenses of making the 40th Anniversary of Chernobyl version of documentary Chernobyl Journey, taking the film into completion.
I am crowdfunding for £3,250:
- to help cover the costs of producing an up-to-date Work in Progress screening version of my feature project Chernobyl Journey for two events held to mark the occasion of the 40th Anniversary of the Chernobyl Disaster, 26th April 1986.
- to help move the film, that I have been working on for 17years now, into completion.
The Work in Progress screening events were:
- In association with Leeds Animation Workshop: 26th April 2026 at 5pm at the Hyde Park Picture House, 73, Brudenell Road, Leeds, LS6 1JD
- Presented by London Animation Club: 27th April at 7.30pm at the Green Man, Fitzrovia, W1.
Both events went exceedingly well. Comments included many superlatives such as ‘extraordinary’, ‘remarkable’, ‘amazing’ and even ‘precious’.
The money will be used:
· to pay my collaborator’s fees for the edit, sound design and score for the 2026 screening version of Chernobyl Journey
· to greatly advance the project towards completion, for instance by enabling me to employ another animator to speed the process up.
· The 2026 work in progress screener will itself be used to promote the completion of the final film.
· If I successfully reach my target, I can also apply for match funding.
More about the film:
'This absolutely remarkable film is a combination of live-action material shot within the Chernobyl exclusion zone and beautifully-rendered oil-on-glass animation to create a sublime and unnerving personal vision'. Martin Pickles, Animation Curator.
I have been working on my feature length mixed media film Chernobyl Journey since 2009. In the film, live action is used to tell the story of my four trips to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ) between 2009 and 2015 in search of the wild Przewalski Horses that were released there in the late 1990s. Paint on glass animation is used to relate a counter psychological journey that unravels backwards to 1986 in my own life. My animation style is distinctive, and Chernobyl Journey is a unique film. Chernobyl Journey is not finished yet, but it is getting there. I aim to deliver the final film in 2027.
Why screenings in April 2026:
April 26th, 2026, is the 40th Anniversary of the Chernobyl Disaster. It is not usual to screen a work in progress feature film in advance of completion. But there is method in my madness. In 2020, during the covid pandemic, my long-term editor, collaborator and friend Marianne Kuopanportti Fennell died, suddenly, unexpectedly and tragically. Although Marianne’s friend, editor Hoping Chen, later came on board and we finished the edit Marianne had been working on to create a 2021 version of her edit; going forward from this, the edit had practical, technical, financial and emotional problems that felt overwhelming to me. So, I did my PhD and concentrated on gradually creating the animations, knowing that a huge effort and considerable expense were going to be needed to move the edit forwards from the 2021 version. Although I knew I would not be able to complete the animations in time for April 2026, I took on the challenge of creating a new and much advanced work in progress screening version of Chernobyl Journey for the 40th Anniversary of the Chernobyl Disaster, because this gave me the motivation to make that effort, go to that expense, and get the production of Chernobyl Journey back on track.
The Team:
The Crowdfunder - Animator/Director/Producer Sally Pearce: Sally gained an MA in Animation Direction from the National Film and TV School, UK, in 2008. Her animated and mixed media films have screened and won awards in multiple Festivals. In 2024 she completed her PhD by Practice in the animation department of the University of Wolverhampton. Sally Pearce Showreel
Editor: Hoping Chen: Hoping started her editing career at the NFTS, UK in 2008. She gained recognition while working on director Anthony Chen’s debut feature film, ‘llo llo’. Premiering at the 66th Cannes Film Festival, the film secured the prestigious Camera d’Or and went on to amass over 30 awards worldwide. Since then, Hoping has worked on many multi award winning films, such as Claire McCarthy’s ‘The Colour Room’ (2021) and Geng Jun’s ‘Bel Ami’ (2024), winning the Best Editing Award at Taipei Golden Horse Film for her work on ‘Bel Ami’. In 2023, two films directed by Anthony Chen and edited by Hoping premiered at Sundance Film Festival (Drift), and at Cannes Film Festival (The Breaking Ice). Recent credits include Anthony Chen’s ‘We are all strangers’, Gabrielle Russell’s ‘The Reckoning of Erin Morrigan and Ang Geck Geck Priscilla’s ‘Ah Girl’ Hoping Chen Website
Susannah Lawrence - Sound Designer
Susannah is a creative Sound Designer and Re-Recording/Dubbing Mixer who has been working in film and broadcast television for over 15 years. With a BA in Music from the University of Liverpool, she went on to achieve MAs in Post Post Production Sound from Bournemouth University 2006 and the National Film and Television School in 2009.
Kylie Earl: Music Composer
Kylie Earl is a music composer and graduate of the National Film and Television School. Kylie has provided music for a number of Sally's film projects and is also a vocalist and songwriter with the band, Radio KWG, who are three piece folk band from Hampshire, UK. Pripyat Horse
The Rewards:
In return for smaller pledges, I have cards, printed T-shirts and enamel horse brooches to give. These are all limited editions.
In return for medium pledges, I have original watercolour sketches and storyboard art.
In return for larger pledges, I can offer a limited number of holiday stays in a beautiful stone cottage in the Snowdonia National Park. I can also offer supervised and supported day access to my animation studio for animator’s or artist’s wishing to try paint or sand on glass animation.
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made