The Story:
'Hegoledh' is Cornish/Kernewek for ‘superstition’. A bit like ‘The Mousehole Cat', it follows the story of a fisherman who can’t catch any fish - but this isn’t just because of a storm. In 'Hegoledh' there are some much larger forces at work. A stranger arrives to help, but as tempers fray and superstitions run rife, *something* is stopping the fish from biting - but no one knows what - or why.
Previous success:
The team's previous film 'Trengellick Rising' raised 145% of it's goal from crowdfunding, was accepted into the BAFTA and OSCAR qualifying 'Encounters Film Festival', released in cinemas in Cornwall (twice!) - and recently received an award from Gorsedh Kernow recognising it's contribution to Cornish culture, language and heritage.
It's upon these very strong foundations that we wish to build 'Hegoledh'.
"Shoot film, ask questions later":
One of the founding tenets of 'Hegoledh' is shooting on Kodak Film - 16mm to be precise. One of the biggest talking points of our previous film 'Trengellick Rising' was that it was shot on film: throughout its conception, fundraising, production and release. The help from Kodak and Digital Orchard was instrumental to it's success from the get go - and without their help, neither film would exist.
There's a nostalgia to negative film, and to utilise it we very quickly decided that 16mm would the perfect medium to convey this in our story. Not only that, but it's perfect to encapsulate the salt, spray and fierce tactile nature to life in Cornwall. We want this to come across on screen, bringing the living, breathing nature of it to life - and shooting on film is the best way to do it.
Historical Context:
Cornwall is a Celtic nation, with a wealth of Celtic heritage - including it's own language. Whilst 'Hegoledh' wont be fully in Kernewek like 'Trengellick Rising', we will be utilising Kernewek where it serves the narrative best to better tell it's story bring Celtic heritage, culture and storytelling to a worldwide audience.
Authenticity
In the age of AI, it's important to make sure that we create something authentic, not generic. A benefit of 'Hegoledh' being shot on negative film, is that it will physically exists. No 0's & 1's - real life physical emulsion, where even a still image is living and breathing with swirling 16mm grain. Additionally, the film's imagery will be inspired and informed by those who were at the cutting edge of the medium in the 1920s - think more 'expressionism' and 'surrealism' than 'Netflix' and 'algorithm'.
Pitchdeck:
Summary:
Thank you/meur ras for getting this far - we aim to make this film for not only the dedicated few, but also make it have universal appeal. We want to get this film to even more film festivals and audiences worldwide by having a universal story that everyone can enjoy watching. Thanks again, the donation button is on the right - anything is appreciated - even just sending it on to someone else would be fantastic. Let's make this film together!