Hope | 5-MINUTE SHORT FILM

Aim

In post-apocalyptic Britain, a father must trek the treacherous, abandoned landscape just to see his daughter again.

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Synopsis - 

England, 2194. Civilisation is gone, the air is toxic, the plantlife has reclaimed what was once cities, and the age of Humanity is coming to a close.

However, there is one survivor left: Adam. He has forced himself to stay alive in this new, merciless world. He has trekked, starved, fallen, and limped his way across the country in a gas mask for only one reason - to get to what was once New London to get back to his daughter, Hope.

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'Hope' is a science fiction short film that is small-scale in story and large-scale in themes and vision.

 It begins as a story of a father fighting impossible odds and the harshest of conditions to make sure his daughter is safe with him, then transitions into a story of the final moments of our species, what we represented as a people, and what our legacy will be after we're gone.

Since 'Hope' is meant to be a 5-minute short, this film is one that values minimalism and environmental storytelling. Your contributions will go to food, travel, equipment, and film festival submission fees.

To see how this story unfolds, donate to us, and we will work our absolute hardest to make 'Hope' the very best it can be.

When Brandon approached me with the idea of an apocalypse film, I was both excited and sceptical. On one hand, an apocalypse film could be an incredible opportunity to make a film that embraces atmosphere and worldbuilding. However, a student apocalypse film is definitely not the most original idea. I knew that if we were going to go for that genre, we'd have to take it somewhere other apocalypse films wouldn't. For example, there's always a settlement or a 'safe-haven' of people trying to put civilisation back together in apocalypse films, and I always thought that idea was cheap and unrealistic.If the apocalypse is 'The End of the World', it should BE The End of the World. Or at least, the end of OUR world.

At the time, I had watched a LOT of sci-fi films, so I was totally in that state of mind, and I really wanted to throw in a super-futuristic sci-fi element into the mix and see where it took us. Once we did - mixed in with what we saw in other apocalypse films we wanted not to replicate - we suddenly started thinking about all these themes and questions that we found quite profound. "What do human beings do in the face of inevitable oblivion?", "What would there even be TO do?"

Because I'm a basement-dwelling gamer degenerate, I noticed how these themes reminded me of the Dark Souls games. The way they have these vast, dying worlds, and the main character is charged with saving them, though by the end, you figure out that saving the world isn't all it's chalked up to be. Saving the world would just mean prolonging the inevitable, allowing a brutal cycle of power and eventual decay to loop over and over again. Instead, if you allow the "fire" to die naturally, it isn't a tragic event; it's quite a peaceful one.

But that isn't all that satisfying, narratively. In a long, extensive game, it works great, but we're running a 5-minute short film, so we had to get creative with our ending.

Well... I'M not gonna tell you what the ending is. DONATE TO FIND OUT!!

Since I was little, I was always fascinated with exploring the different worlds in the films and books I loved. Their atmosphere, depth, and sense of mystery sparked my imagination and shaped my creativity. When I wasn’t being absorbed in another person’s world, I was dreaming up my own –  drawing characters and writing their histories. Today, my drive and passion is being a creative in the film industry so that I can give back in honour of those stories that expanded my imagination.

I studied for three years at the London Screen Academy and worked in several roles on projects there, and now I’m on my second year at the University of Portsmouth. Here, I get to show my diverse knowledge, skills and vision as a storyteller, working up to my 3rd year grad project... which will be my most ambitious project yet, so STAY TUNED!

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I am always looking to gain all the experience I can, working practically on films, collaborating with others and gaining pivotal skills for my future career in the film industry. I have had experience on multiple short film projects and even a feature film earlier this year!

I am incredibly excited about working on H O P E and bringing to life this dystopian, post-apocalyptic world and shaping the film’s vision of a fractured future: as a producer, it's this world-building and potential for the film that truly excites me. Similarly, as DoP, working with Ragnar’s creativity and my own visual style, I believe the crafting of this imagery will transform abandoned landscapes into canvases of tension and desolation, where the character ‘Adam’ will be trekking, just to find his daughter again.

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All my life, I have loved storytelling. My imagination drove me as a kid, and it drives me now. With film, there are just so many ways to tell a story. There is no better feeling than making something that is original and meaningful to me and then working practically to bring that story to life. This feeling is why I love making so many short films, it’s why I’m at university right now, and it’s why my goal is to one day help create a feature film, being both in the writer’s room and on set.  

I am very excited to help bring our story, ‘Hope’, to the screen. This is a story that feels incredibly motivational and emotional to me, and I can’t wait for all of you to see it. 

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I have always found one of the most interesting aspects of filmmaking is storytelling through production design; however, I have never focused all my attention on it as a production designer. My role on this project is to source, manage and maintain most aspects of physical production design. Props, costumes and set dressing. As well as working with the director and producers to discover a visual language for the film.   

I believe that this film is a rich and mysterious one, and to sell that effect, the visual storytelling of the film must support it. My main focus is to give the sense that we are only seeing a slice of this story with a far deeper world-building under the ambiguous surface. This will be achieved with a combination of practical, real-world props and costumes, as well as a variety of special effects to give a sense of scale to this world. 

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I decided to work on this film as it’s got strong emotional potential backed by solid visual storytelling. I chose to become an editor as it’s something I’ve done since I was a kid, and I chose to study Film Production as I truly love the storytelling and emotions you can experience from films, and I don’t feel the same way with other mediums.

I’ve worked as an editor on multiple short films, but have also been commissioned to edit on Music Videos (Honey - Diversion) and Charity fundraisers (Mind Andover and Farnborough Football Club charity match). 

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This project is something that I am super thrilled to be working on, as the sci-fi themes and overall aesthetic and story of the film are incredibly ambitious, but also very exciting!  

Being able to create art and lighting concepts for this film has been a real treat, as sci-fi has been something I’ve been interested in ever since I was a kid. I’ve really enjoyed playing with colour and shape within the constraints of a post-apocalyptic world, and I’m really excited to see how these ideas will look in the final film. 

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We've created several reward tiers for anyone who donates money to us!

Tier 1 (£10) - The Supporter

• A 'Thank You to our supporters' in the credits
• Link to a curated Film Watchlist for Hope
• Link to a Spotify Mood-Playlist

Tier 2 (£20) - The Insider

• Everything from Tier 1
• PDF of Crew-Signed Final Script
• VFX Breakdown

Tier 3 (£30) - The Collaborator

• Everything from previous tiers
• BTS Pictures & Footage + On-Set Film Stills
• Costume/Prop Sketches
• Physical Signed print of Script

Tier 4 (£40) - The Visionary

• Everything from previous tiers
• Director's Storyboards
• Original Concept Art

Tier 5 (£50) - The Auteur

• Everything from previous tiers
• Director's Commentary
• Original Soundtrack
• Early Access to the finished product

Tier 6 (£60) - The Patron

• Everything from previous tiers
• Director's previous work
• Personalised 'Thank You' in the credits

Tier 7 (£70) - The Executive

• Everything from previous tiers
• Executive Producer credit + IMDb and Letterboxd Credits

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made