We're filming a Welsh-language short comedy in rural Ceredigion -- please help us make this project a reality!
by Sam Sharrocks in London, Greater London, United Kingdom
With an extra £1000 we can:
Knackered is a short Welsh-language comedy film about two young women who go to ridiculous lengths to hide a dead body on a sheep farm.
We're raising funds to film the project at the end of August on a working farm in rural Ceredigion.
Darllenwch am y prosiect yn y Gymraeg yma.
Mae dwy fenyw ifanc yn troi at ddulliau anghonfensiynol wrth geisio cuddio corff marw ar fferm ddefaid. Two young women go to ridiculous lengths to hide a dead body on a sheep farm.
TEIFI and BECA wake up after a crazy all-night bender to find that their drug dealer is dead. Teifi’s father is hosting a shooting day, so the whole farm is teeming with nosy men with itchy trigger-fingers...
Fearing the police or, even worse, social exclusion in the village, they try to figure out how to hide the corpse... and decide their best option is to dress the body up as a sheep and smuggle it into the deadbox for the knackerman to take away.
The film also hints at a wider story about Teifi's identity and her relationship with the world around her.
TEIFI - Glain Llwyd
Back on her parents’ farm after dropping out of university, Teifi feels the weight of the community’s judgement. She's insecure in her own abilities but can navigate her environment like a fish in water.
BECA - Rhosyn Alaw
Savvy, collected, and deceptively clever, Beca appears laid back but kicks into action at moment’s notice. She lives in the city but has a close family connection to the community, and has known Teifi since childhood.
Rydym yn gweithio gyda chriw arbennig o greawdwyr ffilm broffesiynol, gynnar eu gyrfeydd. We're working with a brilliant crew of early-career professional filmmakers.
Between us, we've worked on shoots for Netflix, Apple TV, BBC, Aardman, and more. Many of us have worked together before, creating award-winning short films which have played at film festivals across the UK.
Producer / Co-writer: Glyn Owen
Glyn is a multidisciplinary artist from Ceredigion and working in London. He was raised in a farming community and is fluent in Welsh. His work as a costume designer, drag and performance artist has been seen at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Royal Academy of Music and prominent nightlife venues across London.
Director / Co-writer: Django Pinter
Django is an award-winning young filmmaker from London. He has been learning Welsh and helping on the farm for three years. He is a BFI Alumnus and has directed three short films, the most recent of which was nominated for Best Writing at the BFI Future Film Festival. Watch Django's last short film here!
Assistant Producer: Rosie Robinson
Rosie is a director and producer from London and co-founder of Accidental Donkey Productions, which produced Django's last short film. She is an alumna of the BFI Future Film Academy, the NFTS residential course, and has worked at the distribution company Java Films in Paris.
Assistant Producer: Sam Sharrocks
Sam is a shooting director and editing producer with credits including The One Show on BBC, Children in Need, Comic Relief, and Taskmaster. He will be producing the film alongside Glyn.
Director of Photography: Will Jensen
Trained in lighting on feature films and HETV, Will is a freelance DOP who has worked with other members of the team across music videos, commercials, and a number of short films.
Props & Model making: Ellen Beaufoy
Ellen has a postgrad diploma in model-making from the NFTS and is currently in the puppetry department for The Lion King stage show. She’ll be helping create fake pheasants and body parts!
Mae lleoliad yn bwysig iawn i’r ffilm - heb fferm ddefaid, fyddai’r ffilm yn gweithio o gwbl! Locations are crucial to this film – if we didn’t have a sheep farm it wouldn’t work at all!
We want to explore the variety of environments on a farm to help build the world of the film. The film includes wide open fields, overgrown forestry, yards and sheds filled with vehicles and tools, and interior shots in Teifi’s bedroom at the farmhouse.
We’re very lucky to have access to the farm which Glyn grew up on. This is a working sheep farm in Ceredigion, and has everything we need: sheds, fields, woodland, a deadbox, even a lake. We wrote the script with this farm in mind so that we can use as much as possible.
We are fortunate to have access to locations and film equipment for free, and have already raised some funds through private donation. However, we also need to cover fees for our cast & crew, travel and accommodation, and production design materials.
That means we still need £2,500 to make this film possible!
Our key expenses are:
We're on track for shooting the film over the bank holiday weekend in August and screen the film before the end of the year.
We can't make this without your help!
We are incredibly grateful for all contributions to this project -- every penny will go towards making the best film we can.
This project offers rewards in return for your donation. Please select a reward below.