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Metalism
Poole, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, United Kingdom
Aim
Metalism is a dystopian Sci-Fi short film about ambition, love and cybernetic enhancement
Set in the dystopic near future of 2050, lovers Kyro, and Arya, two amateur bare-knuckleboxers, fight in the deadly emerging sport of METALISM, and enhance their skills through cybernetic augmentation.
Kyro trains with his loving partner Arya, at their mentor’s gym daily, in preparation for the coming championship. With mounting pressure on Kyro and his potential success, he becomes obsessed with victory and begins furthering his cybernetic implants. Upgrade after upgrade, Kyro slowly loses sight of his own humanity, and the closer he gets to satisfying his insatiable ambition, the further away he gets from satisfying Arya’s affection towards him.
Kyro’s mind and body is torn between human and machine, a downward spiral that only Arya can pull him out of.
Arya is a strong willed, skilled, but loving fighter, involved in the same sport of METALISM as her partner Kyro. For her, enjoying the sport, but also the time with those she loves, is what matters most. As Kyro grows distant, she must grapple with the pain of losing his affection to a machine, and decide whether to fight for his humanity and love, or fight for herself.
Kyro is a determined, yet obsessive young bare-knuckle boxer, enhanced with cybernetic augmentations. He gradually loses sight of his loving relationship, as the unwavering pursuit for success corrupts his priorities, and he is torn between two lives, two souls, flesh and metal. Kyro must decide what is more important to him, his humanity, and his partner Arya, or his own ambition, and his metal.
As a film director, I know what it’s like to lose yourself in ambition. Struggling with work-life balance is something most of us have experienced. You spend your childhood being told at school that you need to get the best grades, get into the best school, do something with your life. There is a toxic instinct indoctrinated into many of us, that being the best is EVERYTHING. But that’s a lie fed to us to make productive machines out of our bodies. I personally believe there’s a balance, success satisfies me, but empathy, love, is what makes me human, more than machine. Because of that, I can understand both characters, and with my wonderful crew, make the best version of this film possible, without forgetting why I decided to make it in the first place.
METALISM is a psychological sci-fi horror, focused on OBSESSION and LOVE, how they pull and push each other, and how one must give. Simultaneously, the effect of advancing TECHNOLOGY beyond reason, is a core focus of this film, as it tackles the loss of agency and humanity in putting our MACHINES over our minds.
To bring this to life, the INDUSTRIAL, and GRUNGE aesthetic will be key to informing the style as a whole. Through Arya’s developing perspective, the tone will be harshly dramatic, with hints of stylisation. However, grounding the sci-fi genre, as to keep the experiences and emotions of the characters authentic, will be essential in bringing forward personal elements of the film embedded in its story.
Whether its through high contrast lighting, decayed props of the future, industrial soundscapes, or brutally realistic make up and costumes, each department is committed to bringing to life the canvas in which these character’s story are being painted.
Our reliance on technology has grown. The dawn of artificial intelligence has settled, and “the ai takeover” is a fear that has stricken many. We fear the idea that machines could rob us of our humanity, and Metalism places this anxiety in a story about ambition and love. Both very human emotions, that are being taken advantage of by the system; the machine. The truth of the matter is that there is no fight worth fighting without our human emotions at stake. So, with the emotion crushed by the machine, it’s reduced to pointless violence. As if violence wasn’t pointless enough already.
Every penny that is donated will go towards making the best version of this film. Therefore any donation is greatly appreciated no matter how big or small.
Of course we understand that some aren’t in a position to donate, however you can still help us out simply by sharing the crowdfunder on social media and spreading the word as much as you’re able.
We will make sure that every penny of the budget is well spent across all departments to help communicate the story of Metalism. A healthy budget will give the production value we need to end up with a film that by the end of it hopefully delivers a compelling story that audiences feel like they can sink into without being distracted by visible compromise.
Here is where your money will be going if you are kind enough to donate.
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This project successfully funded on 11th December 2025