Always on
This project successfully funded on 10th October 2025, you can still support them with a donation.
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This project successfully funded on 10th October 2025, you can still support them with a donation.
A short film focusing on the subject of Male Domestic Abuse. We will be applying to BIFA, BAFTA and Academy qualifying film festivals



'Standing on the Bridge' tells a difficult story that is often seen as being taboo or unbelievable, mainly because it doesn't happen to men! You very rarely hear people mentioning men when it comes to domestic abuse and many awareness campaigns barely mention men, if at all.
This is why this story NEEDS to be told.
This is partly what drew me to the investigation and research into male domestic abuse. Throughout the development of the script, I researched numerous stories that could be very easily turned into the normal 'man dominates woman' tale, but I want to challenge this perception and ignite this discussion.
One of the main sources of research, was the UK's leading male domestic abuse charity 'The ManKind Initiative'. They have numerous case studies that tell of male domestic abuse and how truly horrific this can be. The Mankind Initiative has vetted our story for accuracy and is supportive of the project.
What cemented the need to tell this story was when I watched a video where a 'scene' was staged in public with hidden cameras featuring a couple arguing . The scene was conducted TWICE. The first time was focused on the male verbally abusing the female in public. People around them started to interject in their argument, siding and protecting the female. The second time was focused on the female verbally abusing the male. No-one interrupted them or came to the males defence. (see the above video, 'Violence is Violence')
Why? Because society seemingly deems that men can never suffer domestic violence.
With 'Standing on the Bridge', I want to challenge this belief by bringing together numerous real life survivor stories told in a dramatic and fictional environment. I am a firm believer that strong performances in each of these roles will help elevate the dramatic nature of the film and bring a positive awareness to this type of abuse.
We are purposely positioning several statistics at the end of the film, to make the audience aware of male domestic abuse and the impact it has on society.
After over three years of development, I completed a feature script that tells a different story about how domestic abuse can occur between a couple and the lengths and reasonings why people abuse their partners. This has again been vetted and approved by The ManKind Initiative.
I encourage you to take two minutes to watch this link to get an understanding on why we are making this film and its importance to be told now.
Your contribution to 'Standing on the Bridge' will help flag this overlooked social issue and help promote the work everyone does to combat all domestic abuse.
- Steve Johnson
Director, Producer & Writer


Jacob seems to have it all: he’s on the verge of a promotion; he’s married to Sarah, his seemingly supportive wife who has her own great career, and he has a beautiful young daughter Mia, who adores him. When Jacob fails to get the promotion and lies to Sarah about it, it begins a chain reaction that causes ‘her’ rage to increase and ‘his’ world to implode. As Sarah threatens to take away the only thing in Jacob’s life that he truly holds dear - his daughter, he realises that he has been backed into an impossible corner, one in which he is considered the abuser by those on the outside, leaving him with no support, no one to turn to and only one way out of the situation.
Although this is a work of fiction, 'Standing on the Bridge' is inspired by REAL LIFE events and are not uncommon - this story MUST be told.
'Standing on the Bridge' will act as a proof-of-concept for a larger project (see section - 'The Future')


We are fortunate to have secured the support of ‘The ManKind Initiative’ (www.mankind.org.uk) and its Chairman Mark Brooks OBE. Mark and his team have vetted the ‘Standing on the Bridge’ script for accuracy and credibility.
The Mankind Initiative is the principle expert and specialist charity in the UK focusing on male victims of domestic abuse. The charity collaborates and works in close partnership with other organisations and practitioners to support victims. The ManKind Initiative were the first in Great Britain to support male victims. Their expertise derives from directly supporting male victims since 2001 whilst qualified professionals manage the charity and their board which also consists of the UK’s leading academics and survivors.
The ManKind Initiative aims to ensure all male victims of domestic abuse (and their children) are supported to enable them to escape from the situation they are in. They are gender inclusive in their views and want anyone who is suffering domestic abuse to escape too.


We have assembled an amazing cast for 'Standing on the Bridge'.
CHRIS FORBES as Jacob
Chris is multi-award winning actor and writer as well as one of the most in-demand comics in the UK. Chris has performed all over the world including America; Canada; Australia, Norway and Dubai, and supported comedian Kevin Bridges on tour.
Perhaps best known as country copper PC Charlie MacIntosh on the BAFTA award winning comedy ‘Scot Squad’, Chris has also build a strong following for his genius character creation, ‘Duncan Murray – The Other Murray Brother’. His sketches alongside Judy Murray have amassed over 20 million views online and the Live ‘Duncan and Judy ‘Shows have been total sell outs. A talented writer, Chris has also written and starred in two of his own shows for the BBC, the critically acclaimed, cult sketch show, ‘How Do I Get Up There?’ and ‘The Farm’.
Chris’s other credits include the Netflix Worldwide sensation ‘Dept Q’; ‘Jonathan Creek’; ‘Still Game’ and the Scottish feature film ‘Man and Witch: The Dance of a Thousand Steps’
Chris said “I’m so honoured to be a part of this project, which is all about bringing attention to a tough and important issue. I’m really excited to team up with Steve, Kirsty, and the rest of the team to shine a light on and spread awareness about domestic abuse against men. By being involved in this project, I’m hoping to share the vital message from The ManKind Initiative with those who’ve been through domestic abuse: you’re not alone, you’re not to blame, and you’re not weak.”
KIRSTY STRAIN as Sarah
As a professionally trained actor, Kirsty has worked in film, television, theatre and voice over, building up a wonderful level of experience over the last 15 years.
Her television acting highlights include ‘Outlander‘ (STARZ); ‘Guilt‘ (BBC); ‘Annika' (Alibi); ’Doctors’ (BBC); ’Scot Squad’ (BBC) and ’River City’ (BBC) with theatre performances at The Edinburgh Playhouse, The Gaiety Theatre, Eden Court, His Majesty's Theatre, Citizens Theatre and Tron Theatre.
She has also worked on a number of feature film productions including ’Dreaded Light’, ’Ribbons’ and ’Anna and the Apocalypse’. Within her varied body of work, Kirsty has successfully worked across both comedy and drama.
Kirsty said “This will be my third time working with Steve and I’m grateful for his trust in me with this role. It’s a very powerful project that I felt was hugely important and vital to be a part of. It’s a story that’s not only worth telling but one that I think is absolutely necessary. I’m hoping that it will raise awareness, highlighting the issues raised, provoke discussion and bring much needed attention to contribute to positive change within how male domestic violence is perceived and dealt with. It’s a very difficult subject matter, the important issues always are, but I know it’s in very safe hands with this team and we are all committed to making something not only worth sharing but necessary for audiences to see.”
EMMA FINDLAY as Kimberly
Emma is a talented up-and-coming actress from the North-East of Scotland. She trained at Acting Coach Scotland, graduating in 2016. Her recent credits include the feature film ’Damaged’ staring Samuel L. Jackson; an STV commercial for the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service and the short films ’The Lost Wife’ and ’I am God’.
MARCUS MACLEOD as Robert
Marcus is an established and award winning actor based in Edinburgh. He has starred in numerous stage productions, television shows and feature film. His recent credits include the AppleTV+ series ’The Buccaneers’; ’The Necromancer’; ’Kingslayer’; ’Convergence’ and ’Skinjacker’.
KARA CALDWELL as Mia
Kara has appeared in several short films and commercials such as National Trust for Scotland and Morrisons.

The visual style plays an important part of how the story of ‘Standing on the Bridge’ is told. We want to use controlled camera moves whenever we are watching Jacob in his work environment, when acting as if everything is normal.
When Sarah delivers her abusive behaviour upon Jacob, the camera movement becomes more erratic and uncontrolled, allowing for more handheld cinematography as the domestic abuse increases. This will marry with close shots as Jacob descends into uncontrollable anguish.
Working with our Cinematographer Simon Stolland (’Marching Powder’; ’Sumotherhood’; and ’Blue Story’), we have establish through camera and lens testing that the Alexa Mini coupled with Cooke lenses or Atlas Anamorphic will lend the appropriate tone and contrast to the film, allowing a filmic feel for both the wide office areas and the intimate ‘home’ environment. Utilising a 2.35:1 aspect ratio will give the film the cinematic and dramatic tension needed. Should we exceed our crowdfunding goal, we have investigated the possibility of shooting on film.
We have collated the following mood boards to give you the idea of the style and tone of 'Standing on the Bridge'.



Steve Johnson - Director, Producer & Writer
Steve’s second feature film, 'Convergence' was self-funded and filmed over a 30-day period in February and April 2018. The film stars Jeremy Theobald (’Tenet’; ’Batman Begins’; ‘Following’) and Nicolette McKeown (’Damaged’; ’Mercy Falls’) and premiered at Cineworld, Leicester Square, in May 2019 as part of the 2019 British Independent Film Festival, where it received critical acclaim and won the prestigious award for Best Feature Film. The film was also nominated for Best Actor; Best Supporting Actress; Best Supporting Actor and Best Cinematography.


Following its festival debut, 'Convergence' embarked on a global film festival circuit, garnering over 20 awards and nominations. The film concluded its festival run in October 2019 at the Cardiff International Film Festival, where it was once again recognised with the award for Best Feature Film. In November 2019, the film had a limited seven-day theatrical release at Cineworld in Glasgow before it was subsequently released on Amazon Prime in May 2020.


Steve’s third feature film, the psychological thriller 'Stalker' stars Saturn Award-nominated actor Sophie Skelton (’Outlander’), Welsh BAFTA-winning actor Stuart Brennan (’Risen’), and legendary wrestler Bret ’The Hitman’ Hart (’WWE’). The film was executive produced by Golden Globe-winning producer Gareth Wiley (’Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona’); written by Chris Watt (’The Mire’, ’Bruise’); and was photographed by Director of Photography Simon Stolland (’Marching Powder’; ’Sumotherhood’; ’Blue Story’). 'Stalker' premiered worldwide at The Prince Charles Cinema, Leicester Square, London, as part of Frightfest 2022. It was released in the UK on DVD and VOD in October 2022 and in the United States on March 2023. The film is represented by Kaleidoscope Film Distribution in the UK and by Gravitas in the United States.
SIMON STOLLAND - Director of Photography
Simon is a London-based cinematographer represented by Wizzo & Co. and is best known for his work on the critically acclaimed feature film ‘Blue Story’ released in 2019, written and directed by Andrew Onwubolu aka ‘Rapman’; Adam Deacon’s directorial debut ‘Sumotherhood’ and ‘Marching Powder’ written and directed by Nick Love (’Football Factory’) which was theatrically released in March 2025.

JOANNE MCAULIFFE - Hair and Makeup Supervisor
Working as a Hair and Makeup artist for over 10 years, Joanne has worked on many shorts, features and TV programmes. She worked as Head Hair and Makeup Supervisor on the feature film ‘Stalker’ and as Daily Makeup Artist on the BBC Scotland series ‘Mayflies’
RUTH MCLEAN - Costume Supervisor
Ruth is a Costume Supervisor who has been working for Scottish Opera since 2021. She had worked on numerous short films and feature films as a Costume Designer including the feature film ‘Stalker’ with Sophie Skelton (’Outlander’).
RACHAEL ORR - Production Designer
Rachael is a Production Designer based in Glasgow. She gained her BA in Set and Costume Design for theatre at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. After graduating, she transitioned into the world of film and TV and has since worked with companies such as STV, BBC and GMAC. Last year she returned to study Communication Design at Glasgow School of Art to explore her interest in graphic and spatial design.
SCOTT WALKER - Production Sound Recordist
Scott is a Glasgow based sound recordist having worked on numerous television shows like BBC's 'Scotland's Home of the Year' and upcoming Channel 4 show 'Outrageous Homes'. Scott has also worked on number film projects such as 'The Defender'; horror film 'Baby in the Basket' and short film 'Catch'. He was also sound recordist for the Global 48-Hour Film Project competition winning short film 'Here Comes the Nun'.
SONJA BLIETSCHAU - Unit Stills Photographer
Sonja is a German photographer living and working in Scotland. She has an HND in photography and runs her own studio since 2017.
She has shot on over 30 different short & feature film sets as well as TV series work for Channel 4, BBC, Sky / Sky Arts.
Sonja has learned from the best photographers in the field and became Scotland’s first Peter Hurley Headshot Associate in 2019. Sonja is known for her positive, approachable nature as well as her reliable and swift work. Many have called a ‘ninja’ on set.
DEE MCGLOIN - Assistant Camera
Dee has been working as a camera assistant on numerous productions including feature films ‘The Defender‘ and ‘Lock and Load‘ as well as STV’s thriller ‘Nightsleeper‘ and BBC’s ‘Shetland‘.
CARTER FERGUSON - Stunt Coordinator
Carter has nearly 30 years of professional experience a fight choreographer. He maintains a safe, dynamic and dramatic approach to his work, ensuring the safety of actors is paramount. He has worked on a wide variety of television shows (‘River City’; ‘Screw’; ‘Guilt’ and ‘Shetland’) as well as feature films such as ‘Damaged’ starring Samuel L. Jackson.
MICHELE GALLAGHER - Intimacy Coordinator
Michele trained at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and worked as an actor for over 20 years before retraining as an Intimacy Coordinator at the National Film and Television School. Since gaining her certification, she has worked on numerous theatre productions, television shows, short films and feature films.
CHRIS QUICK - Editor
Chris Quick is an independent film editor from Glasgow Scotland. He started his career editing video coverage of the Katana K-1 Fight shows for Global Kombat Entertainment. Since 2015, Chris has focused mainly on editing for short films including ‘Electric Faces’ which went on to receive a BAFTA New Talent Award. More recently, he edited the short film ‘Cakes’ which has played at BIFA and BAFTA qualifying film festivals.
IAIN PENNINGTON - Colourist
Iain is a passionate colourist with a deep appreciation for both still and motion imagery, Drawing inspiration from his diverse background in photography, Iain infuses his project with a unique creative flair. He has graded over 20 short films and commercials in the last two years.
MARIE WAHRN - Post Production Sound Editor
Marie has worked as a freelance Post Production Sound Editor in Scotland for over five years. Previously she worked as a audio and sound lecturer for SAE Institute teaching audio degrees. Splitting her time between Scotland and London, Marie has recently started working for Molinare in London as an Assistant Sound Supervisor.
GEORGE HINSON - Composer
Based in London, George has worked on numerous independent films and projects as a composer and audio specialist as well as working on major films as a copyist.
After graduating from the London College of Music, George scored the feature film 'Stalker', where he built a hybrid score incorporating found sounds and sound design.
In addition to his ambient and sound design based scores, George writes in a range of genres and styles for production music companies; from heavy rock to stripped piano pieces and everything in between.
George was recently a copyist for M.Night Shyamalan’s feature film ‘Knock at the Cabin’.
JON THEOBALD - Post Production Supervisor
Jon has worked on many aspects of production - both in-house at a variety of blue-chip/corporate and not-for-profit organisations - where he oversaw camera, editing, grading and directing functions. He has also worked with Futuristfilm on many of their project including ‘Convergence’, ‘Sealgair’ and ‘The Fartist’.


We have numerous companies that have supported me this far with in-kind contributions, including:
DM McNaught in Glasgow will be auditing our budget as we go along and handling all our payments whilst FLB Accoutants in London will be preparing our Tax Credits documentation. Freelands Solicitors in Motherwell will be handling all our production contracts.


We're delighted to say that this project is being supported by Creative Scotland's Crowdmatch. Any pledges will be matched on a £1 to £1 basis, up to a maximum amount of £250 per unique supporter. For example: If you pledged £50, Creative Scotland will match it, so we'd actually receive £100 from your £50 pledge.
Our crowdfunding campaign is an 'All or Nothing', meaning that if we DON'T reach our funding goal, then we get none of the money. We have chosen this route because this film cannot be made to the required high standard with a lower budget.
So if we don't achieve our goal, we don't get any money and this includes any match funding from Creative Scotland... thus the film will not be made!
Note: Crowdmatch supports individual and unique pledges. So if you pledge more than once, we will only get the Crowdmatch once. A unique pledge is classed as a separate name, email address and payment details.


Why are we crowdfunding so much money?
In order to produced a professional short film that has the potential to play a successful film festival circuit, we need the best people we can afford.
There are a growing number of outlets that now support short films, however paying standard industry rates are usually cost-prohibit on short films and would inflate the budget to over five times as much. Because of this, we are humbled that our cast and crew have agreed to work for a flat rate of £126 per day, which meets the Scottish Real Living Wage (SRLW). They are doing this because they believe in the project and want to see it succeed and maximise its potential.
Paying the SRLW is also a condition of the match-funding from Creative Scotland.
What will the money be used for?
Our crowdfunding total will be used for every aspect of the film, including but not limited to equipment; locations; costumes; makeup; catering; accommodation; travel and all post production requirements. The budget breakdown is as follows:

How long are we shooting for?
Principal photography will take place in Glasgow over five days.
When are you shooting the film?
A couple of factors that play into this are weather, location availability and cast & crew availability. We are aiming to shoot the film somewhere between November and January.
Why is the film set in Glasgow?
To be truthful, 'Standing on the Bridge' could be set anywhere in the UK. It just so happens that the majority of our cast & crew are based here. Because we are based in Scotland, we can also apply for the Creative Scotland Crowdmatch scheme (detailed above) which will help us achieve our crowdfunding goal.
Why will it take five days to film a short film?
Because we are dealing with such an emotional subject, we want to be able to give our actors the time and opportunity to do their characters justice and portray a true representation of domestic abuse.
Also, when casting a child actor, it's important that we follow licensing rules and regulations which means that our child actress can only perform for a set period each day.
We don't want to cut any corners with this film and strongly believe it will be worth it.
What about the rest of the budget?
Although we are keeping costs as low as possible, we will still be aiming to raise more money. We have a few private sponsors who are willing to invest in the film once we achieve our crowdfunding target.
What if you raise more money than your target?
This would be amazing!!! If we raise more than our target, this will enable us to bring on a few more additional crew members to help support us. If we exceed our target by a larger amount, then we have already investigated the possibility of shooting on film as opposed to digital.
Why is your campaign an ‘all-or-nothing‘ as opposed to a ‘keep-what-you-raise’? I’ve seen other campaigns where the filmmakers keep what they raise!
Simply put, the film cannot be made for a lesser amount. If the target isn’t achieved, then we will not get the crowd-match from Creative Scotland, reducing the budget even further. This would mean not paying our cast & crew the minimum of the Scottish Real Living Wage - which is unfair.
We believe that if we cannot achieve the required level of funding via this campaign, then the film shouldn’t be made.
What happens once the film is complete?
This is where the real work begins. We want to get the film into as many film festivals around the world to help highlight male domestic abuse. This will involve putting a lot of focus into publicity so we are also aiming to screen the film at as many locations as special showings with all net profits doing directly to male domestic abuse charities and organisations.
Once the film festival circuit is complete, we plan to "gift" the film to numerous domestic abuse charities throughout Scotland.


We are fortunate to be in the position that we can apply for the newly created 'Independent Film Tax Credit' (IFTC) which the UK Government implemented earlier this year.
We have engaged Lloyd Gunton from FLB Accountants in London to help us with this application. Lloyd has over 13 year experience in production accounting practice and has worked numerous production including 'No Time to Die'; 'His Dark Materials' and the Oscar winning '1917'.
By utilising the IFTC we have developed a Film Festival Strategy that makes use of the tax credit. This will enable us to apply to over 50 film festivals that are BIFA, BAFTA and Academy qualifying. Our film festival applications will cover a period of 12-18 months to complete because of the time between festival entries and screening dates.
The remaining tax credit will be used to engage a publicity firm. Our aim is to achieve as many film festival screenings and as much publicity for the film in order to raise awareness of male domestic abuse survivors.




So what happens after the short film?
We have already written a full-length feature film called ‘Rain in London’ which again deals with Male Domestic Abuse. This has also been vetted and signed off by The ManKind Initiative. The script features the same two characters, just in a different and longer story. The feature script is already logged with the Writers Guild of America for copyright. We have had positive feedback on the feature script but where advised that it would be helpful to produce a proof-of-concept short, for which ‘Standing on the Bridge’ is an excellent example.
This is not the first time that a filmmaker has used a short film as a ‘proof of concept’. In 2013, Damian Chazelle shot a short film called ‘Whiplash’ which he used as a proof of concept. This premiered at the Sundance Film Festival where it picked up the Grand Jury Prize. Two years later, the feature film version went on to be nominated for FIVE Academy Award winning THREE awards for Best Supporting Actor (JK Simmons), Best Editing and Best Sound Mixing. They achieved this on a budget similar to what we are proposing for ‘Rain in London’.
We propose that should ‘Standing on the Bridge’ do as well as we expect on the short film festival circuit, then we plan to follow up with ‘Rain in London’ within two years.

"Steve is a talented, tenacious film director who has what it takes to bring a thrilling movie together on time and on budget. As an award winner who has worked with some of the best in the business, he is one to watch and shall continue to create exciting adventures for all audiences and deserves the chances, opportunities and support to do so."
~Stuart Brennan - Welsh BAFTA winning Actor, Producer
"Steve is a great director to work with as a producer and an actor. Steve is as happy talking with crew about the technical intricacies of cameras as he is mise-en-scène with his cast. Steve’s technical knowledge and experience mean that set-ups and framing happen quickly, affording important time to work with actors and focus on performance. Working as an actor and producer on Steve’s award-winning feature, ‘Convergence’, was a joyous experience because of Steve’s truly collaborative method of working with actors on the script and on their characters — all done without ego, with the ultimate goal of making the best film possible."
~Jeremy Theobald - Actor & Producer
"Working with Steve has been one of the highlights of my career and my work with him on ‘Convergence’ will always have pride of place in my showreel. Steve is a true collaborator who respects his actors’ interpretations of the script , honouring their thoughts on their character and supporting their methods to tackling an emotionally challenging script.
Steve’s writing has a strong emotional depth to it which greatly resonates and helps raise the level of performance along with his considerate and careful direction.
I know Steve will ensure this production goes above and beyond to deliver an exceptional standard of quality. I fully support his upcoming endeavours."
~Nicolette McKeown - Actor ‘Convergence’

Futuristfilm Ltd is a multi-award winning production company based in Scotland.
In 2019, our feature film ‘Convergence’ had its World Premiere at Leicester Square, London as part of the 2019 British Independent Film Festival where it was nominated for five awards, picking up a win for BEST FEATURE FILM.
‘Convergence’ went on to play at numerous film festivals around the world, picking up over 20 awards over multiple categories, concluding with BEST FEATURE FILM at the 2019 Cardiff International Film Festival. ‘Convergence’ is now available to buy and rent on Amazon Prime in the United Kingdom and the United States.

STALKER (produced by Stronghold)


CONVERGENCE


SNAPSHOT


THE FARTIST



SEALGAIR (in association with Production Hoose)




There are so many ways that you can help us. Whether or not you can contribute, please help us spread the word far and wide to help get 'Standing on the Bridge' made. Facebook; Instagram; Twitter / X; shout it from the rooftops! It might not seem like much but you have no idea what a difference this will make. Money doesn't grow on tree's but it sure does grow on social media shares!!!
We encourage you to share this page as much as possible.
We hope that you find what this story stands for just as passionately as we do?
Through this film we simply want to raise awareness and provoke a much needed discussion around all forms of domestic abuse.
THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO CONSIDER OUR PROJECT.
Creative Scotland Crowdmatch has provided £9,000 of match funding
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made