Target reached!
The extra money will allow the cast and crew members to receive a living wage for th...
Waiting for the Ice Cube to Melt
Falmouth, England, United Kingdom
Aim
Nova is trapped at home & sinking deeper into her mind. Every day is a constant battle to overcome hopelessness & find a sense of purpose.
A mixture of horror, realism and dreamscape, Waiting for the Ice Cube to Melt depicts the situation for so many during lockdown. Trapped in our homes, sinking deeper into our minds, every day a struggle to overcome hopelessness and find a sense of purpose.
The story portrays Nova’s constant battle with her mind and how each day she must wage a war against herself just to be able to function. The daily monotony of her life, her poverty and lack of purpose keep her trapped in a spiral of despair.
The film journeys between these two interconnected worlds, Nova’s mind and her reality. Her mind is visualised as a dense forest shrouded in darkness, haunted by indecipherable whispers, luring her deeper into its depths. Her reality is a small, cramped apartment, where time passes by without her accomplishing anything.
Within her mind Nova is constantly trying to escape something she cannot see, whilst in reality she has become trapped and isolated, unable to improve her conditions. She realises she must stop running away and must confront her own mind and alter her reality if she is ever going to function again.
Hi, my name is Alex and I’m the director and co-writer of Waiting for the Ice Cube to Melt. The film is based on a poem I wrote during the first lockdown (which you can listen to in the project video).
Like many of us, my experience of lockdown was one of isolation and despite doing a lot of Zoom calls, I found myself feeling increasingly disconnected from society.
At the heart of this story is a focus on mental health and the way in which for many, lockdown intensified the struggle to live with it. Too often when talking about mental health, we individualise it and pose it as something purely mental, rather than something interconnected with our environment.
In this film we aim to show that relationship and how the loss of community, human interaction and livelihoods has deepened what was already a problem of epidemic proportions.
I believe we've written a powerful story that processes the last year and shows why we need to build communities and environments that enhance our mental health instead of destroying it.
Stainless - Adam Magyar
This mesmerising work saw Adam Magyar capture the morning commute on subway platforms in several major cities. By shooting at a high frame rate and using the train’s movement, Magyar creates hypnotic and haunting depictions of everyday experiences by freezing people in time, enabling the viewer to see every detail of every face that otherwise would go unnoticed.
I believe creating a similar effect when Nova is in her apartment would perfectly visualise the disconnect between Nova, reality and time. This technique creates a feeling of being trapped while the world continues without you.
Stranger Things - The Upside Down
The Upside Down is another dimension where danger feels like it lurks around every corner and an atmosphere of fear penetrates all who walk amongst it. The forest moving from sunset to night creates menacing outlines amongst the trees, this mixed with a misty haze makes you see things that aren’t there and deepens the mind's ability to play tricks on itself.
The forest will be a metaphorical space for Nova’s mind. Creating a horror atmosphere, the forest stirs up paranoia and dread. Nova tries to find a way out of it but the more she runs, the deeper, darker and more consuming the forest becomes.
8 ½ - Federico Fellini - Opening Sequence
This opening sequence perfectly encapsulated Fellini’s style of mixing fantasy with realism. The camera is never too far away from the main characters and mixes between their perspective and that of an observer. While the main character tries to escape from the car he fills the frame and there are tight shots over the shoulder of hands pressed against the windows and feet desperately trying to break the glass. All of this serves to create a frantic and panicked atmosphere as the car begins to fill with smoke, as an audience we’re unable to help but also unable to look away.
This style of shooting within the forest will heighten the sense of dread and paranoia. As Nova runs away from something she cannot see, we stay close to her, unable to see it either, meaning the audience experiences everything at the same time as Nova.
Music Festivals
The finale of the film is the antithesis to the isolation and hopelessness Nova has endured. Nova finally builds up the courage to exit her home and waiting for her is a community ready to embrace her with an explosion of colour, dancing and joy.
We've all missed being able to embrace our friends and family, to literally just be around other people and take part in a collective experience. That's why I'm taking inspiration from music festivals for the final scene, in order to recreate that feeling of togetherness.
Alex is an award-winning writer and director based in Falmouth, who focuses on subjects of his own upbringing, as well as the working-class experience.
Alex loves films that have passion, engage and use the full range of tools available to create an immersive experience, he aims to execute his ideas with a strong visual style and to provoke a reaction from the audience. Alex is influenced by Ken Loach’s unwavering commitment to telling stories of the oppressed and for this film has taken inspiration from the aesthetic approaches of Adam Magyar’s Stainless and Federico Fellini’s 8 ½ .
Alex has written and directed three short films including the award-winning Synthetica, which received nominations from the BFI Future Film Festival and Royal Television Society and Escape, which has been viewed over 150,000 times on YouTube, won the South West Filmathon and screened at numerous charity and community events to raise awareness about domestic violence.
Alex is a big believer in film being a powerful tool for change and has drawn upon his own experience of the first lockdown to tell this story. Alex aims to make films that give a voice to the voiceless, to empower them and to show the resilience that resides in all those who fight to survive every single day.
Grace is a producer based in Devon. She has recently completed the BFI New Producers Lab 2020 for the South West and is part of BFI x BAFTA Crew 2021. She became BIFA-nominated in 2019.
Her background is in theatre, working on both West End and regional productions. One of Grace’s most recent short films (Boiling Point, 2019, dir. Philip Barantini) was nominated for BIFA Best British Short and won Best Cinematography and Best Director at Lift Off Global Network Awards.
Grace is super looking forward to working on this film because the theme is something we should all take more time to reflect on and process after the year we’ve just experienced. As a champion for the arts in the SW, and a newbie to the team, she’s excited to be working in beautiful Cornwall with like-minded people!
Sammy is an award-winning stop motion artist, production designer and first time co-writer on a live action short film, she is passionate about creating deeply personal stories with environments that are bold and otherworldly.
Sammy is inspired by films that focus on outsider characters, who attempt to navigate life in their own way, not conforming to society’s expectations. She aims to write in a way that connects with the experiences of those who are overlooked and show that even in moments of darkness, life can always become full of warmth, love and joy once again.
Sammy has been a constant collaborator with Alex on his previous short films as a production designer. Coming onboard as a co-writer has given Sammy the opportunity to express ideas she believes in and help create strong and empowered female characters.
Ben is a television cinematography graduate with a passion for storytelling.
You will find Ben behind the camera in many environments from weddings to short films. Ben has produced successful documentaries/films such as Paddling for Happiness, which has been recognised globally and featured in many magazines, as well as becoming viral across social media.
Ben is looking forward to capturing the gritty reality of the film and visualising what many of us have been experiencing during the past year.
Josh is an award-winning director and seasoned AD. Working on projects ranging from internationally acclaimed music videos, award winning horror shorts and independent feature films. Due to starting his career in the camera department as a 2nd and 1st AC, Josh has a solid understanding of both the technical and artistic aspects of production. This is reflected in his work as a filmmaker, with his technical and elaborate cinematography and in his work as an AD, with his refined scheduling and on set management.
“I’m excited to work with Alex again and on this project in particular, as I believe its subject matter to be one that everyone will connect with deeply, especially in this current climate”.
Chris has worked on both commercial and film projects worldwide; with compositions performed by a variety of ensembles and recently showcased on BBC Radio 6. An enthusiastic and active post-modern composer and sound engineer, Chris has a rapidly growing portfolio of work that showcases both hybridity and artistic innovation.
Chris has been a frequent collaborator of Alex’s for several years and is looking forward to making another film with him.
My name is Amber Rail and I'm from Truro. I've been doing makeup for about 5 years now, focusing on SFX and theatrical. I've been lucky enough to meet amazing artists and contribute to a number of shoots and films in Cornwall, including being in the makeup chair myself. I love all things creepy so can't wait to be a part of this project!
My name is Bodli, I will be assisting with the production design and helping out on set.
I consider myself a creative person, I love to paint and create all kinds of crafty projects.
This will be my first film to work on and I can't wait to jump into it!
My name is Eleanor and I am an actor based in Falmouth, Cornwall.
I am delighted to be playing the role of Nova in Alex Falconer’s film ‘Waiting for the Ice Cube to Melt’. The film is set during the recent global pandemic with the focus around themes of mundanity, isolation and hopelessness. In playing the role of Nova I will draw on my own recent reality during this time, but aspire to portray a recognisable universality of the human condition in a time of great adversity.
I’m really excited about working on this film, both from an artistic collaborative point of view, but also as it personally represents a tentative first step towards a semblance of ‘normality’. Human contact has been severely restricted for many of us, and it is this renewal of shared experiences that I look forward to more than anything else.
I have a BA Hons in Acting from the Academy of Music and Theatre Arts Falmouth University. I also have a Diploma in Musical Theatre from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, London.
Previous theatre roles include:
- Hansel in Hansel and Gretel by BoxWorks Theatre
- Bal Maiden in Estah’s Story by Yskynna
- Connie in Operation Neptune by Guy Watson and Cscape
- Nina in Tory Boyz by Nik Patridge
- Marina in Pericles Prince of Tyre by Nicole Rosewarne and Benjamin Dunks
- Lil in Third Light by Scryfa, Nicole Rosewarne and Benjamin Dunks
- Angel of Death in 100:UnEarth by Wildworks.
Previous film roles include:
- Kelly in Simulacrum by Alex Falconer
- Evie Draper in Next of Kin by Chris Chalton.
Waiting for the Ice Cube to Melt is stylistically ambitious, that's why the majority of the budget is being used on camera and lighting to bring our worlds to life.
£3000 is the minimum we need to make this film, however this requires the good will and time of the fantastic cast and crew. If we can raise £6000, every cast and crew member will receive a living wage for their time on set. In addition to this we'll be able to hire a colourist and VFX artist to add those finishing touches to the film that will make it complete.
Please support our project if you're able by donating, we have some amazing rewards to give away and if you can't donate, then please do share!
This project successfully funded on 20th June 2021