The Pitch

Director: Sarah Andrews, 1ST Assistant Director: Daisy Spivey

Director Of Photography: Guy Huston

Camera Operator: Nick Leek, Sound: Scott Hanna

Ideas

Idea 1: The Letter Idea 2: The Journey Idea 3: The Abandoned House

Chosen Idea:

Synopsis

A homeless man wanders the streets, extremely edgy as his post-traumatic stress is causing him distress. He hears sounds from his time in the war, car doors become gun shots, babies screaming become dying allies. In an attempt to escape, he breaks into a nearby house and starts to rummage around the house. He is looking for food and valuables but comes across a letter on the fridge, written by a child to his Father fighting in the war. Attached to the letter is a home-made war badge, with it saying “hero”. The homeless man then starts to overcome his problem thanks to the letter and returns home to his family.

Research

Research into Children’s letters.

Research

Research into Adult letters

Research

Children’s Drawings

Homelessness

6,437 people slept rough at some point in London during 2012/13, an increase of 62% over the last 2 years (Crisis. Unknown)

Under Section 189 of the Housing Act 1996, a homeless person will have a priority need for rehousing if s/he is vulnerable as a result of "having been a member of Her Majesty’s regular naval, military or air forces".

Ex-service personnel do face a high risk of falling into patterns of rough sleeping, albeit for fairly short periods.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

PTSD is increasingly common among soldiers returning from combat

PTSD can develop immediately after someone experiences a disturbing event or it can occur weeks, months or even years later.

Someone with PTSD will often relive the traumatic event through nightmares and flashbacks, and may experience feelings of isolation, irritability and guilt.

They may also have problems sleeping, such as insomnia, and find concentrating difficult. These symptoms are often severe and persistent enough to have a significant impact on the person’s day-to-day life.

Character Profile

Thomas Atkins (refers to Tommy/Tommies – as used in WW1)Male, White, BritishBrown long-ish hair (greying slightly)Dark eyesMoustache and beard (overgrown)

Wears:Simple clothing, jeans, t-shirt, baggy coatClothes are dirty and shoes very worn Has a backpack

Casting

Casting

Casting

Pre-Visuals

Schedule

Schedule

Schedule

Equipment List

Festival Research

The British Film Festivals in the UK:- British Independent Film Festival

Payment for April 1s: £50 (both standard and student price)Date: May 9th – 10th 2014

Cambridge Film FestivalPayment: Unknown Date: September 2014

Festival Research

ASFF (Aestheica Short Film Festival)Payment: £15 +VATDate: Unknown – submission deadline 31st May 2014

East End Film FestivalPayment: For Short films (under 20 mins)Before Earlybird deadline: £10 (WAB members £5)Before Regular deadline: £20 (WAB members £15)Before Late deadline: £25 (WAB members £20)Before WAB-only deadline: £50 (WAB members £25)Date: Late entry closure deadline – 31st March 2014

Festival Research

Some of these festivals also do Student Festivals to allow young independent filmmakers to bunch out into the festival industry. However, from looking at the costs, we don’t think they’re much different from the standard prices for submission of short films.

Reference:The British Independent Film Festival, http://www.thefilmfestivalguild.com/#!british-independent-film-festival/ck7w, 2014, www.thefilmfestivalguild.com Cambridge Film Festival, http://www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk/about-us, 2014, www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.ukASFF, http://www.asff.co.uk/enter/, 2014, www.asff.co.ukEast End Film Festival, http://www.eastendfilmfestival.com/submissions, 2014, www.eastendfilmfestival.com