As with everything at the moment - COVID has slowed us down and to be honest we have just taken our feet off the gas and slowed down and taken the time to chill and also look towards future goals - which is a lot of exciting stuff we cant talk about (mainly because they might not happen!! - keep your fingers crossed!)
However we are working on pre-production on two new Strange Tales and a possible third to all go before the cameras this year and looking to release all at the same time just before Christmas 2021.
The two we are confirming to be filmed in 2021 are two long time in development / covid hell - but we are determined to get them made this year finally. They are Dinner Date & LOCKED.
Dinner Date - written by Christopher Maxwell and to be Directed by Ellen jane Thomas.
David lives alone and is trying to get himself out into the dating world. He’s invited Jen around for dinner to show off his cooking skills and to please his pestering mother. As the night rolls on, the two laugh and bond, but Jen suspects he might be keeping something from her.
Dinner Date is written by Christopher Maxwell of Dramatic Moose productions who have worked with us on a number of productions now. Ellen Jane Thomas will Direct this Tale, Ellen is an actress with TV presenting and directing credits under her belt, having worked with BBC Wales and Made Television in these fields. But her first love is performance, experiencing working with Channel 4, National Theatre Wales and BBC Two Wales. Ellen won the award for Best Supporting Actress at the It's My Shout awards in 2017 for her role as Tanvi in Rory Romantic, and can currently be seen online in BBC Writersroom sketch Porta-LOLS. This is just about to enter pre-production and to be cast.
LOCKED written by Eleonora Mignoli and to be directed by Teddy Smith
In the future, Justice is delegated to machines: infallible and objective, these AI dispense fair punishments. Kay is accused by her neighbour of dropping trash on their lawn. It's a civil infraction, and while it was only an oversight on Kay's part, she's charged with a small fine. Kay is about to leave when her hand is locked, and the machine accuses her of murder – of somebody Kay has never met. Her only chance at survival is to prove her innocence, but while the AI begins drawing a net of guilt around her, we're left asking ourselves if she’s as innocent as she looks.
The long awaited LOCKED from a script by the talented Eleonora Mignoli. Eleonora is a writer and director based in Sheffield. Before moving to the UK in 2014, she lived for three years in Australia, where she gained an Advanced Diploma in Screenwriting at the Sydney Film School. When not reading, drawing or patting strangers’ dogs, she can be found working on her most recent projects, which include directing short films as one half of the collective Leo and The Bears, writing sci-fi screenplays (like the award-winning BBC short Rory Romantic) and editing her debut novel Oneirika.
The Director/Producer on this film sees the return of Teddy Smith to Strange Tales, who Directed Second Chances.
Over the past few years, Ted has focused and dealt with PTSD, Depression, Anxiety and Loss. The highlight of his time behind the camera was working on Whovians with Watchers Productions and on STFU and Bitten with Big Rich Productions.
This was all set to shoot last September, but we went into a local lockdown in our area and of course postponed - luckily we still have our cast all still attached and awaiting the GO! Who are Sophie Moore as Kay Starr, Thom Robins as Peter and Rob Murphy as Alfred Wyre.
In other news - over the last few months we have had a lot of succes on the Festival circuit with the last Tale - Deliver Us From Gee, a joint production with the team over at Dramatic moose productions.
So far the film has been selected for the BAFTA Cymru qualifying Carmarthen Bay Film Festival, Midwest Sci-Fi Short Film Festival. The film has WON 3 awards at two festivals - at London Shorts it Won Best Sci-Fi and at FantaSci Short Film Festival it Won Best Ensemble Cast & Best Comedy.
We are extremly proud of this film and the attention it is gaining and hope it contiues throughout its festival run, Massive congrats to all the Cast and Crew involved.