Member Article

Yorkshire Oscar winner Serena starts work on a new film

Serena Armitage, who won an Oscar last year for her film Stutterer, has started work on a new film called FOG

FOG will be produced by Serena’s new York-based company Red Breast Productions, which was formed following a grant from the British Film Institute (BFI).

Serena, who was born and brought up in Nun Monkton, near York, explained: “What an incredible 15 months this has been. First an Oscar for Stutterer, which was beyond my wildest dreams, then the award from the BFI, which allowed me to set up my own independent production company, and now our new film FOG.”

FOG is being supported through Film London’s “London Calling” scheme – an initiative set up to nurture and champion the UK’s most exciting breakthrough talent.

Serena said: “All of us at Red Breast Productions share a desire to tell simple, compelling stories that get to the heart of the shared human experience. FOG does exactly that.

“The film tells the story of Charlie, a peculiar individual who doesn’t quite see the world in the same way as everyone else. He doesn’t speak, people struggle to fathom what goes on inside his head, and he has no apparent desires beyond exploring his vague, transient curiosity.

“Charlie lives in the secluded peace of the countryside with his father Henry, a rugged outdoorsy type, who cares for him. But Charlie’s world is turned upside down when tragedy strikes, and he is moved to live with his uncle Morris in the city. The peaceful calm of the countryside - all Charlie has ever known - is replaced with the chaos of urban life.

“FOG is a film where nothing is simple. Charlie is a detached young man who acts frequently on emotional impulse. His uncle Morris and girlfriend Rachel have their own struggles with life to cope with: their relationship is tense as their own pasts haunt them; and they cope with the stress of living close to the breadline.

“So when a heartbroken Charlie, who has lived on the fringes of everyday life and doesn’t make for the easiest of house guests at the best of times, is thrust into their lives, each character’s patience is stretched to breaking point,” said Serena.

She added: “We love FOG because it’s a compassionate story about care and understanding. It’s a film which challenges us to try to see life through the eyes of every character we encounter – regardless of how weird or angry or destructive or detached people can be. Filming starts on FOG later this month.

Serena said: “We have a great team in place, as well as some initial funding from Film London and a few other sources close to us. Now we are asking for support to help us over the line to raise the last portion of funding, so that we can deliver FOG in the way we envisage it - a unique cinematic experience that stands out from the crowd. We’ll explain in detail below exactly how any extra funding will be spent.”

For further information, please visit FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/FOGShortFilm/ or TWITTER: https://twitter.com/FOGshortfilm

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Robert Beaumont .