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iFeatures2 Greenlights Final Films ‘Spaceship’, ‘The Goob’ & ‘Norfolk’ For Production

Creative-England-550x312Creative England has announced the final two films to be greenlit through its iFeatures2 low budget filmmaking initiative which supports emerging filmmakers in creatively developing their films and getting them made.

SPACESHIP from writer/director Alex Taylor and THE GOOB from writer/director Guy Myhill join Martin Radich’s NORFOLK which was greenlit in February. All three films will be made later this year, each with a budget of £350,000. The projects were chosen through a highly competitive process which attracted almost 400 submissions, which were whittled down to 16, then eight and finally, through a nine-month development process the final three projects.

This low-budget development, production and training initiative, partnered by BBC Films, BFI Film Fund, and Creative Skillset, exemplifies our commitment to first and second time feature filmmakers and to fresh, imaginative stories that speak to a wider international audience. iFeatures2 is a national version of the original iFeatures which saw three films set and made in Bristol, including the recently released Flying Blind directed by Katarzyna Klimkiewicz produced by Alison Sterling and starring Helen McCrory. Tristan Goligher, iFeatures Executive Producer, said:

“Across a diverse slate featuring violent misanthropy, summer stewed sexual tension, and unabashed pop
culture the three iFeatures2 films have one clear common thread – singularity of voice. Alex Taylor’s Spaceship, and Guy Myhill’s The Goob will, alongside MartinRadich’s Norfolk, provide a cinematic and curious discourse on what it means to livein England today.”

Chris Collins, Senior Executive in the BFI Film Fund added:

“iFeatures offers a great opportunity for filmmakers with distinctive visions to bring diverse new
stories to the screen – and Alex, Guy and Martin perfectly fit the bill. We’re looking forward to seeing their ideas realised as the films now prepare to enter production.”

Steve Jenkins, BBC Films said:

“Each of these projects is from a writer/director with a very personal, focused and distinctive vision for their film. I’m sure that the iFeatures brief for developing fresh and original talent will be fulfilled in
the most exciting way”.

Guy Myhill’s THE GOOB is an emotionally charged tale of divided family loyalties played out over a sizzling hot summer, in Fenland, England.

For the last ten years Guy Myhill has worked extensively in film, television, theatre and media education and has produced material for every major British broadcaster. He produced and directed film and visuals for Hoi Polloi Theatre Company leading to two Edinburgh Festival Gold awards, a long-term residency at the Barbican and tours across the USA, Australia and Japan.

Lee Groombridge, one of The Goob’s producers, has a background producing music videos and TV commercials and recently made the move to theatrical releases with The Chemical Brother’s film Don’t Think, directed by Adam Smith. Lee currently works at London based production company Somesuch & Co and in November was awarded the Music Video producer of the year at the 2012 UK Music Video Awards. Producer Mike Elliott has worked in physical production on 40 feature films and collaborated with directors including Michael Winterbottom, Lars Von Trier, Woody Allen, Jane Campion, Pawel Pawlikowski, Edgar Wright, Matthew Vaughan and Lynne Ramsay.

Alex Taylor’s SPACESHIP is set past the city, before the countryside begins, and tells the story of a small town hinterland where teenagers search for themselves in a space between fantasy and reality.

Alex Taylor is a multi award-winning, shorts writer-director living in London. His first short, Kids Might Fly, won a string of international awards including the Special Jury Prize at SXSW. He is currently developing several feature projects across fiction and documentary. Spaceship is produced by Yorkshire based Nicola Bowen, who is looking forward to developing her first feature, following te critical success of her shorts. Both share a passion for exploring the unknowns in Britain; they both grew up in small towns in the middle of nowhere.

In Martin Radich’s NORFOLK, two very different worlds collide as a man’s unspeakable past starts to catch up with him, and he is finally forced to confront what is right and what is wrong in order to protect his family’s future.

Norfolk will be Martin’s second feature film, following on from his first, Crack Willow in 2008. It also marks the first collaboration between the BAFTA-nominated, Yorkshire-based writer/director and Glasgow-based Finlay Pretsell who co-produced and co-directed the BAFTA Scotland winning Ma Bar (2008), and has produced two short documentaries for BBC and Creative Scotland. Producer Rachel Dargavel is one of 13 hand-picked, first-time British and Irish film makers, all of whom have an extremely impressive body of work in TV, commercials, shorts or music videos. A member of The Vipers Nest, Rachel cut her teeth as a 3rd assistant director, moving into production where she became a highly sought after line producer on the British indie scene.

Creative England is taking producers Lee Groombridge and Mike Elliott of The Goob along with Nicola Bowen for Spaceship to Cannes this month to meet international producers.

The executive producers for all three films are Christopher Moll, Creative England’s Head of Talent, Steve Jenkins for BBC Films, Chris Collins, Senior Executive, BFI Film Fund and Tristan Goligher, iFeatures Executive Producer.

Capturing a sense of place with their imaginative and compelling stories, these films aim to challenge, move and entertain audiences across the world. A flagship initiative for Creative England, iFeatures has already established itself as a natural home for some of the UK’s most distinctive up and coming filmmaking talent.

More information:

Twitter: @iFeatures2
Website: www.ifeatures2.co.uk

About Creative England www.creativeengland.co.uk
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