We really welcome your support to make our film.
It's a thriller about an abused wife who unexpectedly has the opportunity to change her circumstances by taking a dramatic action. It interweaves moral dilemma and important questions on domestic abuse, infidelity and love.
From $15/£10 you can join us as part of the wider team and from $1925/£1250 become a producer in this exciting project. We'll be delighted to have you on board!
See below for more details.
Short Summary
Indiscreet Murmurs centres on a moral dilemma: if the chance arises to get what you want, but it means someone else will pay the price, would you take that chance?
It is an edge-of-your-seat suspense thriller about Laura Jennings, an unhappy, neglected wife who is interrogated by the police over the violent death of her abusive husband, Paul. To complicate matters further, her friend, Mike Collins, is also being questioned.
Is there something more to Laura and Mike’s relationship than either party is letting on to the police? Is Laura merely an innocent victim, framed for a crime she did not commit? Or is there something more than neither she – nor Mike – are revealing
About the Writer/Director
Ventura: director
I’m a writer/ director. My experience in filmmaking began almost 15 years ago as a production assistant for Cable London. I then progressed to researcher and then production coordinator for French Cable TV.
In 2009 I took the plunge and did a Masters in Film Directing. Prior to and initially alongside my directing career I worked internationally as a business consultant.
VenturaFilms have already made 4 well-received short films and Indiscreet Murmurs is our final one before our first feature, so we're really excited to put everything we know into it. We'd really appreciate your help in making this happen.
Why Indiscreet Murmurs?
Five years ago at the Cannes film festival I had an experience that drove me to write Indiscreet Murmurs.
I wanted to explore the theme of morality to make sense of my experience and as a means of communicating on this issue (right/wrong choices, moral dilemmas) with a wide group of people.
The writing of the story started with Laura’s character, a victim to the whims of her husband Paul, who puts himself first and is concerned only with his own happiness and pleasure.
But then something happens which tests Laura and we will see if she takes the high ground or responds with the same self serving behaviour as Paul displays.
We’re hoping it will make you think about what you would do? Did Laura do the right or wrong thing, were her actions justified? Did Paul face the consequences of his actions?
Lastly I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to re-write the story with Laurence. Not only is he an award winning writer, he is thoughtful, provocative and funny at all the right times. It’s a privilege as well as a joy to be on this journey with him.
What We Need & What You Get
Our total budget to make the film is £15,000 and we would like to fund £10,000 [$15,400]of this through crowd funding via Indie Gogo. The remaining £5,000 [$ 7,700] is for post production and will be put in by ourselves and business sponsors.
2K will be used for pre- production. That's all the things that need to happen before the shoot: attracting and casting talent, rehearsals, finding crew, social media set up, technical aspects of risk assessment, locations, insurance, legal fees and admin.
The remaining 8K of the budget will cover costs directly related to the production: equipment, cast and crew, permits, locations, catering and travel.
If we don't get all the money we will use what we have to get the best cast, crew and equipment that our budget will allow as well as necessary equipment and insurance.
What you get
By purchasing any of our unique perks you get to join us on our journey and hopefully to be in our acceptance speech at awards ceremonies!
You can spend time on set with us or join the Indiscreet Murmurs club $75 and become part of our extended network.
You can sponsor equipment or a crew member for a day or a week from $155 and know that making that part of the film was down to you.
For as little as $15 we'll give you a shout and a big thanks on Facebook.
For those select investors who've always had a secret ambition to make a film you can join the team as an Associate or Executive producer. Help make it happen and you'll have our gratitude ans see your name in the credits.
The Impact
One of the things we love about Indiscreet Murmurs is that this one story touches on several themes. The main underlying theme is the moral issue of right and wrong actions. There is also Paul, the husband's confusion about his sexuality and Laura's role as an abused wife.
The story is already sparking debate about right and wrong and whether if you can get away with it - is it actually wrong?
Everyone seems to have a view and we love that. We also love that this is a way to address an important moral issue.
As well as this, we have also fallen in love with the characters and all their complex dynamics and can't wait to see them wrestling with their issues on the big screen and to hear the audience's reaction. Hopefully you'll be sitting right there in the screening room.
We've made some video clips which look at the characters and the debate from different angles. They will be uploaded shortly.
Other Ways You Can Help
If you like our project but don't have any spare cash you can still help by raising awareness of our film and just cheering us along. Connect to us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ventura.sawyerr and tweet your friends.
Use the Indie Gogo share tools.
Meet the Team
We have an amazing team working in pre-production to bring this about.
The team is growing so why not come on this journey with us? We’d love to hear your opinion and for you to join the Indiscreet Murmurs club or to become a Facebook supporter.
Laurence Gouldbourne: co -writer
I’m a scriptwriter and have been writing for over 20years. I wrote on Desmond’s (C4) for four seasons which was great fun and also worked on TV comedy shows such as Chef! (BBC1) and The Real McCoy (BBC2).
Why Indiscreet Murmurs? First of all: it’s a thriller – I love thrillers! When Ventura outlined the basic premise of the story, I thought, “I want to be involved with that!” A crime – the ultimate crime: murder - detection, whodunnit, motives… these are staples of a great story.
It’s a chance to co-write with Ventura. She is smart, funny, incredibly talented and has a clear vision of what she wants Indiscreet Murmurs to be and look like.
It’ll be fun, challenging and a real rollercoaster ride – but that’s the sheer thrill of making films. I’m really excited by this project and want to share that excitement with others.
Diego H. Milane: Production Manager
I moved to London 2011 after 10 years working as production manager and producer of TV commercials in Spain. I worked on high budget projects, up to160k with teams of up to 70 people producing TV commercials for leading magazines Rolling Stone, Cinemania, Top 40 and motor magazine Car.
I am excited to work on Indiscreet Murmurs as I love the story and the twist, you expect one thing but it’s really something else going on. It’s the sort of film you carry on thinking about after you’ve watched it and I like that.
Chris Plevin: DoP
I’m a DoP with over thirty years experience. I’ve worked on many feature films and TV dramas: Notting Hill, Band of Brothers, Robin Hood, Attack the Block, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, 47 Ronin and ; as a second unit DoP on Sense & Sensibility, Velvet Goldmine, Mansfield Park, Charlotte Gray, Mr Bean’s Holiday, and as a DoP on 24 Hours in London and several short films, commercials and documentaries.
I like the script of Indiscreet Murmurs as it offers the chance to explore the moral dilemma of the central character through visual metaphor; and to work inventively on a lean and compact project with an energetic and imaginative director!
