Synopsis

A HORSE CALLED OZ is a short film written and directed by Paul Young, following the chance encounter between two strangers. Scott, a young advertising copywriter, has his night swept out from under him when his evening is ruined and unwittingly meets a young woman named Leo, who sleeps rough on the streets of London. She spends her days volunteering at the local stables and her nights sleeping in a church graveyard. The fateful encounter takes us on an irreverent journey to the darker side of the city, giving an incisive and unsentimental look at homelessness, while revealing the unexpected hopes and dreams of two people with seemingly nothing in common. Set over the course of a single night in the city, this short and sharp tale about alienated strangers provides a compelling mixture of dark humour and gritty realism. The filmmakers would like to invite you to become an integral part of the production and join them for the experience...

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PAUL YOUNG (Writer & Director) Website | IMDB

Paul Young is an English filmmaker born in London, 04 July 1989. After leaving school at the age of fourteen, he began writing scripts and short stories and eventually managed to enroll in a course in Film Production whilst working as a runner, and later in various other departments. During this time rather than attend classes regularly Paul started using equipment from the college to make promo films for companies, as well as making his own short film productions, where he cut his teeth on the basics of editing, shooting and acting. This soon led to making feature length documentary ‘Freedom From M.E.’, where Paul travelled the UK interviewing people who suffered with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. In 2012, he wrote and directed award winning short film, THE GLOWING HOURS.

KAUSHIK BHATTACHARYA (Producer) Website | IMDB

Driven by a childhood passion for filmmaking, Kaushik graduated from university as a determined and imaginative Producer and Director. After working on a number of features and commercials, alongside such directors as Peter Howitt and Chris Palmer, Kaushik co-founded his own production company, Milky Films, which became a route for him to work as a Producer with more directors he knows and loves. Having a slight addiction to drinking milk and being a self-confessed geek, the directors who have collaborated with Kaushik have always enjoyed the visual and creative flair that he brings and demands of his productions, which range from quirky commercials, to award winning films THE GLOWING HOURS and THE DECREE, and BAFTA award nominated interactive games for The Tate Gallery.

A lifelong obsession with film and cinema has driven David to pursue a career in the industry. He graduated from De Montfort University in 2011 with a degree in Media Production, where he had the opportunity to train with the BBC at their Wood Norton training facility, and work with a series of incredibly talented and inspiring individuals in the industry. He currently runs a comedy sketch channel on YouTube, works as a freelance videographer and editor, and is currently in Post Production on his first short film, TRANSITIONS.

SAM CARE (Director of Photography) Website | IMDB

Sam Care was chosen by BAFTA as one of 42 emerging ‘Brits to Watch’ in 2011, and was invited by BAFTA to attend the event in LA that was hosted by the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge. Sam graduated with an MA in Cinematography from the NFTS in 2009 (a recipient of the Freddie Francis Memorial Scholarship) and that same year was awarded scholarship to attend the Budapest Cinematography Masterclass taught by Vilmos Zsigmond. He has shot several award winning short films as well as 2nd Unit on the E4 cult hit TV series, MISFITS (he also shot online content for the series working with BAFTA nominated director Jonathan van Tulleken). His short film, CONNECT, directed by Samuel Abrahams, was BAFTA nominated in 2010, and his critically acclaimed feature, IN OUR NAME, directed by Brian Welsh, was officially selected at the BFI London Film Festival 2010. He is currently in post-production on his most recent feature, COUPLE IN A HOLE.

ANDRE JACQUEMIN (Sound Designer) IMDB

Andre Jacquemin has accumulated over 130 major awards to his credit including 2 BAFTA nominations, having worked in a various capacities in a career spanning over 40 years doing Sound Design and Sound Supervision, ADR, Foley, Music Supervision, Composing for TV, Radio and Film, and anything else the film industry can throw at him “including old socks and used dentures by retired actors”. Andre has been involved in a combination of thousands of TV shows, Radio commercials, Movies and the production of countless hit singles and albums plus recording and co-producing over 14 Monty Python albums since 1969 onwards, with some of his film works including Monty Python’s LIFE OF BRIAN, THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS and THE ZERO THEOREM. He co-owns post-production studio Redwood Studios in London with Michael Palin.

ROBERT CHARLES MANN (Composer) Website | IMDB

Robert Charles Mann grew up in a house full of music. His mother was a concert pianist which explains his bent for creating ambiences that include traditional orchestral elements, but also his life in Los Angeles producing performance art, playing in punk bands and composing electronic music accounts for the other aspects of Robert's signature sound. Robert studied orchestration with Hummie Mann (no relation) in Edinburgh Scotland at the Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program, achieved production and mixing credentials at London Institute of Sound Engineering and also studied at Musicians Institute in Hollywood and Ohio State University School of Music. He has recently co-composed with Cliff Martinez on films such as SEVERE CLEAR and ESPION(S), which was nominated for a César Award for best first film and scored the first film by Paul Young, THE GLOWING HOURS, which was nominated the "Gold Medal for Excellence in Original Music for a Dramatic Short Film" at the Park City Film Music Awards in 2012.

Where Does The Money Go Exactly?

With the money raised through Indiegogo, everything will go towards the start up production costs for the film. This includes buying and hiring props and costumes, camera and lighting equipment, cast and crew expenses, catering, transportation costs, production insurance and location fees. We aim to shoot A Horse Called Oz on Arri Alexa in anamorphic, with sound mixed in Dolby 5.1 at Twickenham Film Studios and presented on a 2K and 4K DCP. On top of this, our budget will also be going towards delivering the rewards promised to our backers, such as the printing costs for posters, DVD’s, Blu-Rays and international postage and packaging.

Writer/Director Paul Young and Producer Kaushik Bhattacharya

Where Will I Be Able To See The Film?

As an Indiegogo backer, you will be one of the first people to receive an exclusive copy of the film on DVD or via digital download. Eligible backers will also be able to attend a special cast and crew screening of the film. See the tiers on the right hand side of the page for details of the rewards available for backers.

Risks & Challenges