ABOUT THE FILM

One evening, Emilia comes home itching to share some good news with Ben: she’s been offered a significant career promotion – in Dubai. It’s for three years, an incredible opportunity, and exactly the reward her hard work and determination deserve. Ben is genuinely excited for Emilia and their future together, but after learning that the move will require them to get married he realises that this is something he’s not prepared for.

This moment of crisis starts to unravel the couples’ sense of themselves, their relationship, and their most cherished values. In ALL BETS ARE OFF we watch as Emilia and Ben try to work out what matters most and, more importantly, why.

APPROACH

In a close collaboration between the cast, writer, and director, our approach is to shape the action and dialogue of the film in rehearsal in order to make it feel as real as possible. The events of the story will be taken apart and the underlying dramatic structure determined over four innovative improvisational sessions. The director will experiment together with the actors using different improvisation techniques, triggers, and impulses, focussing on the authenticity of the performances and fully establishing the essence of the characters. Our writer will then work with the material generated in these rehearsals and transform them into the final script.

THEMES AND RELEVANCE

The film’s aim is to capture and explore the challenges and ambiguities of modern relationships. While the birth of the internet and shift in traditional gender roles opened up new possibilities for love, relationships in the 21st century also face unprecedented obstacles that contradict long-established traditions and redefine how we must behave. ALL BETS ARE OFF takes a simple and strangely familiar situation and uses it as a way in to exploring contemporary identity and narcissism as well as the enduring conflict between the “I” and the “We”.

WHAT WE NEED

We've already committed our own money, plus generous donations of time and effort from everyone involved and others. Unfortunately, filmmaking is an expensive art form and while we’re doing this as inexpensively as possible, there are a number of significant costs that we need your help with, including:

• Equipment — Steady cam, lighting, and sound

• Insurance and permits

• Set dressing, props, and costumes

• Crew members

• Transportation and food for crew

• Post production — editing, sound design, grading

• Festival submissions

WHAT YOU GET

Your support means a lot to us! In return we are offering you a number of attractive rewards that are meant to show our gratitude but also to involve you in the process and share the results with you. Be part of our journey!

THE CHARACTERS

BEN (29) is part of the trend for young men to redefine masculine stereotypes and be less macho, less ‘in charge’ in relation to women, and more open and expressive. He wants to live a self-determined live and not let convention, social expectation, or circumstances define his ambitions and life planning.

His drive is to discover, not necessarily to succeed. He feels very passionate about his different photography projects which he pursues so that he might work as a photographer in the future in place of his current job as a barista. His centre of life is in London, that’s where he feels inspired, happy, and at home.

Even though he is pretty relaxed, he has a strong resistance towards something or someone else dictating his life. When Emilia mentions marriage as a means to an end he feels coerced and eventually questions what he sees as a lack of principle.

EMILIA (28) is trying to take control of her life, seizing opportunities, building a career, making plans. What she wants is security, financial stability, and a certain level of status. Her drive is to feel like she’s part of something bigger, something that people notice.

Although security is important to Emilia she sees marriage in a far more rational and pragmatic light and Ben’s resistance hits her hard. She does not understand why this would be such a barrier to their future and her own success.

EMILIA and BEN’s drives are different, but historically they have served each other’s deeper needs. Emilia needs to feel “current” and Ben’s lifestyle and tastes help with that. What attracts Ben is that Emilia is ambitious, but at the same time retains her fun and thoughtful character. They need each other as part of the life they think that they want to have.

THE ACTORS

Georgina Hellier

... is a London based actress, singer and songwriter. She is also currently playing Rosaline in Love's Labour's Lost with the Oxford Shakespeare Company. Other recent projects include Not Too Tame's tuckshop at the Arcola Theatre, and That's The Spirit! at Theatre 503 directed by Jack Sain. 

Her short film credits include Penny in A Room to Let (GSA) directed by Adrian Osman; Gemma in Waterbird directed by Alex Darby; and Ali in Lick directed by Dylan Holmes Williams.

Georgina is passionate about jazz singing and currently plays with Amy Winehouse’s former guitarist Robin Banerjee.

She says that she's "excited to be playing Emilia and shaping the character within the improvisational sessions together with her acting partner, director, and writer."

Phil Aizlewood

... is a London based actor. He graduated from the Italia Conti Academy in 2011 and has been part of numerous theatre plays and short films. This is his third project in 2016 after playing Leon in Speaking in Tongues at The Cockpit Theatre, and performing in the #WeAreHere movement for The National Theatre.

Phil says that he’s “honoured and excited to be involved in such an innovate and visceral piece of contemporary film” and that he strongly identifies with his character, Ben.

THE DIRECTOR

Ben Cohen

... is a director and co-founder at Zoya Films, a creative production company based in Soho. His debut short AN EVENING OUT premiered at the Barbican Framed competition. BACKTRACK, his most recent short film, has recently started entering into film festivals and is official selection for the London Digital Film Festival, Bronx International Film Festival, Richard Harris Film Festival and Sunderland Short Film Festival. It won ‘best drama’ at the Open Door film Festival. 

Zoya Films is the cooperating production company behind the film and works predominantly with a variety of corporate, commercial and artistic clients including Travelex, Red Bull, Morrisons, Stowford Press Cider and The Soho Theatre as well as agencies like Remarkable Things, Rocketer and Keel. Some recent work Ben directed for Zoya is here: https://vimeo.com/159145127.

THE WRITER

Thecla Schreuders

... is a screenwriting graduate from Birkbeck College with a background in documentary filmmaking for the BBC and Channel 4. She has received a BAFTA nomination and other awards in the field. She wrote All For One, a one-act play for two men about politics, love, and betrayal, which was staged at the Rosemary Branch in north London in 2016. She is very excited about the script development process and the impact the actors and director will have on contributing to the story.

THE PRODUCER

Regina Seifert

... is a producer with a background in commercial content. She was working as a brand consultant creating promotional and educational material for the healthcare sector before returning to her original aim to work in film and TV with a focus on dramatic content. She devised the idea for ALL BETS ARE OFF following a conversation with friends in the pub; everyone in the group seemed to face similar uncertainties and decisions in their relationships and the question of how much we’re willing to sacrifice the self for the we stuck with her, becoming the central theme of the film.


THANK YOU AND OTHER WAYS YOU CAN HELP

It's very humbling to ask for funding, but this is how passionately we feel about the project. No amount is too small and every donation helps us achieve our goal. We're so grateful to you all for your consideration and thank you with all our hearts.

Of course we understand that life is expensive and everybody’s got bills to pay. So if you can‘t donate but still want to support us, you can also help by spreading the word! Tell your friends, family, lover(s), colleagues, neighbours, film industry friends of friends, sales agents, distributers, festival selectors, and anyone else who might (or might not) be interested in our project! Any kind of help is very much appreciated!