Short Summary

Hi, we have obtained the investment we need and the production starts 14th August.  You can still support City of Spies and obtain any of the perk listed here by visiting the City of Spies home page - www.cityofspiesmovie.com

You'll get a whole lot of entertainment including competitions, membership of our espionage network The Vienna Ring, and much more.

I’m Phil Moran.  I’m a doctor of physics and I’ve been a film-maker for twenty years.  I live in Vienna and work for all the major international organisations here such as the United Nations and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (the people monitoring Ukraine at the moment).  I was the film-maker embedded with IFE14, the largest weapons of mass destruction exercise ever undertaken.

City of Spies is the first in a series of films and it has a strong female lead called Kindra who has taken over the spying activities of her parents when they disappear.  Believing they will soon return, Kindra has to earn money to keep up appearances and to look after her young brother, so she steals secrets and sells them to an anonymous buyer online.  The buyer, Hal, is not what he seems and when he discovers she’s an imposter he comes after her.  It’s just a matter of time before he gets her, unless the other side gets her first.

I am making City of Spies because it’s time to get a feature film under my belt.  I’m nearly 50 and my wife has just given birth to our first child.  I gave up physics as a profession to develop my skills as a film-maker - now it’s time to fulfil my dream to direct feature films.

I’m going to make this film no matter what.  With your help, however, I can make it better and do it more quickly.  We have some great offers for your investment, so you’ll definitely get something worthwhile, as well as helping a team of actors and crew make a great twisty story.

What We Need & What You Get

We’re looking to raise EUR 25000 and all of it is needed to hire equipment, dress sets, hire locations and props, provide transport of feed the cast and crew.  The actors and crew love the script so much that they are fully flexible.

We’ve been really creative with our perks.  We have the usual offers of a signed script and a digital copy of the film, but how would you fancy becoming a spy yourself? Depending on how much you invest, you can appear in City of Spies - and we might even bring you back in the second film.  Our other perks include having your image or name appear in the film - but where?

If you’re a serious investor, we have options for you to become a producer, and get a revenue share of the film.  It is registered with the BFI as a British film and so will be eligible for the UK film tax credit.  Also, all cast and crew - including the producers and director - are working on a deferred basis.  Recoupment will repay principal investment in first position, so all these aspects lower the risk for investment.  Please note, however, that film investment is high risk.

Whether you invest or not, I hope you’ll continue to follow the project - log on to the website and subscribe for updates - there be plenty of freely available bonus material and competitions as we make the film.  Perhaps you can guess who Kindra is really working for?

As I have said, if we don’t reach our target, all that means is the we make the film more slowly - but we will make City of Spies no matter what.

The Impact

Your contribution will enable us to make a polished piece of cinema.  It will have much broader appeal internationally and will increase opportunties to obtain distribution in more territories.

I’ve been a film-maker for twenty years and have made lots of short films and television documentaries that have been broadcast all over the world.  I have written several scripts in my life, one of which was optioned, and have also attended Robert McKee’s story course.

I am one of the producers of The Laureate, a film about Robert Graves, that has been near to production several times.  The Laureate has an $8m budget and in the past has had the likes of Orlando Bloom and Sam Claflin attached.  Although The Laureate has not been made yet, the film has enabled me to develop many contacts with sales agents and distributors that will be very useful for City of Spies.

I have chosen to make City of Spies as a low budget film simply because I didn’t want to be chasing named actors in order to raise money.  I am making this film no matter what.

We have an excellent cast from Vienna and the UK that have been very carefully selected after extensive auditions.

Risks & Challenges

The risk with film investment is always that it doesn't get made, or does not make money at the box office.

We cannot eliminate these risks, but I can tell you that we have already filmed over 25% of the movie, everyone has worked long hours for free and I personally have invested several thousands of my own Euros in the project so far.

There will always be risks and obstacles, but the team will always have dedication and determination,

Other Ways You Can Help

There's no such a thing as bad publicity, so if you like what you have read, please share and keep returning to the City of Spies Facebook page where we regularly upload bonus material such as short scenes not in the movie that tell a little about the back story of the characters.

If you want to help with production, let us know.  If you can get to Vienna, we can probably find you a couch to sleep on.  It has been a lot of fun making the film so far, and no doubt will be in the future.

Thanks for supporting us - remember share, share, share.