OUR CAUSE? I’ve lost a close friend of the family to suicide and more recently a friends brother took their life unexpectedly. This short film is to help create awareness about men’s suicide and mental health. I want to show how men have to deal with the expectations of society and how there's a dangerous catch twenty-two on young boys growing up; feeling they can't speak out about their emotions without looking weak because of this closed off generation. When they become a man, they are too frighten to speak out to friends or family without diluting their ‘man hood’  for fear of how they will be judged. So these problems sadly just escalate until they eventually crack under the pressure.

Suicide is the biggest killer of young people – male and female – under 35 in the UK and Ireland. In 2015, 1,659 young people took their own lives. That equates to over four per day. Each week 84 men in the UK take their own lives; so about 1 every 2 hours. For Project 84, CALM commissioned the below 84 statues, on London’s Southbank; each figure created via collaboration between artist and friends/family of deceased males.

Hopefully my film can also help to start a discussion on this pretty unknown phenomenon and add to the pressure for the government to task a minister with responsibility for suicide prevention and bereavement support; there’s a petition on the website.

http://bit.ly/CALMproject84

Once the film is released on iTunes, Hulu and more we'd like to donate some of the proceedings to a suicide prevention charity. We hope you’ll pitch in because of the topical subject matter, but also because it will be an exciting, gripping film.

WE PROMISE YOU SCARES! TENSION! and COCKROACHES! But at the core this is a deeply heart felt story about a young man battling to survive everyday fighting his demons and coming up against his toughest enemy yet…himself.

Story boards by Drew Horner:                

WHAT WE ARE ASKING FOR:  the absolute bare minimum we need to make this film a reality. As for ourselves we're going all-in, maxing out credit cards, refinancing homes, turning into private escorts…(wait that’s not private anymore). But we need £12,000 to cover expenses for our team and pay for the VFX. 

• £6,000 Film Equipment/Sound Equipment/Cast/Crew/ Food & Drink 3/4 days.
• £3,000 VFX and animation by Territory Studio.
• £500 VFX on set coordinator.
• £2,000 Post production and grading.
• £500 Film Festivals.

WHO'S ASKING? A fair chunk of the budget will go on VFX as we are lucky enough to have the incredible talented team behind The Martian, Prometheus, Ready Player One and Pacific Rim 2; Territory Studio, helping us out on this film.   

http://territorystudio.com/

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT

Exist will give an insight into those suffering from mental health and suicidal thoughts. How one’s mind can suddenly betray them without notice and turn their whole world into a nightmare. The film will be a tense short psychological thriller with lots of symbolism throughout and breath taking cinematography by Aaron Rogers. Amidst the darkness that surrounds this topic the film will have lots of elements of hope and light; the elements that give us something to live for. I want to make a hard hitting thriller/horror that will make people see mental health and suicide in a different way; a more fantastical and surreal method with strong imagery communicating the emotional struggle of our protagonist. The film will have elements of The Machinist's time warping narrative and Pan's Labyrinth's dark creature world.

Photos by Andy Masson - Drew Horner, Dominic Jackson & Ashley Byam BTS of teaser. https://www.instagram.com/photomass/

The self-harming portrayed in the film is brutal and graphic. I don’t want to shy away from the violence one can cause themselves and the gore that comes with it. It will not be glorified in anyway however I want it to be an honest reflection of the darkness one experiences when thinking of taking ones own life. On the other hand we want to respect the personal and sensitive subject to give men the chance to feel healthy with their own emotional and psychological situation.

Photo by Andy Masson - Brian Bovell and Cornelia Todd in rehearsals.

I want to create a thought provoking short that will make people ask lots of questions, a piece that stays with you long after the credits roll. Making people look at suicide and mental health in another way; how anyone we may come across in our daily lives could be fighting some vicious demons.

  "Just because we can’t see the fight, doesn’t mean they’re not fighting something".

We’re all very good at wearing masks in today's society, scared to burden friends or family with the dark truth of what we might be thinking or feeling. This film also deals with expectations placed on us by friends, family and the social media forcing us to fight to be popular, successful yet sadly remain isolated than ever.                                

Photo by Andy Masson - Dominic Jackson filming rehearsals .

During my career as an actor I have also had a passion for writing, this has led to me writing lots of short films and working on various projects. Red Hen Productions provided me the help and support I needed in order to make my first short; ‘Little Lamb’ which was my direct debut (This film is one of the perks). I went on to co-writing an award winning web series 'Heads & Tails', again with Red Hen Production.  I have written three feature films since then that are currently in the pipe line.

Having a long history in show business I started my acting career training at the prestigious Drama Centre London and since then working in film, TV and stage. This is my first time creating a film from conception to a finish independently creating my own team from the contacts I built up over the years. Please support us to tell this powerful story every penny helps push us towards the finish line. I have assembled an amazing crew and cast we just need the funds to create our masterpiece!

Thank you for your time and support.

WATCH THE TEASER OF LITTLE LAMB!

MEET SOME OF TEAM!

WATCH THIS SPACE (MORE COMING SOON)!!!

OTHER WAYS YOU CAN HELP!

If you can’t contribute financially there are other ways you can help us that would be super cool!

• - Share Our Indiegogo Campaign on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
• - Retweet our posts to do with EXIST.
• - Tell 10 of your closest friends about the project.
• - Share my vision and help spread the word of Suicide Prevention with #WhyAreYouHere? then write a message or Tweet to inspire others, about why you're happy to be alive! @DrewHorner84

THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWING:

• Jewell Wright Limited
• Roger Carey Associates
• Royce Management
• Territory Studio
• Red Hen Productions
• Crystal Palace Reptiles
• My amazing wife Sara Horner & my family Anne Horner, John Horner & Douglas Horner.
• Andy Masson
• Dominic Jackson
• Lee Squires
• And to you who ever maybe reading this. Thank You for your time and support.