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What is the film about?
Granbad is about a dyslexic boy called Sol, who is learning woodwork with his Grandad. Their first project is to carve a wooden spoon. Sol struggles with his confidence, he still can't tie his own shoelaces, but as he works with the wood and the sharp tools he learns some new skills and his confidence is kindled. On his way home he encounters a teenage bully in a tunnel who makes him question his precious relationship with his Grandfather. Sol has to find a way to overcome the doubts that have been sown in his mind while the bully has to face own loneliness.
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Hello, I'm Annabel.
Hello, I'm Annabel, I made my first film at seventeen but it wasn’t until 2014 when my low budget short film LETTERBOX won 9 awards and went to 14 festivals including BAFTA qualifiers that I began to take myself seriously as a writer/director of fiction.
Since then I have shot two more short films and I have been commissioned by a production company to write a feature film based on a draft I did in 2016. I am now officially a writer, and it feels miraculous, to say the least.
I began my career as an editor based at Ealing Studios and then went to work for James Lebon's production company Love Films, who were making music videos for household names and emerging West London hip-hop artists. I migrated to Billy Connolly’s production company Tickety-Boo, directing and editing his live show recordings including ‘Two Night Stand’.
I well as writing my first feature film SKYWARD I'm also co-writing a sit-com THE ANARCHISTS’ COOKBOOK.
I’m represented by Steven Russell at Collective Talent
You can check out my credentials here. http://waxfilms.co.uk/annabel-vine-2/
Here is a teaser for my short film SKIP GIRL
And the poster for my award-winning short film LETTERBOX.
GRANBAD is an important film for me. Primarily because my two sons and I are dyslexic and I wanted to tell a story that reflected how the disorder can subtly undermine your confidence, particularly when you are young, as you often fail to excel in a conventional school setting.
Dyslexia is a common and lifelong processing disorder which, because it does not affect intelligence, is often struggled with silently. Things that neurally typical people do very quickly will take a dyslexic a long time as we double check our work and doubt the simple stuff. We learn to find shortcuts and unique ways of doing things. Many people who have dyslexia have strong visual, creative and problem-solving skills, but they lack confidence so these talents can go unnoticed.
This film also feels important to my directing career. The feature film that I have in development is a thrilling story. However, getting a film from page to screen is treacherous. Even if I write the most desirable script in the world, getting funding for it with me attached as the director may not be easy as it will be my first feature film and this is an industry that has a poor record of supporting women directors. With this in mind, the better finish GRANBAD has, the better chance I will have of directing the feature. So if you love independent film and you want to support women directors, here is a great opportunity to do something.
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GRANBAD is shot and in the can. We have a rough cut and it's looking great. I had no producer in pre-production, which was stressful, but I had the support of an incredible crew for the shoot. I was in good hands. This production has been supported by Arri Rental, Green Kit lighting, and Goldcrest Films. There is no underestimating the importance these companies play in fostering talent, while the BFI and Creative England get well-deserved credit, these companies silently offer discounts and affordable rates to shoestring productions. We have amazing people on the sidelines, prepped and waiting to do the final polish on the film. We need to raise the extra funds to pay for the post-production, the music, and the film festival submissions. Most importantly we need to to do right by those of the crew who took deferred payments.
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Kate Stables founder of critically acclaimed band THIS IS THE KIT is composing an original score for the film which feels incredible. She is such a talent. You will often hear her on Radio 6 Music and THIS IS THE KIT have just completed a sell-out tour. I am a massive fan and I believe that they are a perfect folky fit for the film. Their evocative song 'Two Wooden Spoons' is eerily relevant to our story. Have a listen here.
You can also read all about them here: https://bit.ly/2KQOXVS
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David Sterne - Grandad
The cast was headed up by David Sterne (The Last Witness, Atlantis, Arthur & Merlin) playing the title role in GRANBAD. I met David on a film in 2016. We hit it off and talked about a future collaboration. I do like it when a plan comes together. He brought to life the unsentimental Grandad I was looking for. David is a seasoned professional who has probably seen and played it all.
Theo Pawlawicz - Sol
Theo plays Sol, the young dyslexic boy who is bullied. This is Theo's first screen performance and he absolutely rocked it. If he wasn't confused on how to spell Grandad before the film he probably is now. He really brought a precious vulnerability to the part and took direction well. He consistently understood the emotions I was asking him to convey.
Angus Allison - Elliot
Angus first appeared in the award winning short film 'Spider Island' at the tender age of seven, driving a monster truck and battling the forces of evil. He is now part of a Dartmoor theatre group called the MED. This film marks his first leading screen performance. Angus delivers the role with a dark playfulness and he has received some great feedback from industry insiders who have had a peek at the rough cut.
Ruby Zoro - Molly
Ruby has stared in a short film 'The Cloud Catcher' and has also been a regular extra in Poldark which is shot close to where she lives.
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Celebrate The Team
A big shout out to my amazing crew Megan Skender, Vlassis Skoulis, Nick Gorman, John Crooks, Richard Parsons, Sophia Clist, Rowena Zoro, Natasha Branson, Lucy V Hay, Pablo Valverde, Ben Hooper, Tim Ford, Maya Belle, Bayley Drew, Mary Farbrother, Nick Allison, Carmen Radtke, Louise Garrett, Sharif Adams, and Fern Albert.
In this industry like in many others, you are only as good as your team. The crew involved in the shoot were quite simply incredible, just saying their names feels good.
Mary Farbrother - Director of Photography
Mary Farbrother has won Best Cinematography for her feature film 'Darkest Light' at Taormina Film Festival and also Best Cinematography at Aspen Film Festival for her work on the short film 'Shadow Man'. She is a 35mm aficionado and very much a traditional cinematographer with a wonderful reputation for her work with light. She has shot 5 feature films, numerous shorts, music videos and countless commercials. She is a graduate of NFTS and an all-round wonderful person to work with.
Rowena Zoro - Production Designer
Rowena Zoro, a fellow dyslexic, also lives in the west country. She is known for her work on feature films '1921' and 'Yaar Bandooka'. She is an emerging production designer who cut her teeth set dressing on UK Bollywood film sets and Poldark. Originally from a theatre background, she is currently doing Terry Ackland's prestigious Certificate in Draughting, Art Directing for Film and TV course at Pinewood Studios. She transformed Grandad's shed into a masterpiece and also extensively researched and oversaw the very tricky graffiti scene.
Natasha Branson - Producer / Script Supervisor
Natasha came onboard as the Script Supervisor for the film. She is also a producer in her own right and has her own independent production company Mordue Pictures, After the shoot, she saw the potential in the film and wanted to help see it through post-production. She has several short films under her belt including award-winning documentary 'SMILE' and is currently working on a feature-length documentary that's in post-production and a slate of narrative features that are in development.
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Maria Chamberlain - Colourist
Maria is a colourist working as Goldcrest Films. She is credited as intermediate colourist on some massive titles like Victoria & Abdul, Kingsman, and Taboo. She is now the digital coulouris on feature films in her own right and on a career trajectory to be one of the premier female graders in the industry.
You can see the epic work of Maria here: https://imdb.to/2KW3cZB
Michael Harrison - VFX
Michael Harrison, an old friend of mine, is doing some minor visual effects at really generous mates rates. He has worked on mega titles like 'The Revenant' and 'The Jungle Book'. Love you Hazza. Read through Michael's impressive titles in IMDB: https://imdb.to/2IJecwB
Rob Szeliga - Sound Design
Rob is a soundscape specialist with over fifty credits to his name and I am really chuffed to be working with him on this. The sound is such a big part of a film's atmosphere, it enhances the narrative in a way that works subconsciously, nudging our emotions to deepen the experience. Here he is on IMDB: https://imdb.to/2LrGU2G.
These top talented people are all supporting this project with their time and skills. I feel very lucky.
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OKEHAMPTON DEVON
This film was shot on the outskirts of Okehampton, a small town in Devon on the edge of Dartmoor. This town has been severed from its place in the world by the A30, a busy highway to Cornwall that cuts Okehampton off from the moor. I was particularly interested in featuring the road, the sense that the world is moving at a faster pace than this rural town. People always going somewhere but never stopping here. The frustration and isolation that the children feel here is tangible, but yet this place does have things to offer, you just need to know where to look.
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The edit of the film is looking great, we are now looking for funds to help with post-production, festival submissions and to pay the few crew who took deferred payments.
Risks & Challenges
Because we have got so far with the project already the risks are minimised. All our footage is already in the can, we have numerous back ups, we have a rough cut of the film so hell would have to freeze over for us to abandon this and even then I'm pretty productive in the cold.
The small risks are not insignificant, however. As some of the post-production team are working at reduced rates this could mean that our project might be pushed back if more lucrative gigs come in for them.
For me, the biggest risk is not getting the money needed to pay the crew - they will take priority in the fund.
I already have a demo from THIS IS THE KIT and I'm really attached to it. If I had to go to library music for the score it would feel like a serious downgrade.
I actually have a lot of faith in this little film, it has gone to some industry insiders and has had a great response. Being described by Katie McCulloch from Festival Formula as 'a lovely film, with a beautiful lilt to it that is hypnotising to watch'. I really believe it will find an audience somewhere. But we have to keep in mind that film festival programmers are curating an event and not just looking at individual films.
The final film will be approximately 9 minutes and I think it will get picked up by those festivals that like to program youth-led sections in their event.
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WHAT NOW?
Things you can do to support this indie film.
Make a pledge, even if it is a token one, it will really help to oil the cogs of the campaign, Your support means everything to us, whatever the size.
Share. You have just contributed to GRANBAD, and it would be very helpful if you could share this on social media and encourage people to get involved. Use the Indiegogo share tools and voila.
LOVE not LIKE. To really help social media algorithms then you need to love our posts not just like them. Apparently, facebooks are a bit 'Meh' about likes. So reach for the heart.
Tweet the campaign and use the hashtags #Granbad #supportindiefilm #womendirectors #closethegap #filmherstory #womendirectorsnow #GotToSeeItToBeit #FemaleFilmmakerFriday #ChangeTheRatio #hirethesewomen
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Special Thanks
This film would not be at this stage if we did not have the support of certain people and the companies they work for.
Thank you Vicky Scott at Arri Rental.
Thank you Pat McEnallay at Green Kit Lighting.
Thank you Rob Farris at Goldcrest.