What is Screen 3, Row B, Seat 7?
Screen 3, Row B, Seat 7 is a short film that - with your funding - will celebrate the films that have shaped us. It's a story not about the shots and the scenes, but the place we found them. Cinema is where everybody working on this project, have found belonging and connection. And, in our film, we focus on two women who'll find a connection more powerful than any other.
When Daisy walks into the cinema in her new town for the first time, she meets Regina, one of the managers. From there, Daisy falls in love with more than just the cinema she's in. They bond over the same things we film lovers have all shared, along with so much more. But, as the world moves on, our two female lovers start to wonder whether they have to move on with it.
While we're already deep into production on our short film, we're looking for funding that gives it the chance to thrive. We want to create a film that reflects what's best about the cinema, using world-class equipment to capture the sights and sounds of pictures gone by. And, in this era of COVID-19, we want to produce it despite the challenges a pandemic brings.
With your generous support, Screen 3, Row B, Seat 7 will be a celebration of film and the people and places that keep it alive.
Why Are We Making This Film?
With 3B7, we don't want to talk about cinema. Instead, we want to talk about why cinema means so much to our lives. Many of us can point to a movie and recall where we were, who we were with, and so much more from the cinema we saw it in. Some of us have found love at the cinema or gone there for therapy when we've lost it. It's been there for us when we've needed it.
3B7 also updates the memory of the cinema for the filmgoers of today. With our two female leads, Daisy and Regina, we're determined to put LGBTQ+ experiences at the heart of our project. Cinema can only mean as much as it does if everybody can find belonging in it. Our love story redefines the classic cinema experience through an LGBTQ+ lens, bringing a new perspective to what movies mean to us all.
Why Should We Make This Film?
With 3B7, our whole team has a story to tell. It's a story that comes from our writer, Ryan Whittingham, who works at the very cinema we've set and will produce the film in. It comes from our producer, Eliza Beth Stevens, who's spent day after day at the Picturehouse in her hometown finding inspiration. It's even the story of our lead actors, Madeleine Lloyd-Jones and Ida Regan, who've both made a living tending to screens, and been inspired to make a living being on them.
We've all found something in the cinema. With 3B7, we want to capture the magic feeling of entering that place that all film lovers know. Our short film, with your funding, will lovingly recreate a range of eras in our cinema. We've taken inspiration from the silent era-classics, the Technicolor adventures, the New Wave wonders, and the films we've adored in recent years. No matter what, though, it'll always be about how those films, and where we've seen them, have made us feel.
Why Should We Make This Film Now?
With 3B7, we want to celebrate how we experience film and what that means to us. To us, the cinema is the smell of the popcorn and the sound of the people. It's the place where we connect over comedy, remember over romances, hide over horrors. For a year now, though, we haven't had the chance.
COVID-19 has had a devastating effect on our industry. But, in reality, it's only shown the turning tide in the business today. Filmmakers can't get their films shown in the places they love, while some eschew cinema completely. And, with independent cinemas unable to showcase the films they love to the world around them, we see something we love beginning to slip away. 3B7 will be a short film that, with your funding, shows why those beautiful cinemas need, and deserve, saving.
Why Does This Short Film Need Your Funding?
3B7 is a short film we're desperate to create - but it can only reach its potential with extra funding. With this crowdfunding campaign, we want to call out to film lovers everywhere who want nothing more than to be part of a crowded movie theatre once again. Our film is a story that reminds us all how magical an experience cinema can be, and perhaps how much more it means than even that.
Our short film, with your generous funding, will have high-quality cameras, stunning equipment, and a trained team of professionals paid for their talent. However, a lot of our production is already in place. For example, we've been lucky enough to secure a stunning film location to bring Daisy and Regina's love story to life in living colour - the Picturehouse cinema at FACT Liverpool. This architectural marvel is the only place that can truly capture all the magic that a cinema can bring.
Your funding will go a long way in other areas, though. We'll be able to turn our short film into a professional production with catering, accommodation for our cast and crew, and so much more. And, in return, we're offering a wide range of perks that give you the chance to be a part of the 3B7 journey. Screen 3, Row B, Seat 7 is about inclusion first, and our perks are perfect for anybody who's ever felt like they belonged under the projector light.
How To Help Our Short Film
3B7 is a short film that, with your funding, can remind us all about the magic of cinema and everything that comes with it. It brings us closer to the people we meet, the popcorn we eat, and the films we’ve fallen in love with. Everybody working on 3B7 is a mosaic of all of those moments. For your support, this whole team will put all of that into every frame of our film.
You can help 3B7 in other ways than just donating as well. With just a simple share, you could help us get the word out to film fans with the means to help. We appreciate that times are tough, and it isn't easy to find money to part with at the moment. But, if you're willing to donate or share our campaign, you'll make a big difference to 3B7's future.
Whatever you decide to do, we'll see you at the movies.
Love,
James Stephenson & The 3B7 Team