York movie premiere kick starts crowd funding campaign
A screening of an eagerly awaited movie from a York production team takes place today (Monday, May 19) as a new funding campaign gets underway.
An invited audience will watch The Knife That Killed Me at the University of York ahead of its national release this summer.
Produced by York-based independent production company Green Screen Productions Ltd, the visually inventive film has already secured a deal with Universal Pictures UK for DVD and video on demand distribution.
Now Green Screen Productions has teamed up with Heslington Studios – the commercial arm of the University of York’s Department of Theatre, Film and Television – to launch a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign.
The aim is to raise £20,000 to launch the film with a multi-platform premiere this summer.
That would see The Knife That Killed Me simultaneously live-streamed to various locations in Britain, and to a global audience online.
The movie
The Knife That Killed Me is a journey through the memories of teenage protagonist Paul Varderman as he reflects on the events leading to the fatal moment his life is cut short.
Jack McMullen, best known as Finn Sharkey in Waterloo Road, plays Paul.
The film is based on Anthony McGowan’s novel of the same title.
Shot entirely in a studio with the actors performing against green screen, the backgrounds were created digitally.
This gives the film a uniquely nightmarish feel as it portrays Paul’s subconscious thoughts.
Kit Monkman, who co-directed the film with Marcus Romer, said: “In The Knife That Killed Me we push the boundaries of independent cinema by using new technology to ‘break the lens’ in order to create a different, more interactive relationship between the audience and the screen.
“This makes the experience feel more like theatre – and the viewer less like a spectator – than is generally the case with film.”
York as a ‘media hub’
The film was shot entirely at Green Screen Production’s Bubwith studios. Post-production work took place at Heslington Studios at York University.
“Through our partnership with Heslington Studios, our aim is to create a media hub in York, which will generate revenue and create new jobs for the region,” said Alan Latham, managing director of Green Screen Productions.
“The Kickstarter campaign is designed to encourage local people to support and celebrate Yorkshire filmmaking talent and help bring more TV and film production into the region.”
Green Screen Productions and Heslington Studios are now working together on new projects.
The Green Screen visual effects team are all recent York University graduates from the Department of Theatre, Film and Television.
“Without a doubt, one of the most rewarding aspects of The Knife That Killed Me was to see our graduates work at such a high level and become fully-fledged professionals,” said John Mateer, a senior lecturer at the university and the film’s visual effects producer.
- Find out more at The Knife That Killed Me website
- To donate to the Kickstarter campaign, go here
- Read more movie stories here