We’re casting two actors for an ultra-short film, inspired by the events of the Challenger spacecraft and its crew.

The film will be shot over two days in Bristol, UK. The character of Christa will be required for both shoot days, and all other roles required for just one day. The shoot dates currently planned are 8th-9th December, however these are subject to change. All roles are non-speaking (as there is no dialogue in the film), however a small amount of physical improvisation will be required, so actors ought to be comfortable with this.

As the film is a concept short, all roles are unpaid however everyone will receive a full credit in the film and on IMDb, travel expenses will be covered and refreshments will be provided on the day. Role descriptions below.

Christa

An astronaut, the central character of the film. This role is non-speaking, however will incorporate a small amount of improvisation, so the actor should be comfortable with this. This role will be needed for both shoot days.

Characteristics:

• Female
• Playing age 30-45
• 5’5″ – 5’10”
• Hazelnut brown, ideally curly, hair

Husband

This role is non-speaking, however will incorporate a small amount of improvisation, so the actor should be comfortable with this. This role will be needed for 1 shoot day.

Characteristics:

• Male
• Playing age 30-45
• 5’10” – 6’2″
• Short, dark brown hair

How to apply

To apply, please email [email protected] with your headshot and any previous experience.

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Calling all New York-based actors! Pastles Productions is casting voice actors for a short film inspired by the Challenger spacecraft disaster. It will involve one day’s recording (each role likely to be needed for ~30 mins) in early September. The project is a concept short to be used for funding applications therefore unfortunately is unpaid, however expenses will be covered and all actors will receive a credit.

All roles listed below;

Professor: Woman, 60s+, ideally West Coast accent.

Husband: Man, late 30s-40s, Northeastern accent.

Daughter: Girl, 10-13, Northeastern accent.

Father: Man, 60+, Northeastern accent.

If you’re interested, please send an email with a voice reel and available dates to [email protected].

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Across oceans and unknown to many, Skid Row is an area in Los Angeles famously known as the ‘homeless capital of the US’. In an intimate, unassuming documentary, Game Girls follows the lives of two women, Teri and Tiahna, skirting and moving on from life on Skid Row. Combining fly-on-the-wall observation and recurring workshops led by the filmmakers with residents of Skid Row to open up about what it really feels like in such a community, the documentary is at once accessible and enlightening.

Speaking to Ella Kemp, Alina Skrzeszewska shares a deeper insight into the project.

Ella

Why did you choose to focus on Skid Row, and on female homelessness particularly? What issues do you think face women specifically?

Alina

I had made several films about Skid Row before I made Game Girls. I first really got to know Skid Row on a more in-depth basis in 2006. I lived in one of the flophouse type hotels operating at the time, between 2006 and 2008. I was essentially making a film about my neighbours and those neighbours tended to be male, so it ended up being a film about men — and at that time I already knew that I wanted to make a film about women in the area. It just seemed so much more complicated to tackle that topic. For me it was always a question about how to represent women in an authentic way, because I didn’t want to represent them as victims. There was the question of how to show them authentically, because a lot of the women (not that men don’t) but women specifically come to the area having experienced so much trauma. People with PTSD can act kind of strange, or what seems strange to outsiders and people who don’t understand it, and I wanted to figure out how to translate that so it would make sense to an audience, and so that it would also be truthful, for me to even understand what it was.

Ella

And you did that through a lot of the workshops. How did they come about? I really enjoyed the scenes of the workshops in the film — how did you decide which ones to include?

Alina

That actually look a long time. We ran the workshops for a year and a half in the community. At first we had three workshops per week. We then narrowed it down to one per week, but it was still a lot. I was shooting every single time, because I wanted to establish it as part of the practice of what we were doing, in that workshop space, so that people would be comfortable and familiar with it, and it would just be part of what happened — as opposed to just suddenly filming something and then giving it a different meaning. So I had so much footage of the workshop. There were really amazing scenes of the workshop that were hard to let go of, but I had to let go, because that’s what editing is, it’s letting go. So it became just very much focused on Teri and Tiahna, and also on particular points of dramaturgy in the film, how that links to what happens before and after, so this is how I chose those moments.

Ella

I saw that you shot the film yourself. What made you choose to be your own cinematographer? Some scenes are very powerful, like the shot of Teri and Tiahna in front of the Skid Row sign, and when they were having an argument and the camera stayed focused on the puppy too.

Alina

Teri has seen a lot of films, she was trying to make a movie! I’ve shot my own films before, it was actually very difficult to imagine to get a cinematographer in the area, I really couldn’t imagine how that could have worked. Plus a lot of the things I shot outside of the workshops was completely unpredictable. Teri and Tiahna’s lives are so chaotic and so in the moment that stuff happens that we wouldn’t know 30 minutes ago that it would be happening and she’d just call me and be like, “ok can you come now” But I’m available, a cinematographer certainly wouldn’t be available at that point. It really was the only way to make the film. And the puppy, I feel like it’s the perspective of children, that’s what I thought of. That’s what kids experience in that scenario.

Ella

In terms of working with Teri and Tiahna, how much creative involvement did they have with the film? You follow them for quite a long time, from the conception down to the editing, did they sway the way the film ended up being made?

Alina

More indirectly than directly, more in the shooting than in the editing. Teri wanted to come into the editing studio, and that’s a bad idea with actors, and that’s definitely a bad idea with documentary actors. So that wasn’t possible, I had to make it clear to myself that I had to make some decisions and I had to stand by those decisions. But what I did do is have feedback screenings with the whole workshop crew, which I feel like the other women would be able to be much more objective than the main protagonists. So the final result, Teri really loved and appreciated. It was hard for her with the fight scene, because for the longest time she was just like, “are you going to put it in there? Okay, but maybe like not the whole thing?” but Tiahna would always say, “no, no, you’ve got to put the whole thing in there, it stays” – because she won the fight!

Ella

You crowdfunded the film with an Indiegogo campaign. How was that process for you?

Alina

We didn’t crowdfund the whole thing. We had funding from France primarily, some from Germany, interestingly we were not able to get any funding from the US, so had we not had those European connections we probably would have had to crowdfund the whole thing – which would have been terrible! Because it’s not really a sexy topic, people don’t necessarily want to have a film about homelessness. So crowdfunding was a lot of work, there were really good parts to it because it gave us a chance to reach out for the first time and really see people’s reactions, and get that audience connection going. And it also allowed us figure out how we can communicate around the film. There was a really fun fundraising party that we did that was really great in downtown, where I feel like we were able to bridge a bit of the more gentrified downtown people with some of the Skid Row people. It was cool to come together in a community spirit… but I hate crowdfunding. And now people want their t-shirts, and they have to get their t-shirts, it’s hard to do everything at once…

Ella

Do you think having a bigger budget or different budget would have changed what you wanted to do with the film?

Alina

I would have edited longer. I would have spent more time on the sound and the colour correction — so it’s mainly post. That’s the most expensive part anyway, where I wish we had more.

Ella

Why did you choose to premiere the film in Berlin? How has the feedback been and how do you find it as a festival?

Alina

I really love Berlin. This is the festival where I had a lot of my formative cinemagoing experience through the years, in my filmmaking beginnings. So in that sense it’s special for me to premiere the film here. It’s been really great so far, audiences are engaged, screenings are sold out.

Ella

What was the biggest thing that you learnt while making this film?

Alina

I feel like I learnt so much. Skid Row was really something that changed my perspective on life from the beginning – it’s now been 12 years that I’ve stuck around the area to some extent. This last one really taught me about trauma; what it is, how it literally stays in the body. Everything about trauma… I know a lot about it now!

Ella

What would you want audiences to learn, feel or remember after watching Game Girls?

Alina

I think it’s really important to just be able to show lives and show people who maybe lead different lives to what a lot of the average western cinemagoers are used to – but without placing a judgement value on it. Without having to label it in a very specific way. For me it was very important to make it relatable, to make it inclusive, to make it feel like a story that anyone can relate to. That’s why it’s a love story, everybody can relate to that. I want Game Girls audiences to really see people as individuals and the complexity of their lives, and who they are as humans. To see that it’s ‘we’, and not ‘them and us’. I hope that viewers see that when they see it.

Game Girls premiered at the 2018 Berlinale in the Panorama section. After sell-out shows and impassioned Q&As, the film is being distributed by Doc and Film International and will next be screened at Thessaloniki International Film Festival. You can find out more about the film by following on Twitter and Facebook.

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As we say goodbye to Winter and march into Spring, partner organisations across Bristol open their doors to encourage people to think about the community we live in, look out for family and friends and scoop people up before they fall. Bristol Homelessness Awareness Week (February 24- 3 March) aims to raise awareness of homelessness, those at risk of becoming homeless and the issues people face when rough sleeping highlighting the long process of recovery. The week is packed full of exhibitions, screenings and workshops all designed to educate about homelessness in Bristol, and how we can make a positive change in our community. Read on to find out more.

What’s going on?

How can I help?

Aside from coming to the events, we need to raise awareness as much as possible and, as always, social media is the way to do that. We’ve created a short promo video for the week, featuring members of the homeless community in Bristol and some of the work done by Art4Change. This video is intended to promote the week, so please do share it around, along with the hashtag #HomelessBristol.

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© Dogwoof

In ‘The Work’, documentary filmmakers Jairus McLeary and Gethin Aldous explore the process of real and raw rehabilitation in Folsom prison, as three men from the outside sit in on an intensive four-day therapy session with the inmates. Alongside ex-gang members, men convicted of theft and murder, the groups dig into dealing with previous offences, how to cope with mental health behind bars and what it means to be a man. Ella Kemp reviews.

It’s difficult to imagine what every waking moment behind bars feels like. Reflected in everyday fears of danger, failure and restraint, the lives of convicts slip between our fingers once the crime has been sufficiently sensationalised in headlines and online. After that, it’s soon forgotten by all those who were once so fascinated. In a kind of opposite dimension to the “grass is always greener” wishful unawareness, the men and women in jail continue to deal with their past actions and very immediate thoughts and insecurities – on the outside, we just don’t hear about them anymore.

But in Folsom state prison, California, three men, all outsiders, sit in on an intensive four-day therapy session with the inmates. This process is called “the work”. In a raw, immediate documentary, filmmakers Jairus McLeary and Gethin Aldous frame the phenomenon in session. Ex-gang members and bartenders align in conversation, as insecurities spill out and judgement is blurred, only leaving the results of the work to show for it.

The film is a special, singular experience. It feels like creeping into depths of tensions that are usually kept under wraps or mythologised in order to cater to fictionalised tear-jerking needs. It strikes a rare balance in presenting a candid and naturalistic insight into the unexpected experience, while leaving the violent intensity of every emotion intact.

By the end of the four-day session, it’s difficult to remember who is on which side. As the outsiders are asking, telling, sharing worries and fears with inmates, during the work everyone is on the same side. The process is fascinating, in breaking down the facades that often uphold stereotypes of toxic masculinity: intimidation, a lack of emotion, fear, danger. But after a few questions, with the group leaders and all those involved striving for the same level of contentment, the men break down in a way that no prejudice could ever mask.

© Dogwoof

“I just want to feel like me”, one man confesses. Another calmly explains how he had previously paralysed someone. One after another, the inmates share stories of their past and break down how they’re feeling about themselves now. It’s a unique liberty given to people who rarely get given a voice – and who most definitely never did, if it wasn’t worth a juicy headline. But in the documentary, every piece of information is treated with the same naked acceptance. Convictions and childhood trauma are considered as equally considerable factors allowing or inhibiting these men to live with themselves in peace.

Where examples of criminal activity or deep-rooted suffering could serve the heightened theatrics of (most) Hollywood dramas, here they are sewn into the process, no more a plot device than a necessary establishing point towards acceptance and healing. In an all-male prison, the participants of the work deal with the expectations and pressures they face to “be a man”— for their families, for society and for themselves.

Once the fears are laid out, catharsis begins. Men who were afraid to cry pierce the still monotony with lashing emotion, difficult to believe and impossible to try and contain. It’s a visceral experience to watch, as with no script or make-believe narrative to guide a story – it’s easy to watch in quasi-constant fear as to what will break next. Men convicted of theft and attempted murder, self-loathing men struggling with their own identity – they all come together to support each other and accept every flaw. Not as universal flaws, but all integral to each person and no less valid in the search for contentment in all of their lives.

© Dogwoof

The therapy process marries unfiltered conversation with more creative rehabilitation techniques. One of the visiting participants, at first reluctant to look at his own struggles, ends up leading one of the most moving moments in the film, in a bid to reconnect and accept his relationship with his father. As the other participants use words and role play to dig into the real problems, the man finally comes to terms with his unhappiness. “I didn’t expect this shit”, one of the visitors admits towards the beginning. One of the inmates replies: “you wouldn’t have come if you did”.

Saying the words that friends and professionals want to but don’t always know how, the men taking part in the work offer a refreshing, should-be-obvious wisdom. Both on a professional and a personal level, it’s with this powerful degree of honesty and unabashed vulnerability that the road to healing can clear. And it’s only through films like this that new headlines can be written – helping those in prison, in the streets, and everywhere else where too much is left unsaid.

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So we had our first Bristol screening of Sleeping Rough last week! It might have still been a private screening, but every time we put it on the big screen in front of an audience, no matter how big that audience is, it feels like a huge event; and it is! This film has been two years in the making, and while we’re far from done with the whole process, it’s still huge for us whenever we’re exposing ourselves to people in this way. As a result of that screening, we’ve had our first Sleeping Rough review!

Feedback so far has been fantastic, and perhaps most importantly, it’s provoking reactions. People are talking about it. During the private screening, there were points in the film when people had very audible reactions to some of the events happening onscreen. Sleeping Rough might not be a comfortable watch, but it was never meant to be, and while we want people to like the film, what is most important for us is that: A) It’s true to life, and we’re doing justice to all the stories people shared with us and B) that it provokes a reaction; that after leaving the cinema, people talk about it, and hopefully learn something from it as well.

Cast and crew at our private Bristol screening

Owain speaking at our private Bristol screening

Our first review!

Gabi Spiro from Epigram wrote a lovely review of the film after the screening last week. It’s our first review, so pretty scary, but it contains some very positive words, so we’re happy! Give it a read here. It’s an exciting time to have our first review, as tickets for our first public screening are going on sale very soon. For Homeless Awareness Week, we’re going to be screening at the Watershed cinema in Bristol, along with a forum theatre performance from Cardboard Citizens. This will be followed by a Q+A, featuring Owain, the film’s director, along with a panel of homeless experts. After working so closely with Cardboard Citizens on Sleeping Rough, and after all the support they’ve given us, we’re really excited to be presenting with them for an evening which we hope will cause ripples in the Bristol community. We’re also working on a promo video for the week with Art4Change, which will be released in February, so keep your eyes open for this!

Sleeping Rough director Owain with BBC’s Ali Vowles.

Sleeping Rough director Owain also recently went on BBC Radio Bristol with Ali Vowles.  They chatted about Sleeping Rough, the process behind the film and the change we hope we can make with it. You can listen to the interview right here (just skip through to 2:08 for the beginning of the interview!).

For more news about screenings, and where we’re at with the film, make sure to head over to the Sleeping Rough project page and scroll down to ‘Screenings & Events’. Stay tuned!

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Happy 2018 everyone; Pastles Productions is set for a very busy year in 2018, and we think it’s gonna be a good one. Here’s why:

• We’re heading in new directions.

  • In case you haven’t noticed, we’ve got a shiny new website! We’d like to say a HUGE thank you to Adam and the team at Talent Cupboard for building the site for us.
  • We’ve just partnered with Bristol Works, to provide employment opportunities and careers advice to young and disadvantaged people around Bristol. Representing disadvantaged communities and offering young people a step up into the industry have always been right at the core of what we do, and it’s a privilege to be able to take on this responsibility. 

• Mental Health Awareness

  • Back at the beginning of December, we screened The Hardest Fight at Exeter Phoenix’s Two Short Nights Film Festival. The film got a very positive reception, and we’re excited to have more festival screenings coming up next year, through which we hope to raise awareness of how boxing can help those fighting against depression and anxiety. 

1. A video we did with Off The Record Bristol has just launched (and you can watch it below!). We had such a great time working with on this video, and it’s exactly the kind of work Pastles is all about. OTR are a mental health social movement by and for young people in Bristol, and they have one of the most welcoming and friendly teams we’ve ever worked with. We had an absolute blast making this one, and would love for you guys to give it a watch.

• Sleeping Rough

  • Now onto Sleeping Rough. Earlier this week we held our first cast and crew screenings for the film in London, with our Bristol screening on the 20th, and more London screenings later in the month. Earlier in the month, our director, Owain, went on BCFm, Bristol’s regional radio show, to talk about Sleeping Rough and homelessness in Bristol and around the UK. You can hear the episode here (it’s the 09:00 episode, 04/01/2018). 
  • We also can’t wait until Bristol Homeless Awareness Week. We’ve been working closely with Bristol Homeless Forum on organising events for the week, and how to raise awareness of all the events that will be going on. It’ll also be our first ever public screening of Sleeping Rough, and we really do hope that we’ll be able to connect with the local community and inspire people to get involved and do what they can to help. You can keep up to date with the week right here: www.bristolhf.org.uk/home-page/upcoming-events.
  • If you live in Bristol, and have been wondering how you can help and get involved in the homeless community, take a look at the new website launched by Bristol Homeless Connect: www.bristolhomelessconnect.com. We’ve been lucky enough to see this in various stages of development, and if you want to help alleviate homelessness in Bristol, or if you might be at risk of homelessness yourself, this website is the place to start. 

Have a very happy 2018 everyone.

The post Where Are We Now? appeared first on Pastles Productions.

Owain, the film’s director, speaking at the Big Sleep Out.

The film’s director, Owain, introduced the film and gave a bit of background on what the process of making it entailed, as well as just why the film is so important now. From carrying out interviews all over the country, to hiring actors with personal experiences of homelessness, to shooting on the streets of London and Bristol, it was a hugely rewarding process, and it was great to share that with the audience. Our first public screening of the full film will be in February, during Bristol Homeless Awareness Week (details of that screening will be published soon, right here).

Throughout the night, we did a series of live streams featuring interviews, speeches and performances from the Big Sleep Out. You can take a look at a compilation of all our live videos here:

How to help

• Want to find out more about how you can get involved to help those homeless or sleeping rough in your area? Visit www.homeless.org.uk.
• Are you homeless, or at risk? Try visiting Shelter or Crisis to find out where you can go.

Stay tuned for more news about the film right here.

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We’ve come a really long way since then, and it’s entirely thanks to all the support we’ve had throughout the process; from charities, organisations and above all, from you guys, our backers and all the individuals who’ve pushed us to get to where we are now.

So where are we now? Well, the film’s actually finished! It was definitely not an easy process, we’ve had a lot of setbacks along the way, but by pushing through, we did get there. Since successfully reaching our target last year, we held auditions right at the beginning of the year (a special thank you goes to Michael Chandler and Cardboard Citizens), and managed to find our extremely talented cast, including Elle Payne, Nolan Willis, Megan Prescott, David Olapoju, Hayley Wareham and so many others. The cast really are the very core of the film; we put them in some very tough situations, emotionally and physically, and they had to deal with some harrowing storylines and scenes, but I was constantly amazed by the commitment, bravery, and above all, humanity each of our actors brought to the film. Many of the actors involved had lived out experiences just like the ones they were portraying, so for them to relive them in front of the camera, and with such conviction, is something I can never thank them enough for.

We filmed throughout Easter, in a gruelling process involving long commutes within London and Bristol (a special shout out goes to Fergus, who had the unfortunate duty of driving the van, but never once complained), scary moments dealing with members of the public, reshoots, postponements and SO MUCH COFFEE. Once we’d finally shot the final scene, on a busy Whiteladies Road in Bristol, it was pretty weird to actually have the film in the can, after several weeks of filming all day long, and I have to admit a pretty sad experience, after working so closely with all the cast and crew. A mention really does have to go to our crew on the shoot as well, for sticking with the film throughout the whole process; not only did they ensure that the film got done, and to such a high quality, but most of all they brought a warm, comfortable atmosphere to the set, something so important, especially when making a film like this.

Then, we got into editing; always a slog to get through, our incredible post-production team, including Kelsey, Rupert, Rich and Darren have been amazing, putting in countless hours and sifting through terabytes of footage to piece together something that’s moving, and powerful, but above all truthful. Sitting in front of a computer in a dark room for hours on end can be a frustrating and lonely process, but I can’t fault our team for what they’ve done.

And now, in just two days, we have our first preview! We’re going to be screening a short section of the film of the film to a massive audience at the Big Issue’s Big Sleep Out this Friday, at The Oval in London. It’s pretty terrifying to be putting the film (or at least part of it) in front of a wide audience for the first time, but it’ll the beginning of the most important part of the entire process; getting the message out to people, telling the stories we’ve heard and raising awareness of the state of homelessness in the UK, and what people can do to help. Keep an eye out, as we’ll be bringing you live updates of the night over on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/sleepingroughfilm. We also have to thank Justine Tatt over at the Big Issue Foundation for allowing us to screen the film, and for organising such a momentous event.

After the Sleep Out, we’ll begin with our submissions to film festivals, and also organising our tour to schools and colleges, aiming not only to raise awareness of homelessness as it is now, but also how easy it can be to become homeless yourself, and how to be aware of the warning signs. The 16-25 demographic of those becoming homeless is one of the fastest rising at the moment, and hopefully by raising awareness of the warning signs of homelessness, and how to avoid, fewer young people will end up sofa surfing, staying in hostels or temporary accommodation, or even sleeping on the streets.

We also have some exciting news for next year! We’re working with Bristol City Council and Bristol Homeless Forum in organising Homelessness Awareness Week 2018, taking place from the 24th February to 3rd March; during the week, we’ll be holding a special screening of Sleeping Rough at the Watershed Cinema, accompanied by other short films tackling the issue of homelessness. There’ll be activities throughout the week, aiming to raise awareness of homelessness in Bristol, what services there are available, and how people can get involved. For more info and updates on the week, go to: www.bristolhf.org.uk, and we’ll also be posting updates on our website: www.pastlesproductions.com/sleeping-rough-the-story.

Finally, I’d just like to thank once again everyone that’s carried us through this process; like I said, it hasn’t been easy, we’ve lost a lot of sleep, weight and sanity over the year, but we’re so glad we decided to take on this film. The response has been monumental, we’ve had feedback from people, not just in the UK, but from all over the world, and we really do hope that we can make a difference, by representing the stories of people that have experienced life on the streets, and working towards a world in which no one is forced into homelessness. Thank you to all the people we’ve interviewed, for sharing your stories with us, and for being so truthful and honest. Thank you to all the charity leaders and shelter workers out there who supported us, allowed us into their worlds and who are already doing such an incredible job of trying to make the world a bit safer. Finally, thank you to all you guys, for listening to us and making the project what it is today. Stay tuned.

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