Short films
One of the key features of Fear in the Fens is that it offers local filmmakers the opportunity to show their films on the big screen to a festival audience.
The standard of entries this year has been exceptionally high and details of the eight selected films will soon all be added below.
This year's films
Black Shuck Dir: Josh Trett Trett Films (15)
A mother in a dark place following the death of her young child, struggles to escape from her abyss of alcoholism and nostalgia.
As she finds herself haunted by a wild beast, the Black Shuck, she must consider whether this apparition is real or simply a manifestation of her pain.
www.trettfilms.com
The Runner Dir: Alex Mccranor Script: Benjamin Peel (15)
A grief stricken man has a strange encounter but just how real is it?
In the space of just three and a half minutes this deceptively simple seeming short film poses existential questions and is ambiguous enough to allow for more than one interpretation.
The Runner was shot at Hubbard's Hills in Lincolnshire and everyone involved in it is local to the area. Both actors are very experienced with extensive credits between them including appearances in Emmerdale and the director is the founder of Brink Media, a digital creative agency based in Louth.
However it was the first film that the writer has had produced although he recently had his first play, Not a Game for Girls, published by Oberon Books.
Don't go Down to Wildor Dir : Ben Franklin & Anthony Melton
Bloody Cuts
When his brother goes missing, Chuck journeys to an old abandoned house and finds an impossible doorway - to a hellish alternate reality.
Ben Franklin & Anthony Melton are Norfolk filmmakers known for their series ‘Bloody Cuts’. Their popular horror anthology has been seen over 40 million times online, and they won a Webby Award in 2017 for their film ‘The Birch’. Their latest short film ‘Don’t Go Down to Wildor’, as with all their films, was shot locally in King’s Lynn.
www.bloodycuts.co.uk
Don't go Down to Wildor Dir : Ben Franklin & Anthony Melton (15)
Bloody Cuts
When his brother goes missing, Chuck journeys to an old abandoned house and finds an impossible doorway - to a hellish alternate reality.
Ben Franklin & Anthony Melton are Norfolk filmmakers known for their series ‘Bloody Cuts’. Their popular horror anthology has been seen over 40 million times online, and they won a Webby Award in 2017 for their film ‘The Birch’. Their latest short film ‘Don’t Go Down to Wildor’, as with all their films, was shot locally in King’s Lynn.
www.bloodycuts.co.uk
The Last Journey Dir: Nick Boulter Script: John West (15)
A writer visits the site of Borley Rectory and confronts his past and his future after meeting a mysterious stranger in Borley churchyard.
The film was shot in Essex - Borley and Lavenham.
Hunted Dir Laurence Scott (15)
Out for a run, a man stumbles upon a trap designed to catch a very particular kind of creature. Can
he escape the woods, or is there something more sinister afoot?
Hunted was shot in Suffolk (Rendlesham forest) with a crew local to Ipswich.
Routine Dir: Jonnie Howard (15)
The clock ticks. The man waits. The girl watches.
‘Routine’ follows a young woman completing her mundane evening rituals but can’t seem to shake the feeling she’s not home alone.
BRINK Dir: Jonathan Blagrove (15)
A peaceful suburban home is invaded by a mysterious stranger, leaving a young woman desperately fighting for her freedom - with her captor's motives unknown...
BRINK was shot entirely on location in Norfolk (Norwich and Hethersett), using a mainly local crew, with around 75% of post-production work carried out in the region too. The edit and colour grade was also carried out locally, while the sound design and edit was undertaken by Norfolk-based SONIC FRUIT.
The final audio mix was done by George Castle and Rory Wallace at Grand Central in SoHo.
Escape Dir: Bradley Collins/Tom Offord (15)
With their city in ruins, a father and daughter flee, in search of a safer location. They seek refuge in an abandoned mansion, but soon find that they are not alone.
"The films main mansion scenes were shot over one weekend. We were fortunate enough to have worked at an amazing mansion in Oulton Broad, Lowestoft for a prior music video and managed to secure it again. The remaining external shots were shot at Mousehold Heath in Norwich."
This year the public will be asked to vote for their favourite short film, which will be awarded the Golden Shuck.
The trophy has been created by Christine Pike of FreyaDottir Designs.
The development and design of the Golden Shuck trophy has been supported by Norfolk County Council.
