‘Falling Stars’

about us

Hello!

We are final year BA Film students at Middlesex University and we are currently working on 'Falling Stars', our 15-minutes dissertation film. This follows a woman's dark journey through depression.

Introducing OUR team

Our team consists entirely of Middlesex University BA Film students. Over the past three years, we have built strong personal and professional relationships with each other. We are all keen to continue honing our skills as filmmakers and hope that if 'Falling Stars' is well received, we will have the opportunity to keep working together on future projects.

The core members of our crew are as follows:

•          Producer: Emanuele Tringali

•          Director/Writer: Mattia Chiaravalloti

•          Cinematographer: Umut Duzgunce

•          Editor: Stefan Belov

•          Art Designer: Jonathan Tang

Mattia and Emanuele started working together as a 'Director' and 'Producer' duo at the beginning of their film course. Their first project was a short film called 'Near Death' and their second, 'It Will Happen' . Given their fantastic working rapport, they hope to make 'Falling Stars' a great success!

About Falling Stars

Alice, our main character in 'Falling Stars' is in a state of depression following the death of her boyfriend. She processes her feelings through her interactions with others and the love they show to her but as a result of her grief, she finds it hard to connect. Daniela, Alice’s best friend and her late boyfriend’s sister, is the only one who succeeds in getting through to Alice and generating some sort of reaction.

The film follows a chronological sequence of events, but it doesn’t present an ordinary narrative structure. We are giving more weight to the beauty of the images than the action.

The cast

Marleen Mathew

Marleen will play Alice, our main character. Marleen has been trained at one of Amsterdam's top drama schools and has studied at London's top part time drama school, Identity Drama School.

Carla McGlynn

Carla will play Daniela, Alice's best friend. Carla has recently graduated with an MA in Screen Acting from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

Tom Millen

Tom will play Frank, Alice's boyfriend. Tom is an actor with experience in theatre, TV, Film and Commercials.

Why this film matters to us

This film will be used in our main portfolios as we enter the film industry. It will be the trophy we use to show potential employers our ability. We also want to enter it into film festivals globally in the hope of receiving some attention and public notice. Additionally, if it is among the top films of our year, we will have the opportunity to screen 'Falling Stars' at the British Film Institute, London Southbank.

However, to produce the highest calibre film possible and achieve all of these things, we need your help!

Where you come in

Our full budget is £1,800 and this will be used for the following:

• Travel - getting our crew and cast to and from our locations
• Talent - we want to offer some remuneration to our fantastic actors
• Food - long days on set can be gruelling so we want to keep the cast and crew well fed and watered!
• Location Hire - we have identified Airbnb locations in Belsize Park, which are perfect for the visual narrative we hope to create
• Film Props - including curtains, blankets and paintings.

We want 'Falling Stars' to meet cinematic standards. With our access to professional actors, perfect locations and industry-grade equipment, we can achieve this.

The camera we are filming on is a Canon C300 and this has stunning Xeen Lenses. Sound is being recorded with high-quality Sennheiser MKH416 and MKH50 microphones.

As you can see from our video, we have already shot a few scenes, so we hope you get a feel for the end visual we hope to create!

If we hit our target

If we hit our target, we will use the money to make the remaining scenes we want to feature in our movie. We will also use the money to pay our professional actors and to cover the costs of location hire, props, and travel and food expenses for our cast and crew. At present, any expenses associated with scenes already filmed have come out of our own pockets!

And if we exceed our target...

If we exceed our target, then we will use additional funds towards the costs of supplies needed on shoot (e.g. light filters, batteries, tape, gaffer tape, stationery, pencils and set design props).

We will also be able to use extra funds to cover marketing and distribution costs. We would like to distribute 'Falling Stars' up and down the UK by entering it into short film festivals and competitions.

What you get in return

There are different levels of reward for different levels of donation. If you check the rewards section, you can see the different things you can receive in return for helping us.

Sponsorship and advertising opportunities:

The recognition we receive from film festivals will also go to your company (if applicable), depending on your level of donation, as we have plenty of opportunities to provide generous donors with advertising space at our screenings.

Where to find us

You can follow our progress on our Falling Stars Facebook page . You can also message me through the Facebook page and I will personally reply to you.

Help in other ways

If you can’t donate personally, you can still help by spreading the word about 'Falling Stars'.

Please share this project with anyone you think would support us. You could do this through your social media accounts (e.g. Twitter, Facebook or Instagram) for example, or by any other means possible!

By helping us promote 'Falling Stars', the greater the chance we have of creating our best work yet!