We are raising funds to exhibit, distribute and promote our latest short film, ‘175’. We would love for you to join our campaign, support us and be part of an incredible filmmaking journey.

‘175’ is a multi award-winning 22-minute live action film, shot in Kent, England in spring 2023. The film is currently in festival circuit. The film has been the official selection at several BIFA qualifying festivals and has won the best LGBTQI film at the BIFA qualifying festival, Brighton Rocks.

Here is the latest updates regarding 175: https://www.stppros.com/blog/175-film/

Awards and Nominations: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt24658664/awards/?ref_=tt_awd

175 – The story:

‘175’ is the number of British MPs who voted against same-sex marriage in March 1st, 2013.

The film focuses on the life of a couple, Juliet and Ruth who are in their late 50s. They are waiting for the British Parliament to pass a bill to legalise same-sex marriage, so they can get married. But they are racing against time as Juliet suffers from a terminal illness and doesn't have long to live.

‘175’ is a dramatisation inspired by true events. All the characters portrayed in the film are played by actors except where archival footage is used. The names and people in the archival footage are real, but the scenes, characters and dialogues have been created for dramatic impact.

Why is this film worth making?

2013 is a historic year in the right of LGBT community in the UK. England and Wales joined a small number of countries that had already legalised same-sex marriage.

Whilst ‘175’ is not a political film, it is important that we recognise the political will and many years of campaigning that made this dream a reality. That is why it is important that we recognise the importance of equal rights of the LGBT community in the UK and celebrate, promote, and protect it.

By the time this film gets made and edited, it will be 10 years since the bill was passed by the parliament. So the timing couldn’t be better to get together, pick up a camera and get this film made.

With a real historical backdrop, ‘175’ aims to tell an important story. It portrays the importance of the LGBT right movements, not just in the UK but also around the world and reminds us that the battle to equal rights is far from finished in many countries.

175 is a film about love and mortality. It is intimate, personal, and poignant.

Who are we?

We are a group of experienced filmmakers with an established track record in the film industry. The core crew members have won several film awards. We are a diverse team from different backgrounds; we value our diversity, and we believe that is our key strength.

Suzanna Hamilton

Suzanna played the role of Julia in the 1984 film adaptation of George Orwell's classic novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four. Her other film roles include Tess, Brimstone and Treacle, Wetherby, and Out of Africa.

Francesca Zoutewelle - Christina

Francesca trained at RADA and won the Laurence Olivier Bursary 2012. Her screen credits include Mike Leigh’s Mr Turner, and Agatha Raisin (Sky1).

Kasra Karimi – writer and director

An Iranian-British and London based multi award-winning filmmaker and artist, Kasra studied film directing at Bristol University in 2010. Since then, he has collaborated with several award-winning film and television production houses across the UK and US. In 2012, he joined BBC and ever since he has been working on many critically acclaimed films that have reached millions of audiences across the globe.

In 2016, Kasra founded Stranger Than Paradise Production, an independent film company dedicated to art house cinema and indie filmmaking.

Kasra previously directed The 8th Person (2009), The Time Machine (2011), Trials of An Impure Heart (2011), Far From Any Home (2014) and A Pinprick of Light (2018).

Kasra’s latest film A Pinprick of Light has won 16 awards in international film festivals and was part of Cannes Film Festival, Short Film Corner in 2018 and an official selection at the Bafta and Oscar qualifying festival, LA Shorts. The film is currently available on Amazon Prime Video for streaming. Find out more about Kasra here: www.KasraKarimi.co.uk

Arushi Chugh - Director of Photography

Arushi is a director of photography from India, currently based in the UK. A recent graduate from Cinematography program from the National Film and Television School, she has shot on film (16mm and 35mm) and digital mediums across short films, commercials, tv pilots and documentaries.

Narratives that look at the layered relationships of characters on the periphery of society at a moment of transition are of particular interest to Arushi. Imagery that depicts the intricacies of mood, emotion and relationships through a symbolic approach to framing and lighting excites her.

Some of the projects she has worked on have had a tremendous response at film festivals. 'Dragged Up'  was shortlisted for Best British Film at Iris Prize, broadcast on Film4 and available on All4 for a year. It has also received an honorable mention at  Outshine Film Festival, selected for Encounters Film Festival among others. 'Do Not Feed The Pigeons' won the BAFTA for Best Animation. 'Flavours Without Borders' was nominated for the Royal Television Society Award, New Voices Award at Edinburgh TV Festival and shortlisted at Series Fest.

Alan Snelling – Composer

With more than 4 decades of experience in the film industry, Alan has worked on some of the most iconic films in the history of cinema. He has worked on films such as Silence of the Lambs, Naked Lunch and BBC’s Sherlock. He previously collaborated on A Pinprick of Light with Kasra and received two nominations for best music.

Find out more about Alan here:

http://www.up4loud.com/

Simon Ekrelius - Costume Designer

Simon is a Swedish costume designer based in London. 

Simon has designed for BBC, Channel 4 and svereal successful films including Sound of Fear, The Power of one Coin. 

You can find out about Simon here.

Jane Frisby – Casting Director

Jane has been a freelance Casting Director for over 30 years, initially casting TV commercials for Directors including Graham Rose, Daniel Barber, Steve Lowe, Steve Reeves, and Ronnie West. She is still extremely passionate about Casting, and visits the Theatre extremely frequently searching for new Talent.

Lee Viesnik – Sound Recordist

Lee has been a production sound recordist for over five years and has worked on many short films, eleven feature films and several documentaries. His ultimate mission is to capture great production sound and ensure no ADR has to be recorded later.

This is his second collaboration with Kasra. They previously worked on A Pinprick of Light, a short film that heavily relied on sound. 

Stranger Than Paradise Productions

Stranger Than Paradise Productions is a boutique production company based in west London that will produce ‘175’.

Founded by Kasra in 2016, Stranger Than Paradise has collaborated with some of the most famous broadcasters in the UK including BBC and Channel 4.

The company also produced the multi award winning film A Pinprick of Light back in 2018.

Find out more about Stranger Than Paradise Productions here: https://www.stppros.com/

What will ‘175’ look like?

How do you portray a sense of despair? What does a race against time look like? How does one picture a gradual sense of loss?

These are the motifs that we explored in A Pinprick of Light and this time we are digging deeper. Greatly inspired by the work of cinematography masters such as Christopher Doyle, Darius Khondji and Emmanuel Lubezki who all have portrayed sense of longing, nostalgia, and the burden of memory in collaboration with visionary directors like Terrence Malick, Gus Van Sant and Wong Kar-Wai, we are determined to tell a cinematically accomplished story.

Unconventional framing to imply that the characters are trapped in circumstances beyond their control, subtle yet provoking camera movements and saturated lighting with different hues across the frame are some of the techniques that we like to employ to tell the story of ‘175’.

Where will your contributions go?

We are committed to produce a film to high standards. So, it is crucial that every penny of the funds is spent efficiently. Your contributions will go towards:

• Festival submissions and screenings
• Post-Production
• Music composing by the legendry Alan Snelling
• Camera and light equipment rental.
• Casting.
• Production (Set design and decoration, props, crew, transport and catering).
• Locations.
• Crowdfunding and banking fees, plus the production and delivery of rewards

What you get,

In return for your generous contribution, we want to offer something that is exciting, relevant, and popular. We wanted to pick perks that make you feel like a part of this production family.

So simply head to the right-hand side of this page, choose a reward, click it and you’re nearly there!

Other ways you can help

We hope we’ve convinced you that this is a project worth supporting. If you don’t feel able to contribute financially but you’d still like to help us, the best way to do so is to spread the word.

• Talk about this project to friends, family, colleagues.
• Use social media and Greenlit’s share tools to help spread the word.
• Mention our campaign to businesses that might know someone who can support and sponsor us.
•  Share a link to the official trailer and see for yourself why this film is worth your support.

If you have any questions, please drop Kasra a line and he’ll get back to you right away: Kasra@STPPros.com

FAQs

When will the film be made and published?

'175' was filmed in March and April 2023 and is currently in festival phase. We aim to distribute the film on streaming services after the festival run in 2025.

What will you do with the film once it gets made?

With short films it comes the challenge of promoting and commercialising. The film is being submitted to world’s top film festivals. Once the film festival circuit is over, we will publish the film on Amazon Prime Video. That is guaranteed as Stranger Than Paradise Productions is an official Amazon Prime’s partner and content creator. We also have an agreement with an American distribution company to stream the film in USA in 2025.

If I contribute to the funding of the film, will I be able to attend the festival screenings?

Absolutely. Please keep an eye on our website and social media for updates on festival screenings near you. The film has already been screened at UK, USA and Canada and many more festival screenings will follow for the rest of 2024 and 2025.

What will you do with any extra funds raised?

We would very much welcome that. Any extra funds will help us to submit '175' to more festivals around the world. Plus, you can place a request for the film to be submitted to a film festival near you.

Is this the only crowdfunding campaign for this film?

Yes, this is the only campaign.

How can I promote the film crowdfunding campaign?

Share the love, spread the work and post online. Tell your family and friends about our film. Fllow us on Instagram. Tweet or Facebook about our film and share a link tour crowdfunding page, trailer and don’t forget to include #175shortfilm

The latest updates here: https://www.stppros.com/blog/175-film/