Can I have ….

A story about a man injured from a car accident who stumbles into a strange pub looking for help? But, instead finds residents who berate him through song, accompanied by a cockney piano playing Frenchman.

If he is to escape, he has to find his own voice or face being sang at........ forever! 

A visually dreamy film, representing otherness, loneliness and the need to step out of the mundane into something extraordinary. Apart from the opening and closing shots the entire film takes place in a pub, representing the mind and the soul - with some off-beat songs.

What more can you ask for?

Why's that govn'r?

It's been a bizarre time so we have decided to create a bizarre but fun film. The last year and half, and counting, has seen us enter a limbo state, motionless, a little voiceless, a purgatory of sorts...

Purgatory you say?

We do indeed! So therefore, why not make a film about a man, John, who who is struggling for identity and is trapped in an old cockney pub that represents purgatory and has to defeat his demons and step out of the shadows of others and find his identity if he is to return to the living world, oh and to stop the singing...the never ending singing!

Ironically the writer/director is not a fan of musicals so this is fitting of his comedy hell. We are playing with the genre and will deliver an unexpected take on it with an excellent cast of talented actors and musicians. 

The process although scripted also allow for the performers to improvise and put their own stamp on their characters. 

Why do we need punters like you?

Well filmmaking takes a lot of people to make something very enjoyable, a little off the wall and highly entertaining. Therefore we really need your help to bring 3 Birds to life and make sure cast and crew are paid, the venue (Lovely pub) is secured, the amazing musician is paid and that the film get the necessary exposure at festivals. 

You will of course be rewarded for your investment into making this film happen. Please see rewards on the page. 

Shoot the shots, doubles and triples!

It'll be a 3 day shoot and we are aiming for the end of November. The project is ambitious because we have to make sure we have rehearsed and rehearsed in order to make shooting with the music go swimmingly and in sync. Also the film has to be a cinematic spectacle so that the humour and distorted world reaches its full potential. Your money will help us achieve a high quality of production and festival distribution. You can take pleasure in knowing you were a part of this. Now that's worth a pint, glass of wine and packet of crisps. 

The team and hosts!

Dino Jacovides is the writer/director of 3 Birds, at the tender age of 44 he is making his second short film after the success of Southgate to Brighton which he worked as co writer and director. Dino has worked for 20 years as a performer and director in countless community theatre pieces and was a performance poet back in the day recording for Radio 4. He's using his expertise of facilitating and writing and making his foray into an expressive abstract comedy world on screen where he feels most at home. 

Athena Mandis is an award-winning filmmaker and a Lecturer in Film Practice at QMUL, whose journey began in theatre with the David Glass Ensemble. She has directed and produced seven short films and three feature documentaries as well as producing a number of films through her university production unit Mile End Films (2011-2016) Her work has screened at festivals world-wide. Her feature film script XENOS won best script at Cyprus IFF 2018 and was selected onto the Torino Film Lab 2019 and shortlisted for Sundance Screenwriters Lab 2021. Her short film script Fox was shortlisted for both the Blue Cat and Shore Script writing competitions (2017). She has just completed on her short film Losing Grace and on post-production with Daughter and with a documentary on Cypriot Migration. She is developing a slate of features, a TV series and a short with a project she was a finalist for this year’s Enter The Pitch Competition and for which she was selected for this year’s Pitch Lab in Drama, Greece.

Babi is a cinematographer with experience in Feature and short films, Music Videos and Commercials. His aim is to collaborate with the team of creatives to produce effective visual storytelling for the film. He is great!oO

Jamie Stonehouse is a sound designer extraordinaire. His talent has reached audiences far and wide on interactive platforms, the gaming world and the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games. Jamie has always been interested in sound since he was young in the days of C90 tape, splicing up this sister's Neil Young album experimenting with ways to put it back together and create something new.

Music producer singer Alain Brémond-Torrent, also known as Brémond, was self taught. Born in Toulon, he grew up in Toulouse where he was awarded by the ´Jeunesse Musicale de France’ for the titles of Best Songwriter and Best Performer of Southern regions in 1999.

In 2003, the highly respected and famously hard-to-please magazine Les Inrocks described him as a rare talent with a unique voice and as an incontestable hope for the future of alternative music.

Repeatedly criticised for singing in English and fed up with the French ways of thinking, Brémond left France to move to London in 2006 where he started experimenting with new formulas of music such as mixing electronic music and musicals. Outside his varied works in films, contemporary dance shows and other contributions, he continues making records and performing as Brémond. 

www.bremondsboutique.com

Ladies and Gentlemen ...The CAST!

Introducing:

   Character - John

Anwar Russell works across theatre, film and dance. His credits include The Third Day - Autumn (Sky Arts and Punchdrunk), Measure for Measure (Donmar Warehouse), Imogen (Shakespeare’s Globe), The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Leeds Playhouse), The Drowned Man (Punchdrunk), Can We Talk About This? (DV8 Physical Theatre).

  Character -  Brenda

Tori Pearson studied at Webber Douglas. She has a wealth of site specific and immersive theatre experience and has provided voice over work to commercials and international educational material.

She uses are loud and husky singing voice to sing along to co-written music, recordings and performances and is delighted to bringing her cacophony of talents to the role of Brenda.

  Character - Liz

Kate Ashcroft works in theatre, film and TV: recent screen credits include The Third Day series, and Third Day Autumn 12 hour live show (Sky Arts and Punchdrunk), Top Boy (Netflix), Superhoe (BBC)  & forthcoming feature Persuasion.  Theatre as performer/singer/immersive direction on Emily Loizeau’s Mona at Le Centquatre Paris.

    Character - Rob

Matthew Blake trained at East 15 in Contemporary Theatre Practice under Brian Astbury and splits his workload equally between directing, writing & performing. He has regularly worked as an associate director for Punchdrunk, including most recently for HBO’s “The Third Day - Autumn” by Sky / Punchdrunk.  He is an associate director with immersive 360 sound experts Darkfield and has appeared in musicals, including devising the award-winning “How to Win Against History” by Seiriol Davies. 

Matthew really does love musicals, and despite one of his pet hates being people who say, “I don’t like musicals” (I mean come on, have you listened to all of them??) is very excited to be working with Dino who claims to hate musicals.

   Character - Vincent

Alain Brémond-Torrent, not only is he the fantastic composer (see above) of the film but he will be in it too. His French elegance coming through as he piano plays as a cockney!