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Contact us - the.eternal.king.film@gmail.com

LIVE PRIVATE DONATION COUNTER: £5600

This is in addition to pre-campaign funding - £5000

Standing tall upon a mountain in the dark woods; is a grand and oppressive castle. A slice of the dark ages forced to unnaturally last into the age of science. Laying within its crumbling walls is The Earl, the monstrous tyrant of the land who has been ruling over the surrounding villages with cruelty and black magic for hundreds of years. Such affronts to nature and time; corrupting his form and soul.

Elsbeth, The current guardian to The Earl’s life, has been fulfilling his grim tasks for many years, sacrificing her own people in order to continue his legacy. She was afraid to go against what had been the status quo long before she was born. However, this fragile comfort is tested. As the seemingly untouchable Earl lays dying, all eyes are on her.

The Eternal King is a dark fantasy exploring the hunger for control, the illusion of immortality, and the moral cost of devotion.

Around the world, power clings to itself. This film reframes that reality as folklore, transforming modern corruption into a timeless myth.

In an age of leaders who refuse to step down, The Eternal King asks what happens when eternity becomes tyranny.

It offers catharsis through story, giving audiences a way to look at today’s politics through a mirror of fantasy rather than despair.

The style of the film sits comfortably in the domain of classic literature, atmospheric gothic horror, and dark fantasy; with the narrative premise feeling like a lost classic horror novel.

Our writer and director Link Kraft was inspired by writers such as Bram Stoker, H.P. Lovecraft, and Edgar Allen Poe. Influenced by the films of Friedrich W. Murnau, Robert Eggers, Tim Burton, Jim Henson, Guillermo Del Toro, and Tod Browning. Even video games like Bloodborne and Elden Ring.

With Link growing up with films such as ‘The Dark Crystal’, ‘The Black Cauldron’, ‘The Last Unicorn’, and ‘The Neverending Story’; we similarly wish to transport the audience into a world and immerse them in the story. Where the audience forgets the filmmaking process and feel like they are seeing a window into a forgotten world.

A tactile, atmospheric world built through practical craft: puppetry, miniatures, hand-built sets, physical effects, and organic lighting.

Harkening back to the theatrical era of cinema and inspired by works of Jim Henson and Phil Tippett; The Earl will be presented using costume puppetry, standing alongside our live-action actors. A 7 foot work of art; the puppet has already been lovingly constructed by our talented team and still scares Link when he forgets it’s in the garage! He’s sure to look stunning alongside our castle miniature, and hand painted props and sets.

This stylish approach is what truly makes this project stand out from the rest, attempting to bring back the feeling and magic of more classic cinema with films such as ‘Faust’ and ‘Nosferatu’ of the 1920s, which is an atmosphere that has felt lost in the modern film industry.

With the core team of ‘The Eternal King’, our previous short film was ‘Sacred Beast’. A film set in France in 1764, about a mysterious beast brutalizing a rural village in the dark forests of Gévaudan, and the Parisian hunter who foolishly sets after it.

This was made as the graduation film for Link’s masters at the National Film and Television School. We made this highly ambitious, period horror drama within the context of a natural history documentary course no less! A shot of a wolf makes it count as a nature film doesn’t it? This film was a true trial by fire and proved both to Link and his team that they can make visually stunning, large scope films with small resources and budget. The film featured costumes from world renowned Angels Costumes used by the likes of Del Toro’s Frankenstein and Gladiator. It was filmed in a period accurate recreation of a 1600s village where our sets really were built out of horse manure. We had guns, wolves, lions, fire, blood, VFX, and even a sprinkle of CGI.

The film went on to premiere at the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood for Screamfest 25, was nominated for best VFX at LA Fantasy Fest, and is currently a semi-finalist at Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival, with its festival run still ongoing!

We had learned so much from this project and the many projects we have all worked on since and have expanded our networks. We are more than ready to take these skills we have honed and to push them even further. The Eternal King is the perfect project for us to show what we are capable of; as a film that we are confident we can make, yet also a challenge to take ourselves to that next level.

LIVE PRIVATE DONATION COUNTER:

£5600

In addition to the ongoing private donations above we have secured £5,000 in pre-campaign funding.

This crowdfund will give us the funds needed for the core shooting that will allow us to effectively plan our pre-production.

Then we intend to use the 31.8% UK tax credit to help fund post-production and distribution.

If you wish to join our growing community of private donators, email us at the.eternal.king.film@gmail.com

Year One
Premieres at festivals like BFI London, Sitges, Fantastic Fest, and Fantasia.

Year Two
Digital release through curated platforms such as Short of the Week, Nowness, and DUST.

Ongoing visibility
Regular behind-the-scenes storytelling through Instagram @theeternalkingfilm.

The film is designed to generate critical attention and industry relationships for feature development. This sure won’t be the last you’ll hear of us, we intend to make many films after this with a feature on the horizon, this film is part of building our family and unique voice.

Film projects like this are few and far between, so don’t miss becoming a part of something truly special! Support a project that proves independent British film can still be epic in scope and human in touch.

Your backing, whether financial or practical, turns imagination into craft.
Every pound goes directly to artists building a mythic world from the ground up.

Ways to contribute:

• Pledge on the Greenlit campaign
• Sponsor post-production or equipment
• Join as a private investor (£1,000 and above)
• Share the project within your networks

Link Kraft - Writer/director

https://link-kraft.com

I have a passion for telling highly visual stories, with a background in fine art, photography, and cinematography. I love to immerse the audience in an atmosphere and transport them into a different world. I take massive pleasure in working with a crew and collaborating with each discipline to create a shared vision. I strive to create films I want to watch, and to build worlds I want to explore.

I’m a National Film and Television School MA graduate, with my previous film ‘Sacred Beast’ doing so well in its festival circuit; I feel this new film will also find its global audience, bringing British folk horror and fantasy to the world.

This film is the next great adventure on my journey, involving all I love about the medium and to recreate that sense of awe and wonder I felt watching films growing up. This film is the accumulation of a lifetime of learning, and exploring my creativity and voice, into the ultimate expression of what I can bring to the world of film.

Aidan Milburn (Shennachie Productions Ltd) - Producer

https://www.instagram.com/shennachie_productions/

Aidan Milburn began her MA in Producing at the NFTS in 2023, having worked in the construction industry in her native Glasgow for a few years prior to attending film school.

In 2024, she worked as the producers’ assistant on the set of Die My Love, Lynne Ramsay’s most recent feature, and continued to work for the production during post and the marketing press tour for the film throughout 2025. She has interned during the Cannes Film Festival for Element Pictures, Film4 and Black Label Media, and she also completed work placements with Sixteen Films and the development teams at BBC Film and SISTER Productions.

Earlier this year, she worked for the eminent film publicist Charles McDonald and his team as a publicity assistant at the 76th Berlinale Film Festival. She is currently freelancing for UNIFIED Productions, a film and HETV company run by Lauren Dark and Amy Jackson, and she is the production manager for a BFI Doc Society short that will be shot in Glasgow in September.

Aidan is passionate about championing storytelling from marginalised communities and female led perspectives. As an independent producer, she has successfully crowdfunded over £26,000 for an Assyrian language short film that will shoot later this year, which is a first of its kind.

Sophie Muzychenko - Cinematographer

https://sophiemuzychenko.myportfolio.com/work

Sophie Muzychenko is a Ukrainian cinematographer who earned a BA in cinematography from Kyiv National I. K. Karpenko-Kary Theatre, Cinema and Television University. Since arriving in the UK after the war began, she has been mentored by Seamus McGarvey and was optioned — and completed all of the prep — to shoot second unit for him on “Mussolini: Son of the Century”, Joe Wright’s latest TV series in Italy.

She directed and shot a screen adaptation of James Joyce’s Ulysses, collaborating with Fiona Shaw, Harriet Walter, and Adjoa Andoh — three of the UK’s most distinguished actors.

Her work is driven by a belief that cinematography is at its most powerful when it’s invisible, quietly carrying the heartbeat of a story. She gravitates toward the texture and truth of celluloid and has shot extensively on both 35mm and 16mm.

Aidan Ashton - Production Designer

Aidan Ashton is an enthusiastic Production Designer whose passion lies in creating unique and dynamic worlds for the screen, striving to accurately portray the characters of the story through crafting the environments around them. Having graduated from the University for the Creative Arts with a BA in Film Production, it’s here where he initially developed his creative and leadership skills managing a team of other creatives to turn his vision into reality.

Since graduating, he’s worked as Production Designer and Art Director on a number of shorts and commercials, in which every production offers new challenges to push his creativity even further. It’s here that Aidan finds true excitement working within the art department as his hands-on approach to every project allows him to constantly be developing new skills in the various creative methods and mediums needed to bring a world to life. This project offers a lot of creative possibilities, and he’s thrilled to be revisiting the world of fantasy and horror once again.

Darcy Keeble Watson - Editor

www.darcykeeblewatson.com

I’m a huge fan of gothic horror literature and all the films it inspires—give me a ghost story that forces us to stare straight into our own humanity in dark, beautiful, unsettling ways, and I’m hooked. Working with Link Kraft on Sacred Beast was an incredibly enriching experience, and seeing it find success on the festival circuit has been such a point of pride for me.

I grew up in France and Cyprus with a varied background in theatre and film, and found editing to be my greatest joy. I have a fascination with rhythm in film, and the art of maintaining impactful emotional continuity. Discovering the pulse of a story through the way images speak to each other in montage is exhilarating, and collaborating with beautifully creative minds to watch a film come to life is so exciting

Harpal Mudhar – Composer

https://harpalmudhar.com

Harpal is known for his emotionally driven and cinematic approach to scoring, with a keen sense for storytelling through music

Harpal’s career began as a session drummer and music producer before moving to composing for film and TV. He has experience working across a vast range of styles and genres and thrives on forging new sound worlds. His previous collaboration with Link Kraft for Sacred Beast resulted in a score that was raw and heavy with atmosphere.

For Eternal King Harpal intends to fashion a sonic palette that brings together period accurate instrumentation with modern scoring techniques for a fresh and unique take on the dark fantasy genre.

Thomas J.R. Moss – Sound Designer

https://www.tjrmsounddesign.com

Thomas is a Sound Designer, Sound Editor and Dubbing mixer for multimedia, based in London and Somerset. He is a passionate believer in sound as a storytelling device, as a result has a wide array of work that he imbues with his signature focus and creative flare, bringing his expertise as a classical musician to the world of sound design. Several of the projects he has worked on have screened at festivals in the Uk and worldwide.

He graduated from the National Film and Television School in 2025, where he was an NFTS Scholar

Yun-Chu Chiu – Puppet Designer and Maker

www.yunchuchiu.com

Yunchu Chiu is a puppet and prop maker as well as a designer. Born in Taiwan and based in Japan since 2010, she draws creative inspiration from the blend of these two cultures, which continues to shape her artistic perspective. In this project, she is in charge of puppet creation. She is excited to bring characters to life from scratch and, as this is her first film project, is deeply committed to perfecting every detail with care and passion.

Siyu Liu (Serene) – Puppet Costume Designer and maker

www.sereneliu.space

Hi, I’m Serene - currently a postgraduate student at RWCMD.Before coming to the UK, I worked in China for two years as a costume designer, contributing to several TV dramas, films, and large-scale events. These experiences have given me the ability to work independently and solve complex costume-related problems, which I consider one of my strengths.

I’m especially excited about this project because it’s my first time working on a puppet film. Designing for puppets is completely different from designing for live actors - their proportions, movements, and materials present unique challenges. That’s exactly what draws me to it. I love exploring new creative territories and learning about different cultures, which is also why I came here to continue my studies. This project feels like the perfect opportunity to do both

Andrii Bondar (Kinopost) – VFX Artist

https://kinopost.uk/

KINOPOST is a post-production studio for directors, agencies, and production companies who care how the final frame looks. We combine VFX, CGI, compositing, and finishing into work that feels precise, cohesive, and built to support the story on screen. We think beyond execution, push for stronger images, and deliver on time.

Andrii Bondar - 20 years across film, commercials, and broadcast. Trained as a cinematographer — which shapes how every shot is approached. Career began at M1, Ukraine’s leading music channel.

Savani Mohite (25 Post House) – VFX Producer

https://www.25posthouse.com/about-5

At the heart of 25 Post House is a deep-rooted passion for artistic expression and storytelling. With a foundation built on creativity and a strong appreciation for visual arts, the studio brings a refined sensibility to the world of post-production.

Specializing in editing, color grading, visual effects, and audio post, 25 Post House offers comprehensive, end-to-end services tailored to meet the needs of filmmakers and content creators. Every project is approached with a commitment to technical excellence and creative integrity, ensuring that each story is brought to life with precision and impact.

The studio combines industry-standard tools with a collaborative workflow, making it a reliable partner for productions of all scales. From high-end compositing and visual effects to seamless editorial and finishing work, 25 Post House delivers results that align with international quality benchmarks.

Based in Pune, the studio was founded with a clear mission: to provide world-class post-production services within the Indian film and television industry. As a one-stop destination for post-production, 25 Post House is dedicated to supporting storytellers and elevating the visual language of cinema through thoughtful, detail-driven work.

Poster designed by world renowned artist Kristjana S Williams and Sousou Kim.

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Contact us - the.eternal.king.film@gmail.com