How would you deal with the end of the world?

Chaos. ADAM SULLIVAN is a family man whose one desire is to protect his wife, SARAH, and their hearing-impaired son, LIAM. 

The parents are faced with their inner moral conflict as they discuss whether they should tell Liam about the impending destruction, or should they leave him in a state of innocence and wonder. All the while, Liam knows something is going on but no matter how much he reads his parents' body language, he can’t quite figure anything out and he knows he’s being left in the dark. 

The parents' difference of opinion bubbles to the surface as they attempt to decide on what to do on their final evening. Sarah wants to drag the family to safety whereas Adam would rather stay at home together and savour their final moments.

Hey, my name is Louis Westover. I'm the director of this exciting and ambitious project. I can't wait to show the world what we can do as a team, I've been working with some of this talented crew for 5 years now. We have developed a great working relationship, that will allow us to breathe life into this project.

EVENTIDE is a 12-minute sci-fi drama exploring love, fear and wonder. As a family deal with the end of the world. The film begs the question, what really matters to you?

Our film will be fast paced, playing into a theme of time. We will always leave the scene early; although our characters want to stay in the moment and savour it, they can’t, as the ticking of time is always pushing forward. That’s why being present is so important.

Being present in a world which is designed to distract us is not easy, but when time’s finite nature is screaming out at you to not waste another second, this need to live in the moment becomes intensified and I believe this is something we can all relate to within our modern world.

Visual tone/style:

Our aesthetic will gradually get darker as the end nears. The shadows and contrast will increase as the meteor looms; an impending force over our character’s future, bringing a close to the story and the world. We take our own spin on the way lighting is used in Arrival, in which as the protagonist uncovers more of the truth the image style becomes increasingly brighter.

Colour will be used to showcase our characters' inner thoughts; alone they are isolated, so colder tones will be present to contrast with the warmer tones used when they are together and feel more secure.

Our story centres around one main location, the family's house. We will use a timeless-styled country house.

We will aim to decorate the kids' bedroom with dinosaur toys/night lights as a way of visually foreshadowing the oncoming meteor

Closing statement:

We are taking an extraordinary circumstance, and re-texturising it to a more relatable everyday human experience. Although the subject matter is fairly heavy, we are excited to bring an emotional, tense and engaging story to our audience. We cannot wait to get started!

Hello! My name is Harry Larter and I am the writer of this short film, ‘EVENTIDE’!

I have always been fascinated by the bleak, somewhat dramatic, prospect of the end of the world. As a lover of ‘end of the world’ style films, I have always wanted to tell a story from a much more realistic, intimate point of view. With those types of films there is always some sort of dramatic saving grace (such as an ark or spaceship - and often a government connection) - and this film will tell a more grounded story that I believe would be the more probable situation for a ‘typical’ family who have no saving grace.

‘Eventide’ has a personal connection to me. As I said, the idea of this situation fascinates me; so growing up, I’d often ask my parents what they would do in that situation. Which is a bit morbid now I think about it… but their response has always remained the same. Mum would always want to do something, and somehow find safety for us. But Dad would always ask the question of “what could we do? Other than be together as a family and have a normal final evening”. Which is exactly what he would do, he’d probably cook us all far too much food and we’d end up playing a game of Monopoly… that I would inevitably lose and consequently be a stubborn sore loser right up until the meteor hits. Which I guess is a long winded way of saying that the two characters in this story are somewhat based off of my own parents.

I have been writing for longer than I can even remember, I have written short films and features, but this project feels like a whole new ambitious level for me. I am so up for the challenge and I am beyond excited to see my story brought to life by Louis and the rest of the talented team. This is a story that really resonates with me and I am really proud of it, I truly believe it is one that deserves to be seen by as many people as possible who will have a chance to connect with it too.

Adam Sullivan

Adam Sullivan is between the ages of 28 and 32. He is dealing with a lot of internalised conflict, trying to maintain a steady calmness for the good of his family especially to avoid worrying his young audibly impaired son, Liam. However, he cannot stop the truth of the impending danger from entering his mind, no matter how much he tries to deny what he knows is true.

Typical family man, failed author turned english teacher. They live in a timeless country home.

Sarah Sullivan

Sarah Sullivan, late twenties, gentle and kind, but determined to drag her family to safety rather than sit around, waiting for the inevitable to happen. Although she loves and respects her husband, their differing opinions continue to put strain on their once perfect marriage. 

Sarah is a therapist so is no stranger to an influx of emotion, but when it comes to the end of the world and the fear of the unknown, panic starts to arise.

Liam Sullivan

Liam Sullivan, between the ages of eight and eleven, full of wonder and imagination, he has been hard of hearing all of his life.

He has always been a huge lover of his father's stories, and that is where he gets his imagination from. But slowly he starts to suspect that something is happening and he isn't being told what is going on.

Producer - Sam Harrison

Hey, I'm Sam and I will be producing this project. I have been making films for five years. I will manage the budget and communicate with everyone on set to make everything run smoothly. Working with every department excites me most about this project, as I get to see first-hand how things are coming along.

1st AD - Jake Carew

Hi, my name is Jake, and I am the 1st AD for Eventide! I am currently three years into my film education and eager to showcase what I have learnt! My main responsibilities are making sure the production runs smoothly and efficiently. That means whilst on set, I’m in charge! I ensure that each department keeps to a schedule that allows the director to make critical, creative decisions without being distracted. What excites me and sets us apart from other projects is that we are all extremely passionate about film and are all determined to push the boundaries of what is expected from young filmmakers. This is one film you don’t want to miss.

Director of Photography - Alfie Sadler

A creative thinking DoP focused on bringing a story to life with my lighting and camera. My goal is for people to feel the characters' emotions through my shots. I’m the Director of Photography of Eventide, which means I control how the film looks. From the colours and lighting to camera angles. I’m excited to work with an amazing cast and crew to tell our emotional story to the world on the big screen! I also cannot wait to use the Arri Alexa Mini LF again for this shoot.

1st AC - Joe Walters

Hi, I’m Joe, the 1st AC on Eventide. I’m responsible for all camera builds and ensuring everything is in focus. I’m most excited about all the new kit we get to use throughout this project.

Gaffer - Toby Langford

I love adventure and excitement. I am the Gaffer on this project, so I will be lighting every shot. I have seen what this crew can do and am very excited to work alongside them.

Sound Mixer - Sulaiman Ali Shah

A sound mixer with ambitions of creating audio with layers of depth that allow the audience to become immersed in the film. I’m the sound mixer for Eventide and will oversee both on-location recordings along with post-production effects. I’m looking forward to working with such a talented group of people and bringing this vision to life.

Editor - Raju Choudhury

I'm Raju, and I'm the editor for Eventide. I'm often glued to my computer but love eating out and finding the best meals. Not only will I be editing the film, but I'll also be the primary data wrangler and handle all the footage and files. It's my responsibility to bring Eventide to all of your screens. I'm looking forward to editing in the studio since I work best when the pressure starts piling on me.

Colourist - Michael McGill

Hello, I'm Michael, the colourist for Eventide. I enjoy all things post-production, from editing to VFX. I will also be assisting our editor during post-production. I'm looking forward to having the creative freedom to create the look of the film through colour grading.

We strongly believe in the fair representation of deaf characters on our screens. According to a recent report from the MRC National Study of Hearing, 12 million people, equating to around 1 in 5 in the UK suffer from some form of deafness. This is nowhere near what is seen in the narratives portrayed to us in film and television. Despite positive strides being made in recent years with films such as CODA and Sound of Metal, more needs to be done to diversify on-screen representation.

Our film features a deaf child, Liam as the prominent character, and in juxtaposition to many films, we will hopefully cast a genuinely deaf actor, understanding the issues with accessibility to the industry that they often face. In order to combat this, the crew are committed to learning BSL, as well as making a conscious effort to make our set accessible.

Link to Deaf Action article

‘Hearing-washing’

On screen representation in Hollywood

Your money will help us pay our actors a fair wage. This money will allow us to cast a greater calibre of talent, transforming how our audience perceives and connects to our story.

Finding the best possible location costs money; your help will allow us to find the best environments to tell our story. A challenge we face is closing a road and a shop, which has extensive costs. We are working hard to make this set safe for filming and would appreciate your help.

As discussed in our "Deaf representation in film" section, we really want to avoid "hearing-washing" within our film. Therefore we MUST cast accordingly.

Casting a deaf actor is very important and this will mean we need a competitive salary, in order to achieve this.

Thank you!

Contact Us

info@eventidefilm.com

casting@eventidefilm.com