The Director of London's Forgotten

A surrealist take on the issue of knife crime plaguing London’s streets, London’s Forgotten is a passion project that I’ve been fighting to shoot for years. This is mostly due to my upbringing in Tottenham. I’ve had knives pulled on me in school, I’ve witnessed gang fights where my friends would get involved and we finally moved out of the area when our neighbour’s son was tragically killed.

I decided to create a narrative short film inspired by those events. Thanks to a strong and determined cast and crew, London’s Forgotten was semi-completed last December. 

So why are we extending our crowdfunding campaign? As with most projects being made from 2020 until now, the threat of COVID looms strong. Due to the restrictions, we were forced to abandon key scenes in the film and finish shooting without a completed film. 

London’s Forgotten is important to me as my goal was to highlight knife crime and gang violence in the capital with a unique story. That goal is still there and I intend to finish this film this year, but I can’t do it without your help.
 

THE STORY

London’s Forgotten is centred on inter-connecting short stories focusing on a number of characters across the knife-crime ridden capital. Daniel, the mysterious hooded protagonist, connects these stories together as he travels from one end of London to another.

The two main themes of London's Forgotten adhere to an inescapable (and tragic) fate/destiny and societal struggles. The characters are destined to become knife crime victims due to their circumstances, which also ties into the theme of social instability. The reason each of the many characters in the story has a fate of tragic death relates to the systemic and social problems surrounding them. 

Overall, we aim to create a powerful short film focused on the epidemic of knife crime in London. With every practical element applied to its most professional standard, we hope for London's Forgotten to work as a powerful piece of storytelling, and to make a difference to these marginalised communities.

WHERE IS THE MONEY GOING?

• Production Design - We have a lot to dress to make these scenes as authentic as possible.
• Equipment - We require camera and lighting equipment for the visual storytelling.
• Cast/Crew - This film would not be possible without a reliable and well-kept team.
• Post Production - We will need VFX for the pickups shot and additional editing, grading and sound design for the scenes we shoot at the pickup day.

Knife crime is not going away any time soon. At the end of 2021, over 30 teenagers were stabbed and killed on the streets of London, and knife related incidents are continuously getting worse three months into 2022. 

COVID-19 has eclipsed a lot of the news on knife crime. It’s both important to remind the public of its impact and to use the art of storytelling to make LF stick in the mind of the viewer.

We are aiming to screen for a variety of audiences across the UK, but London's Forgotten is a film for members of these marginalised communities in London, and those who are helping to fight against gang violence. They will find many relatable elements within London’s Forgotten, from the themes highlighted to the authenticity of the locations and characters.

*REWARDS FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION*

• Thank you for making this film possible (£5-10+)  
• A special shout out on social media and behind the scenes videos to own (£20+)
• Exclusive film still signed by the Director, producer and main cast (£50+)
• A 30 minute one-to-one session with the Director (£70+)
• Film logo w/ crossed out knife on shirt (£100+)
• Invitation to a screening with the cast and crew (£150+)
• Film poster to own (£200+)
• Merch to own: a hoodie, mug, canvas bag and water bottle with film logo (£250+)
• Free ticket to the film premiere, invitation to a plus one and chance to shadow the Film Director on his newest project (£500+)
• Complete package of all of the above, as well as a producer credit and a one hour one-to-one session with the Director (£1000+)

THE TEAM (CREW)

Liam Pinheiro-Rogers is the Writer/Director of London’s Forgotten. Since leaving film school in 2015, he has been making independent short films, with genres ranging from horrors to sci-fi to dramas. He built up a portfolio as a director of short films and music videos, while screenwriting short and feature films. Over the last few years, he has directed short films with social commentary and political undertones. These films include “Whirl in a Bottle” and “Speeches”, with “London’s Forgotten” continuing the trademark. 

Cyrus Mirzashafa is a UK born filmmaker, who learnt his trade through the advertisement, promo and music video industry whilst applying his skillset to short films, video art and documentaries. His most recent work is a slate of feature and TV projects in which Cyrus is actively working in either a producer, director, writer or show-runner capacity, whilst continuing to develop various productions for the coming years. Those include shorts, feature and docs as well as animation. One of his latest projects includes London’s Forgotten, working as executive producer to bring awareness to the issue of knife crime.

Levon Gharibian is a London based film Producer and Actor, with over 12 years of experience working in the industry. He's released and worked on multiple short films, features, documentaries, TV pilots, corporate videos and music videos, with many projects appearing on Channel 4, BBC 1, 5 Star and on the big screen. These experiences have made him a well organised and efficient filmmaker, who knows how to handle a strict budget and deadline while managing a large team. In 2021, he started his own production company, Lightfox Entertainment, which has completed four short films, is in pre production on its first feature film and a feature documentary. One of those short films includes London’s Forgotten, which Levon chose to produce due to its social commentary on knife crime.

Reiss Kershi is a London based actor and producer, who began his career with a feature film “City of Tiny Lights” starring Riz Ahmed, playing the younger version of the actor’s character. After several years working as an actor in the film industry, he started to produce short films, from genres such as drama to sci-fi to horror. Since then, he has gone on to work as an associate producer, as well as a producer of feature films. Reiss Kershi has been known to be a frequent servant of his hometown Greenwich, where he is an active member of the community. He believes in working on projects that can have a social impact, such as London’s Forgotten.

Nicolas is a director of photography who has worked in the camera department for over 10+ years, starting out as a trainee and loader on TV drama and feature films, before moving through the ranks as a focus puller, operator and cinematographer. As a director of photography Nicolas has shot numerous music video and promo work for artists including Arlo Parks, Damon Albarn, Michael Kiwanuka, Metronomy, George Ezra, and Parquet Courts. As a Commercial and advertising DOP Nicolas has shot campaigns for the likes of Adidas, BBC Radio One, ITV, McDonalds, Facebook, Samsung, and DFT. Nicolas has also shot a variety of feature and short form narrative and documentary work including Bafta Cymru winning ‘This Far up’. Nicolas was drawn to London's Forgotten with its allegorical messaging.

Sami is a graphic designer and VFX artist, being a designer since 1998 and an artist since 2015. Sami is a passionate worker who works under the name SC graphics and has worked with companies such as Lightbox Entertainment, creating logos, and working with motion design and compositing. He was attracted to the emotional weight of London’s Forgotten’s story and the ambitious visualization.

Ellis has been editing for just under a decade, working on everything from music videos to shorts to full feature films. He has worked for companies such as Halo and is currently freelancing. When asked to work on London's Forgotten, he jumped at the chance. He says “This is a story that more and more people around the country can relate to and the moral at the heart of London's Forgotten is one that needs repeating again and again. It's awful that we take inspiration from real life for this film but if it helps even slightly, it’ll be worth it.”

 Tom MacLellan is a Sound Designer, whose passion for audio has resulted in a wide ranging portfolio; from feature films to factual television. He has been working at The Farm Group - a high end Post Production Facility based in Soho - for the past 4 years. His recently aired projects have been ‘The Witchfinder,’ ‘Emergency,’ ’Misadventures of Romesh,’ and ‘After Shaun.’ Aware of the capability of film to incite social change, he is excited to work on London's Forgotten because of its push to spread awareness of an important issue.

THE TEAM (CAST)
 

Jonathan Jules is an actor, growing up in South East London and acting professionally for four years. The acting bug took hold of him when he began to watch different kinds of movies at his Grandparents’ house with his cousins. Presently, he has worked with Steve McQueen, Dionne Edwards and will be playing a supporting lead in Hugh Laurie's Screen Adaptation of Agatha Christie’s “Why didn’t they ask Evans”. One of his latest roles includes the lead character in London’s Forgotten.

Donna Peart-Johnson is an actress from Colindale who was no stranger to the horrors of knife crime. Many years ago, Donna was involved in a stabbing, and her cousin and elder son’s friend (Kiyan Prince) tragically became victims of knife crime. Because of the ongoing issue and the lack of justice and her upbringing, Donna was attracted to London’s Forgotten and became attached to the project, playing a mother.

Montel Britton is an actor from south east London who gained a vast amount of training for stage & screen acting, having previously attended the Identity drama school & MN Academy film course. One of his early roles included Wizard of Oz where he discovered his passion for performing. As a Londoner who experienced witnessing the aftermath of a young person losing their life on the streets, he became attracted to London’s Forgotten.

Floriana is an actress, writer and director. Floriana trained as an Actress at Central School of Speech and Drama. Floriana previously co-founded a New Writing Theatre company, RE:WRITE Theatre, which successfully produced two sold out showcases at Theatre 503. For London’s Forgotten, she says "London’s Forgotten highlights the devastating impact that knife crime has on those who have their lives taken too soon, their loved ones and the wider community - it’s vital this issue is given a platform and I’m pleased to be a part of a project doing just that".

Lyston Laurence is an actor who has been in the industry for over ten years. So far in his career he has worked on short films, commercials and music videos (e.g, Devlin ‘teardrops’ and Prinze George ‘Wait up’) and appeared in a web series ‘A lesson Learnt’ directed by Danny Wonders which went onto win a Screen Nation award. He has recently just finished work on a psychological horror short ‘Caterpillar’ directed by Matt Viney and produced by Thomas Turner, who was an AD on Oscar winning short ‘The silent Child’. Not shying away from creative projects with a social message, Lyston was attracted to London’s Forgotten, to shine a light on knife crime.

Take a look at our teaser trailer below!
 

Thank you for your support!