Local filmmaker and Northern Film School Graduate Aurora Fearnley, is thrilled to have won the chance to premiere her new film “Daniel” at the Edinburgh Film Festival. The twist? The film was made using only the camera on a mobile phone.
Aurora, director of Little Northern Light, has teamed up with Loran Dunn from Blue Robot Films, a Manchester based filmmaker and shot the eight-minute short film together in just four weeks.
The film was written by Susan E Clarke from Huddersfield who is collaborating with Aurora again over the summer for her Sci-Fi series trailer.
Loran Dunn said: “When making a film, even an eight-minute short film like this, four weeks is no time at all. The whole team will really have to pull together to make this work. It is a really exciting challenge.”
Aurora is one of eight finalists selected by Nokia and Vimeo, the online video site, who received £3,000 to make their films. One of these eight films will go on to win a further £10,000 at the festival. Aurora’s two-minute film pitch beat 600 other entrants who entered the challenge hosted by vimeo.com.
Aurora said: “This is an amazing opportunity, it has given me the freedom to create shots I could never dare before, the phones are so flexible. For this short film we were able to shoot underwater which would normally be too expensive on this budget. Camera technology is advancing so quickly and becoming incorporated into every walk of modern life. As a filmmaker it's exciting to embrace the technological changes and use them to the fullest advantage.”
The film called ‘Daniel’ pays homage to classic British films like “If…” and “Brideshead Revisited” set in 1940’s England where a pupil sees visions of the future including details about the Second World War. However, his ability is unstable and his life is in danger. He must decide if risking his life is worth helping the war effort.
Aurora said: “I think ‘Daniel’ will be the first period drama fantasy mobile phone film, so I'm thrilled to be pushing some boundaries. Seeing my film at the Edinburgh Film Festival will be a real honor.”
