UK Film Council Lottery cash delivers free public screenings of Faintheart, the world's first user generated film
The UK Film Council is supporting the innovative release of Faintheart, the world's first fully user-generated film, by providing free film screenings in 46 cinemas across the UK chosen by the public.
London - 23 January 2009: The UK Film Council is supporting the innovative release of Faintheart, the world's first fully user-generated film, by providing free film screenings in 46 cinemas across the UK chosen by the public.
Faintheart, directed by Vito Rocco, is the result of MyMovieMashUp, the ground-breaking initiative by MySpace, Vertigo Films and Film4. MyMovieMashUp gave UK MySpace users the opportunity to play an integral part in every stage of the filmmaking process from directing the film, to joining the cast, submitting soundtrack music and being part of the production crew. The production of the film also received £325,000 of Lottery funding from the UK Film Council's Premiere Fund.
The film will be released simultaneously and free of charge for one day only on Tuesday 27 January, in 46 cinemas and with free online streaming on the MySpace website. Faintheart will then be available to buy on DVD from Monday 2 February. UK Film Council Lottery funding of £34,937 will pay for the film screenings in cinemas and digital distribution. This funding is from the UK Film Council's Prints and Advertising Fund which is designed to give UK film fans more choice and gain exposure for films which might otherwise only have a limited distribution.
Using the UK's first theatrical screening web application developed by MySpace and Three Eyed Labs, the Faintheart MySpace community have voted for which towns the film will be shown in. The 'Heart Map' enabled fans to enter their postcode and discover the nearest town that could screen the film. Once a vote was cast, the heart grew on the map to reflect the increase of hits in that area. The most popular locations were selected for the free screenings on 27 January.
Peter Buckingham, Head of Distribution and Exhibition at the UK Film Council, says: "We're really pleased to support the release of this unique film, which has been created by the public and with our Lottery funding they will be able to see it free of charge in cinemas they've chosen."
Set in the world of battle re-enactments, Faintheart charts the epic quest of Viking Warrior Readmund the Just, aka Richard the sales assistant (Eddie Marsan), as he attempts to win back the love of his long suffering wife Cath (Jessica Hynes) and son Martin (Joseph Hamilton). Tired of Richard's all-consuming obsession with his Iron-Age alter ego, Cath kicks him out of their home and into the real world. His honour is put in further peril when Cath begins seeing Martin's PE teacher Gary (played by Eastenders' Paul Nicholls). Realising he must finally face up to the challenges of the present day and fatherly responsibility, Richard enlists the help of best friend and 'Trekkie', Julian (Ewen Bremner). Together with Julian and a merry band of assorted geeks known as the 'Bloody Broadswords', Richard must summon all of his Norse courage to discover the real warrior within and prepare for his greatest ever battle.
Vito Rocco who was selected by the MySpace community, will be making his feature debut as director. Eddie Marsan (Hancock, Miami Vice) leads an ensemble cast that includes: Ewen Bremner (Trainspotting), Jessica Hynes (Harry Potter & The Order of The Phoenix), Paul Nicholls (Eastenders), Bronagh Gallagher (Pulp Fiction, The Commitments), Tim Healy (Auf Wiedersehen Pet), and Anne Reid (The Mother, Bleak House).
For more information about Faintheart, visit www.myspace.com/faintheartthemovie
To download your free tickets for a Faintheart screening on 27 January, click
here.
For further information please contact:
Tara Milne / Caroline Nagle
UK Film Council Press Office
T: 44 (0)20 7861 7901/7508
tara.milne@ukfilmcouncil.org.uk
caroline.nagle@ukfilmcouncil.org.uk
Notes to Editors
Details of the 46 Faintheart screenings are as follows. Please get to the cinema early to avoid disappointment; tickets are first come first serve basis.
FAINTHEART | ||
12A 90m 17s | ||
27th January 2009 | ||
6:30pm Start | ||
London & South East | ||
Cineworld | Shaftesbury Ave | London |
Cineworld | Fulham Rd | London |
Cineworld | Wandsworth | London |
Cineworld | West India Quay | London |
Odeon | Whiteley's | London |
Vue | Finchley Road | London |
Vue | Greenwich | London |
Vue | Harrow | London |
Vue | Islington | London |
Cineworld | Enfield | Enfield |
Cineworld | Harlow | Harlow |
Vue | Purley Way | Croydon |
Vue | Watford | Watford |
Showcase | Bluewater | Greenhithe |
South | ||
Cineworld | Brighton | Brighton |
Vue | Portsmouth | Portsmouth |
South & South East | ||
Cineworld | Milton Keynes | Milton Keynes |
Cineworld | Stevenage | Stevenage |
Odeon | Chelmsford | Chelmsford |
Odeon | Southend | Southend |
The Midlands | ||
Cineworld | Broad Street | Birmingham |
Cineworld | Nottingham | Nottingham |
Cineworld | Solihull | Solihull |
Cineworld | Wolverhampton | Wolverhampton |
Vue | Worcester | Worcester |
Vue | Star City | Birmingham |
Showcase | Derby CDL | Derby |
Showcase | Leicester CDL | Leicester |
Showcase | Walsall | Walsall |
Wales and South West | ||
Cineworld | Cardiff | Cardiff |
Showcase | Bristol CDL | Bristol |
North West | ||
Cineworld | Liverpool | Liverpool |
Cineworld | St Helens | St Helens |
Odeon | Manchester | Manchester |
Vue | Preston | Preston |
Vue | Southport | Southport |
Empire | Wigan | Wigan |
Yorkshire & North East | ||
Cineworld | Boldon | Boldon |
Cineworld | Bradford | Bradford |
Cineworld | Middlesborough | Middlesborough |
Cineworld | Wakefield | Wakefield |
Vue | Hull | Hull |
Vue | Leeds Light | Leeds |
Showcase | Teeside | Stockton |
Scotland | ||
Cineworld | Edinburgh | Edinburgh |
Cineworld | Glasgow Renfrew | Glasgow |
1. Prints and Advertising Fund
The UK is one of the most expensive countries in the world in which to release films, and this can lead to limited choice for cinema-goers. While blockbusters such as Harry Potter are often released in the UK with more than 1,000 film prints, the average number of prints for a foreign language specialist film is under ten.
The UK Film Council has created a single fund, the UK Film Council's Prints and Advertising Support Fund, also known as the P&A Fund, with an annual budget of £4 million. This fund also offers support to more commercially focused 'British' films that nevertheless remain difficult to market.
This fund is not intended to substitute pre-existing investment but rather is seeking to add value to the investment already being made by distributors in each film.
The fund aims to benefit audiences by:
- widening access in terms of the range of films available;
- widening opportunities to view such films across the UK; and
- widening audience awareness of the range of films potentially available.
2. Premiere Fund
The UK Film Council's Premiere Fund invests £8 million of National Lottery money into mainstream, commercially-driven films encouraging the involvement of British creative talent in a range of films.
New films supported by the fund include Julian Jarrold's Brideshead Revisited written by Andrew Davies and Jeremy Brock; Bob Weide's How to Lose Friends and Alienate People starring Simon Pegg; Gerald McMorrow's Franklyn; Christopher Smith's Triangle; Oliver Parker's Dorian Gray; and Stephen Frear's Cheri. The fund has also supported Mike Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky; Oliver Parker and Barnaby Thompson's St Trinian's; Paul Andrew Williams' The Cottage; Rupert Wyatt's The Escapist; Gillian Armstrong's Death Defying Acts; Julian Jarrold's Becoming Jane; Chris Noonan's Miss Potter; Roger Michell's Venus; Fernando Meirelles' The Constant Gardener; Christopher Smith's Severance; and John Hillcoat's The Proposition written by Nick Cave and starring Ray Winstone, Guy Pierce, John Hurt and Emily Watson.
