Speak No Name - Student Graduation Short Film

‘Speak No Name’ is a dark fantasy film depicting the cautionary tale of Jotun, a man who once travelled into the forest and now must escape the enchanted clutches of the forest keeper. When he comes across a young woman stuck in the woods, he must decide if he will use her to escape his own entrapment or guide her out of the woods, forfeiting his soul to the forest.

WHO ARE WE?

 

We are a group of student filmmakers from the University of the West of England, passionate about narrative-based short-form films. Now in our Final Year, this project is our long-awaited Graduation Film. This project was conceptualised and written by our lovely Director, Sam Schöttner, a Fantasy Nerd at heart who has been itching to break the stigma of fantasy films being too 'difficult' for us Student Filmmakers. We are all rearing to sink our teeth into this creatively ambitious and visually stunning Folk Fantasy Story, which highlights societal themes and current topics while packaged in a mesmerising Fantasy setting.

 

The crew are incredibly passionate and excited by all things fantasy and magical, giving us a great depth of knowledge about fantasy worlds and the characters that reside within them. We will be pulling upon and referencing many of our favourite fantasy films, shows and fandoms to ground this project in the stylistic and creative elements we have all been begging to bring to life in our own film.

 

Thank You for taking the time to read this and visit our page. We hope you can spare any amount to support the production of this film as we realise times are difficult for everyone today, so any contribution, no matter how small, is immeasurably appreciated.

 

WHY WE WANT TO MAKE THIS FILM

Being huge nerds we have always found immense joy in discovering the fantastical worlds that fairy tales and folk stories transport us to.

Folk and fairy tales are some of the most important stories we share. Tales of good and evil teach us all some of the principle morals of life.
Whether you are young or old we all share the same connection to the stories.

This film is a metaphorical tale of the choices we are faced with in our lives. Deciding whether to sacrifice relationships with those around us for personal gain is something modern society forces upon us, as personal growth is becoming the motivator of all. Meanwhile our own identities are being constantly questioned and weighed against societal norms and trends.

Knowing who we are is so important today. Sometimes we need to defend our Identity and Name to allow us the time to understand it ourselves. 

PRACTICALITIES

This film has many exciting opportunities to create a stunning visual and sonic style, including a depth of Production Design elements which will need to designed for the film.

We intend to build a production design team which can split their time between the production design elements within the forest, which will be taken onto location, and the set build we intend to shoot in our studio. The concept has a perfect opportunity to design and build Jotun’s camp in the studio. This camp will then be stitched with the exterior forest locations we intend to shoot in.

We aim to keep the entire production within a 60 mile radius as this will give us access to locations including the Mendips, Brecon Beacons, East Devon and Exmoor National Park.