The Hankerbox
Donation protected
Welcome to the fundraising page for THE HANKERBOX; a beautiful and darkly comedic short film written by Ross Howard and directed by Abbie Lucas that we are excited to present to you in 2020.
On November the 9th 2019 we go into production. We have assembled a fantastic cast and creative team and managed to pull together around two-thirds of our production costs through our own means. However, we could really use your help to get us through to the finish line. We are aiming to get fully funded by the end of November.
Synopsis
Who are you when the number one person in your life steals what you hold most dear?
This is a story about Kenneth: a man with many modest hopes for himself long since lost to complacency. When his wife, Janice, shows up at his work with a mysterious box, will Kenneth lose his dreams to a nefarious character...from eBay?
Funding
Everything we raise will be used towards paying for the following:
Location
Costumes
Catering
Crew
Set
Assistants
Editing
Colouring
Music
Festival costs
Rewards
Contributions of:
£5 or more - Hankerbox helpers are heavenly.
You will receive a big public social media shout out THANK YOU from us.
£10 or more - What's in the bleedin' box!
You will receive the social media shout out and a digital link to THE HANKERBOX before it's released.
£25 or more - Letting the cat out of the box.
You will be rewarded with the same gifts as above, as well as our best still shots.
£50 or more - Ever meet someone on the internet?
In addition to the previously listed rewards, you will get a special THANK YOU in the film credits.
£75 or more - Better than your best buy on eBay!
You will receive the same as the above rewards and your very own Prince Charles mask.
£100 or more - Nobody will ever love you like we love you.
You will receive the same as all previously listed rewards and and a gift certificate for a one-hour massage.
£300 or more - Welcome to the team!
Along with previews of the film and still shots, you will receive an Associate Producer credit and the gift of a bottle of fine wine from Shoreditch Wine House.
£500 or more - Welcome to the team, let's toast to you!
Not only will you receive a digital link to the film and the still shots, but you will also receive an Associate Producer credit and a special wine tasting with the filmmakers at Shoreditch Wine House. Thank you for doing so much to help us get to Hankerbox Heaven!
No donation is too small, and we look forward to bringing you all into the project!
Creative Team
Director
For close to a decade, Abbie Lucas has forged a wide and varied career path, in both creative and technical roles. In 2018, Levile TV listed her as one of the Top 20 Rising Female Filmmakers in the UK.
Her recent film credits include a black and white screwball comedy web series A Quick Fortune, which was officially selected for festivals worldwide including Raindance in London, a comedy short titled Wrong Direction which was officially selected for the London Independent Film Festival and the Carmarthen Bay Film Festival (BAFTA Cymru qualifying), the multi-award-winning Testing Greta an unusual story about domestic abuse which took the 'Greeks of the World' Prize at the 40th Drama Film Festival in Greece and was screened at the BAFTA recognised Aesthetica Film Festival in 2018 and another short comedy titled Dead Tired which was been nominated for Best Script and Best Comedy at the Beeston Film Festival 2018 and also for Best International Comedy at the Austrian Film Festival 2018.
Her 2nd collaboration with Comedy Duo "Hunt the Vigan" titled Boobies in a Box, a parody infomercial about public breastfeeding, went viral (with over 8 million views) having been picked up by several online publications including the Huffington Post and Upworthy.
As a theatre director she has had shows performed at The Criterion, Soho Theatre, Pleasance London, Southwark Playhouse, Upstairs at the Gatehouse, Theatre 503, The Old Red Lion, Tristan Bates, Riverside Studios, Arts at the Old Fire Station in Oxford and the Groundlings Theatre in Portsmouth.
She is currently co-writing a darkly comic 30min sitcom for American television titled MONEY SHOT and three feature films; a romantic comedy titled The Prenup, a drama titled Grey Duck and goofy sports movie titled Pickleball
Ms. Lucas is also the co-author/photographer for a coffee-table book titled Great British Pub Dogs published by Little Brown Book Group.
VIEW ABBIE'S SHOWREEL HERE
Writer
Ross Howard's work has been seen in London, Cork, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, San Francisco, New York City and developed at Last Frontier Conference, Great Plains Theatre Conference and at Western Carolina University. In 2002, he was invited to join the Royal Court Theatre Young Writer's Group. In 2008, he received a Fellowship from the Edward F. Albee Foundation. ARTHUR AND ESTHER was awarded “Best of Fringe” at Las Vegas Fringe Festival 2010 while NO ONE LOVES US HERE was a finalist for the New York Stage and Film Founders Award 2012. FRISKY & THE PANDA MAN was a winning finalist in the 38th Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival in 2013 and PICTURE OURSELVES IN LATVIA was listed in New York's L Magazine's "Best of Theater 2014". ARTHUR AND ESTHER, NO ONE LOVES US HERE, PICTURE OURSELVES IN LATVIA and his evening of short plays OUR WALK THROUGH THE WORLD are published by Samuel French. In October 2016, his play TWO OF US (Listed as one of the 5 Out-of-the Box shows to see Off-Broadway from Playbill.com) showcased Off-Broadway, alongside ARTHUR AND ESTHER and OUR WALK THROUGH THE WORLD. THE ROSS HOWARD FESTIVAL was in recognition for the three years spent as the Resident Playwright ofNew Light Theater Project (As featured in American Theatre Magazine in "Know a Theatre") of New York. He regularly tutors at the Actor’s Centre in London, the city in which he currently resides. He holds an M.F.A in Playwriting from UNLV (2006) and is a member of New Play Exchange and The Finborough Theatre’s Writers Group. In April 2018, his new play THE AMAZING ALWAYS received a public reading at The Drama Book Shop in New York. Excerpts from NO ONE LOVES US HERE can be found in THE BEST MEN'S STAGE MONOLOGUES 2018 published by Smith and Kraus. TWO OF US was published in November 2018 by Samuel French. Ross Howard is known for NO ONE LOVES US HERE with which he was a finalist for the New York Stage and Film Founders Award in 2012. For FRISKY & THE PANDA MAN, Ross was the winner of the Samuel French 38th annual Off-Off-Broadway Short Play Festival. And for ARTHUR AND ESTHER, he won "Best of Fringe" at the Las Vegas Fringe Festival in 2010.
Cast
Kenneth - Howard Corlett
After a language degree in French, Spanish & Portuguese and a career globetrotting the world in the tourism industry, Howard returned to his first love and he has since carved a career in acting and presenting. He has worked on screen and stage with TV credits including Outlander, Victoria, The Rook, Little Boy Blue, Eastenders, Emmerdale, Casualty, Home Fires and The Five. Howard won Sky’s Search for a Presenter as he transitioned careers. Since then he has accumulated credits on TV, web, videos as well as live events as a presenter and voice-over artist.
Janice - Cherise Silvestri
Cherise can currently be seen in Close (Netflix), an action thriller film directed by Vicky Jewson and starring Noomi Rapace. Rapace's character is based on that of Jacquie Davis, one of the world's leading female bodyguards, whose clients have included J. K. Rowling, Nicole Kidman, and members of the British royal family. In 2018, Cherise received a Best Supporting Actress award for her role in the award-winning short film, Testing Greta, also directed by Abbie Lucas. Other credits include Ridley Scott's All the Money in the World and narration for season 3 of Discovery ID's Web of Lies.
George - David Elliot
David won the BAFTA Scotland Award in 2015- for Best Actor in Film, beating Robert Carlyle and David Tennant to the prize. David started his acting career on stage, going on to tour all over the UK with multi-award-winning shows such as 'Decky Does A Bronco'. He has successfully made the transition into film, and has enjoyed diverse dramatic roles on both the small and big screen; His breakthrough leading role was in the war flick 'Kajaki' (Kilo Two Bravo) which led to him winning a BAFTA award for his role as real-life war hero Cpl Mark Wright. Other leading man roles include Jackie van Beek's New Zealand based relationship drama 'The Inland Road' which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival (Berlinale) 2017.
Filming and Post Production Support - Creation Company Films
For more than twenty years, Creation has been a provider of creative, production, filming and post-production services for a diverse portfolio of broadcast and corporate clients. With comprehensive in-house facilities, we are able to deliver anything from documentaries to commercials with flexibility, speed, and efficiency; conception to completion under one roof. www.creationcompany.tv
Thank you so much for checking out our project!
Should you be unable to donate, we would greatly appreciate you taking a moment to share.
Best wishes,
Abbie and Cherise
On November the 9th 2019 we go into production. We have assembled a fantastic cast and creative team and managed to pull together around two-thirds of our production costs through our own means. However, we could really use your help to get us through to the finish line. We are aiming to get fully funded by the end of November.
Synopsis
Who are you when the number one person in your life steals what you hold most dear?
This is a story about Kenneth: a man with many modest hopes for himself long since lost to complacency. When his wife, Janice, shows up at his work with a mysterious box, will Kenneth lose his dreams to a nefarious character...from eBay?
Funding
Everything we raise will be used towards paying for the following:
Location
Costumes
Catering
Crew
Set
Assistants
Editing
Colouring
Music
Festival costs
Rewards
Contributions of:
£5 or more - Hankerbox helpers are heavenly.
You will receive a big public social media shout out THANK YOU from us.
£10 or more - What's in the bleedin' box!
You will receive the social media shout out and a digital link to THE HANKERBOX before it's released.
£25 or more - Letting the cat out of the box.
You will be rewarded with the same gifts as above, as well as our best still shots.
£50 or more - Ever meet someone on the internet?
In addition to the previously listed rewards, you will get a special THANK YOU in the film credits.
£75 or more - Better than your best buy on eBay!
You will receive the same as the above rewards and your very own Prince Charles mask.
£100 or more - Nobody will ever love you like we love you.
You will receive the same as all previously listed rewards and and a gift certificate for a one-hour massage.
£300 or more - Welcome to the team!
Along with previews of the film and still shots, you will receive an Associate Producer credit and the gift of a bottle of fine wine from Shoreditch Wine House.
£500 or more - Welcome to the team, let's toast to you!
Not only will you receive a digital link to the film and the still shots, but you will also receive an Associate Producer credit and a special wine tasting with the filmmakers at Shoreditch Wine House. Thank you for doing so much to help us get to Hankerbox Heaven!
No donation is too small, and we look forward to bringing you all into the project!
Creative Team
Director
For close to a decade, Abbie Lucas has forged a wide and varied career path, in both creative and technical roles. In 2018, Levile TV listed her as one of the Top 20 Rising Female Filmmakers in the UK.
Her recent film credits include a black and white screwball comedy web series A Quick Fortune, which was officially selected for festivals worldwide including Raindance in London, a comedy short titled Wrong Direction which was officially selected for the London Independent Film Festival and the Carmarthen Bay Film Festival (BAFTA Cymru qualifying), the multi-award-winning Testing Greta an unusual story about domestic abuse which took the 'Greeks of the World' Prize at the 40th Drama Film Festival in Greece and was screened at the BAFTA recognised Aesthetica Film Festival in 2018 and another short comedy titled Dead Tired which was been nominated for Best Script and Best Comedy at the Beeston Film Festival 2018 and also for Best International Comedy at the Austrian Film Festival 2018.
Her 2nd collaboration with Comedy Duo "Hunt the Vigan" titled Boobies in a Box, a parody infomercial about public breastfeeding, went viral (with over 8 million views) having been picked up by several online publications including the Huffington Post and Upworthy.
As a theatre director she has had shows performed at The Criterion, Soho Theatre, Pleasance London, Southwark Playhouse, Upstairs at the Gatehouse, Theatre 503, The Old Red Lion, Tristan Bates, Riverside Studios, Arts at the Old Fire Station in Oxford and the Groundlings Theatre in Portsmouth.
She is currently co-writing a darkly comic 30min sitcom for American television titled MONEY SHOT and three feature films; a romantic comedy titled The Prenup, a drama titled Grey Duck and goofy sports movie titled Pickleball
Ms. Lucas is also the co-author/photographer for a coffee-table book titled Great British Pub Dogs published by Little Brown Book Group.
VIEW ABBIE'S SHOWREEL HERE
Writer
Ross Howard's work has been seen in London, Cork, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, San Francisco, New York City and developed at Last Frontier Conference, Great Plains Theatre Conference and at Western Carolina University. In 2002, he was invited to join the Royal Court Theatre Young Writer's Group. In 2008, he received a Fellowship from the Edward F. Albee Foundation. ARTHUR AND ESTHER was awarded “Best of Fringe” at Las Vegas Fringe Festival 2010 while NO ONE LOVES US HERE was a finalist for the New York Stage and Film Founders Award 2012. FRISKY & THE PANDA MAN was a winning finalist in the 38th Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival in 2013 and PICTURE OURSELVES IN LATVIA was listed in New York's L Magazine's "Best of Theater 2014". ARTHUR AND ESTHER, NO ONE LOVES US HERE, PICTURE OURSELVES IN LATVIA and his evening of short plays OUR WALK THROUGH THE WORLD are published by Samuel French. In October 2016, his play TWO OF US (Listed as one of the 5 Out-of-the Box shows to see Off-Broadway from Playbill.com) showcased Off-Broadway, alongside ARTHUR AND ESTHER and OUR WALK THROUGH THE WORLD. THE ROSS HOWARD FESTIVAL was in recognition for the three years spent as the Resident Playwright ofNew Light Theater Project (As featured in American Theatre Magazine in "Know a Theatre") of New York. He regularly tutors at the Actor’s Centre in London, the city in which he currently resides. He holds an M.F.A in Playwriting from UNLV (2006) and is a member of New Play Exchange and The Finborough Theatre’s Writers Group. In April 2018, his new play THE AMAZING ALWAYS received a public reading at The Drama Book Shop in New York. Excerpts from NO ONE LOVES US HERE can be found in THE BEST MEN'S STAGE MONOLOGUES 2018 published by Smith and Kraus. TWO OF US was published in November 2018 by Samuel French. Ross Howard is known for NO ONE LOVES US HERE with which he was a finalist for the New York Stage and Film Founders Award in 2012. For FRISKY & THE PANDA MAN, Ross was the winner of the Samuel French 38th annual Off-Off-Broadway Short Play Festival. And for ARTHUR AND ESTHER, he won "Best of Fringe" at the Las Vegas Fringe Festival in 2010.
Cast
Kenneth - Howard Corlett
After a language degree in French, Spanish & Portuguese and a career globetrotting the world in the tourism industry, Howard returned to his first love and he has since carved a career in acting and presenting. He has worked on screen and stage with TV credits including Outlander, Victoria, The Rook, Little Boy Blue, Eastenders, Emmerdale, Casualty, Home Fires and The Five. Howard won Sky’s Search for a Presenter as he transitioned careers. Since then he has accumulated credits on TV, web, videos as well as live events as a presenter and voice-over artist.
Janice - Cherise Silvestri
Cherise can currently be seen in Close (Netflix), an action thriller film directed by Vicky Jewson and starring Noomi Rapace. Rapace's character is based on that of Jacquie Davis, one of the world's leading female bodyguards, whose clients have included J. K. Rowling, Nicole Kidman, and members of the British royal family. In 2018, Cherise received a Best Supporting Actress award for her role in the award-winning short film, Testing Greta, also directed by Abbie Lucas. Other credits include Ridley Scott's All the Money in the World and narration for season 3 of Discovery ID's Web of Lies.
George - David Elliot
David won the BAFTA Scotland Award in 2015- for Best Actor in Film, beating Robert Carlyle and David Tennant to the prize. David started his acting career on stage, going on to tour all over the UK with multi-award-winning shows such as 'Decky Does A Bronco'. He has successfully made the transition into film, and has enjoyed diverse dramatic roles on both the small and big screen; His breakthrough leading role was in the war flick 'Kajaki' (Kilo Two Bravo) which led to him winning a BAFTA award for his role as real-life war hero Cpl Mark Wright. Other leading man roles include Jackie van Beek's New Zealand based relationship drama 'The Inland Road' which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival (Berlinale) 2017.
Filming and Post Production Support - Creation Company Films
For more than twenty years, Creation has been a provider of creative, production, filming and post-production services for a diverse portfolio of broadcast and corporate clients. With comprehensive in-house facilities, we are able to deliver anything from documentaries to commercials with flexibility, speed, and efficiency; conception to completion under one roof. www.creationcompany.tv
Thank you so much for checking out our project!
Should you be unable to donate, we would greatly appreciate you taking a moment to share.
Best wishes,
Abbie and Cherise
Fundraising team (3)
Cherise Silvestri
Organizer
Eddie Register
Team member
Abbie Lucas
Team member