The first of the three Bristol-made iFeatures films to reach completion, In the Dark Half, is to have its world premiere at the Raindance Film Festival in London on October 3.
The ghost story, starring Tony Curran, Lyndsey Marshal and Jessica Barden, is set in Bristol’s southern suburbs and the countryside just beyond and follows the haunting of a teenage girl.
Its production team includes the former writer-in-residence at Bristol Old Vic, Lucy Catherine, and director Alastair Siddons, whose debut feature-length break-dancing documentary Turn it Loose premiered at the 2009 Edinburgh International Film Festival, attracting strong commercial and critical acclaim.
In The Dark Half is the first of three films to be made under South West Screen’s iFeatures scheme, backed by BBC Films, Matador Pictures and Bristol City Council.
The ‘micro-studio’ initiative was launched two years ago to provide a showcase for Bristol’s most outstanding creative talent as well attracting some of the best emerging filmmakers from across the UK and Europe to the city.
The scheme attracted an unprecedented 550 submissions which were gradually whittled down through an intensive nine-month creative and commercial development process to the final three. Each was given a budget of £300,000.
Chris Moll, iFeatures’ Executive Producer, said: “Raindance is an excellent launching pad for In the Dark Half. Showcasing breakthrough talent and providing a platform for emerging voices is what Raindance is all about, so I’m glad that Alastair, Lucy’s and Margaret’s work will be reaching a relevant audience.
“We are also really pleased that the first of the three iFeatures movies will have its very first public screening at such an important UK festival; it shows that our scheme has produced a competitive film that the programmers were keen to get their hands on, which is a great sign.”
