February 1 will see Swindon-based director Alex Secker premier his first feature film Follow The Crows at Cineworld in Shaw Ridge, which will be entered into film festival across the globe.
Having spent years working as a freelance camera operator before turning his attention to directing, Alex Secker has a lot of experience in the film-making industry. He has written and directed several short films, some of which have gone on to national film festivals, and he won the People’s Choice Award for his debut stage play, The Door, a psychological thriller and a political allegory which received critically acclaimed reviews.
In 2016 Secker released his first book via the Amazon Kindle service, a collection of short stories entitled He Was Dead, and has recently completed his debut novella: Elizabeth’s Job, which is due for release later this year. He is also the host of the Cultish Movie Podcast, a weekly podcast discussing cult films, and writes a regular blog, Secker Side Up.
Long after the end of the world people wander the fields and woods that once housed the cities of Britain in search of food, warmth, and anything that may help them survive.
One of these survivors is The Man (Max Curtis), haunted by the terrible deeds he did in his youth, and isolates himself from human contact. However, when he finds a Woman (Daniella Faircloth) in need of his help he inadvertently begins a relationship that will teach them both what it is to be human again.
Meanwhile, a crazed Killer (Marcus Starr) stalks his victims, picking them off one by one, in a desperate search for vengeance and closure. As he approaches the end of his list the Killer begins to consider what he will do when his task is complete and he has nothing left to live for.
A post-apocalyptic thriller, with strong elements of horror and drama, Follow The Crows is an unsettling look at a world stripped of technology and society, of humanity and the people whom inhabit this bleak, uncompromising and often violent world.
When you have nothing, something is everything.
Alex explained: “Back in 2015 I was in a very different place emotionally to where I am now. I was feeling like I was struggling. For as long as I can remember I’ve wanted to make movies – be that write, direct or edit them – and yet I was getting nowhere. I’d done a few short films and a couple of music videos of my own but it just wasn’t happening.
“I’ve always enjoyed writing and write most of my own stuff, so when Marc Starr approached me about potentially writing something with him I was happy to see what kind of ideas he had. Marc had this idea for a drama/thriller film and I thought it sounded interesting – plus I wasn’t doing much else – so I agreed to take a crack at it with him.
“The idea for Follow The Crows was born mostly from necessities. Who did we have cast wise who would likely be willing to come on board? What kind of a story would lend itself to broken shoots, taking place over evenings and weekends. How could we best utilise the scenery and locations available to us in Wiltshire (such as along the Ridgeway or Savernake Forest).
“The film was shot on next to nothing, entirely self-financed and shot over evenings and weekends. Everyone who worked on it did so for free and for nothing more than the love of the project. We all believed that we were making something special and I think that comes across on the screen.
“The cast and crew were entirely local people and everyone worked really hard to pull it off, in many ways we became the very thing the film warns us not to loose, a team. It was a fantastic experience and it feels strange now watching it reach its conclusion, with the showing on February 1.
“Marc and I have since begun pre-production on our next project, which we hope to raise some money to complete, and shoot in a block rather than the evenings and weekends like Follow The Crows. But we are utilising many of the skills we learned on the shoot, most importation of which is that sense of camaraderie.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwcbfvdnocY
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