The DarkEst UnIvErse

Transcription

1 UTTERLY UNIQUE. FIND IT. WATCH IT METRO FROM THE DIRECTORS OF BLACK POND IT S MAD. IT S SANE. DEFIES DEFINITION FINANCIAL TIMES The DarkEst UnIvErse A MOVIE OF STRANGENESS AND CHARM THE GUARDIAN A BOAT CAN T JUST DISAPPEAR INTO THIN AIR

2 The DarkEst UnIvErse An epic, deeply human tale of love, grief and alienation, The Darkest Universe is the strange, ambitious second feature film from Will Sharpe and Tom Kingsley, the BAFTA nominated directors of Black Pond. With a kaleidoscopic narrative structure, bold cinematography and the occasional UFO, The Darkest Universe is a comedy psychodrama that mixes grungy phone footage with the trippy science fiction imagery of parallel universes and the dark earthly aesthetic of the British waterways - an eccentric and heartfelt film that is ultimately about the stories we must tell ourselves to get by.

3 AliCe (TianI ghosh) Starring WILL SHARPE (Flowers), co-writer TIANI GHOSH and JOE THOMAS (Fresh Meat, The Inbetweeners) as well as some of the best comedy actors in the UK, including SIMON BIRD (Friday Night Dinner), SOPHIA DI MARTINO (Flowers), JONNY SWEET (Together), CHRIS LANGHAM (Black Pond), JAMIE DEMETRIOU (Fleabag). Zac (will sharpe)

4 The Story Zac is a lonely, highly strung city trader on the edge of a psychological breakdown. He has lost his job, his girlfriend and, most devastatingly, his weird and wayward younger sister Alice, the only family he had left. Alice is now a missing person, having disappeared on a narrow boat trip along with her boyfriend Toby, a kindred drifter and misfit. Zac becomes increasingly frustrated with the futile attempts of the police to find any sign of them or the forty foot boat and decides to take matters into his own inexpert hands. He starts a terribly executed video blog and scours the dark canals of the UK in a desperate search for clues. Struggling for information and fast losing hope, Zac reflects on his past and the difficult relationship he had with Alice. Wracked with guilt and regret, his sanity starts to unravel as he fights with memories of her in the weeks leading up to her disappearance. As he remembers her sweetly burgeoning relationship with the mysterious Toby, however, he begins to wonder if there may in fact be a grander, wilder, much stranger explanation for their disappearance TobY (joe thomas)

5 An offbeat oddity that combines piercingly funny observation with unashamed weirdness. Lovely, amusing reveals its hand satisfyingly slowly The ObseRver Effortlessly funny, expertly crafted. Refreshingly original Hey U guys Idiosyncratic. An offbeat delight TotaL film

6 Beautifully crafted. Carefully balancing comedy with poignant drama, this is a sweet, charming and melancholy story that s brave enough to be ambiguous and takes a hard, affecting look at grief, obsession and the need for answers in life Sfx MagaZine

7 Make no mistake: The Darkest Universe is very funny indeed, but as its title suggests, there is plenty of pain and pathos to counterweigh the humour. Explores those strange spaces where the comedy of the banal finds itself bordering the gravity of depression, grief, guilt and death. AntoN bitel

8 IN CINEMAS AND ONLINE 4Th november Q&A tour Hackney Picturehouse, Crouch End Picturehouse, Prince Charles Cinema, Manchester Home, Glasgow Film Theatre, Sheffield Showroom, Bristol Cube

9 Will sharpe & tom kingsley directed by Tom KingSley & will sharpe written by tiani ghosh & will sharpe director of photography Will hanke Music RaleGh long & arthur SharPe The Darkest Universe is Will and Tom s second feature film. For their first feature, Black Pond, they won the Evening Standard Film Award for Best Newcomer, were part of Variety Top Ten European Directors to Watch, were nominated for Best First Feature Film at the Writers Guild Awards, and they are the youngest ever directors to have been nominated for Outstanding Debut at BAFTA. Will sharpe Will wrote, directed and acted in the Channel 4 series Flowers, starring Olivia Colman and Julian Barratt. He is now writing the second series. Tom KingSley Tom is currently directing a series for BBC3 written by Liam Williams, a short film for Sky written by Jamie Demetriou, and directs adverts and music videos at Colonel Blimp for people and things like IKEA, Eurotrash and Fatboy Slim. ProdUced by Jo-jO ellison, tom kingsley, will sharpe TianI ghosh The Darkest Universe is Tiani's first feature as a writer and actor. Tiani, has written, performed and directed two comedy sketch shows at the Edinburgh Fringe. She is developing a feature and sitcom and currently has a short film in production with Creative England and Guilty Party.