A multi-award winning zombie movie filmed in Wythenshawe has it’s online premier today.
Writer/Director Mat Johns and Producer Chris Lane’s short film ‘A Father’s Day’ was
selected for Short of the Week, a premiere destination for short films online. The film will be available from 3pm.
Produced by Leapling Films and funded by Creative England and BFI Network, the story follows George and Abi, an estranged father and daughter who are unexpectedly reunited with each other in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. The twist is, they are no longer the humans they once were but zombified versions of themselves.
Far from being a traditional horror film, the filmmakers have managed to breathe life into the tired zombie genre by making the zombies the heroes in this story.
The movie was filmed in Tayfield Park, Clifden Drive, Greenwood Road and Robinswood Road and has been screened at over 130 festivals (including five BAFTA eligible festivals and 1 OSCAR eligible festival) and won 30 awards including a 500,000 Yen subsidy towards their next film by the organisers of the prestigious Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival in Japan.
The film, shot over four days across Greater Manchester, features special effects from a team of ten make up artists, led by Shaune Harrison who has worked on Hollywood blockbusters such as Harry Potter and Star Wars.
Considering the film’s modest budget of £8,000, the filmmakers aimed from the start to produce a film that had high production values and broad appeal.
Mat Johns explained: “I wanted to play with some new ideas in the genre and make the zombies the heroes of the film. Usually they’re threat or the punchline in movies.
“‘A Father’s Day’ has a delicate story about family members reconnecting, but it’s set in a horror genre world. We hoped this would make it appeal to genre and non-genre fans alike. The fact the film has no dialogue also means it can be seen anywhere by anyone.”
Anywhere is right: On it’s 2 years on the film festival circuit, A Father’s Day as been seen in 35 countries across 5 continents. After producing a series of successful shorts both Mat and Chris have their eyes set on producing their first feature film together.
Chris Lane said: ‘” been fantastic to have had our work recognised at so many top tier film festivals and Short of the Week is the icing on the cake. Based on the success of A Father’s Day we are both looking forward to collaborating on future projects and have some exciting feature scripts in development.”