The British Film Institute (BFI) Film Fund is backing Michael Lennox’s A Patch of Fog [+lire aussi :
critique
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fiche film] and Michael Pearce’s Beast through its First Feature Awards, a scheme that considers features from first-time directors, working with budgets under £2 million, at quarterly intervals.

Lennox studied directing at the National Film and Television School (NFTS). His short The Back of Beyond was nominated for best short film at the European Film Awards and won awards at Locarno International Film Festival and at the Royal Society of Television Awards. His latest short Boogaloo & Graham was selected to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival this year. A Patch of Fog, a psychological thriller set in Belfast, is being produced and financed by The Fyzz Facility and supported by Northern Ireland Screen and Goldcrest Post Production.

Pearce’s NFTS graduation film Madrugada film won Best Short Film at the RTS awards. His next short, Rite, was nominated at the BAFTAs and BIFAs, screened at 40 international film festivals and won Best Film at the Rushes Soho Film Festival, Message2Man and the Almeria Film Festival. His recent short, Keeping Up with the Joneses, was produced through the BFI Shorts scheme and was nominated for a BAFTA this year. Beast, produced by Agile Films, is described as ‘a love story trapped within a horror film’.

Applicants who receive a positive decision in principle from the BFI Film Fund are issued with a Letter of Intent, enabling some of the projects to secure the final stage of their funding by demonstrating the Film Fund’s commitment and endorsement.