Set and filmed in some of the most striking rural areas of the UK, These Quiet Creatures will be an original and ambitious 30-minute short film crafted by six University of Bristol Film students through our newly founded production house, Painting Pictures.
After the sudden loss of her mother, a young girl, Elsie, is sent to live with her estranged grandfather, a solitary farmer. Having never met, the two work towards building a relationship whilst maintaining both the farm and a vow of silence.
For reasons of their own, both characters undertake a vow of silence, neither character will speak throughout the story, creating a unique space to explore themes of family, nature, fatherhood and grief.
We are passionate about depicting the beautiful ways humans can communicate without words. The idea of having our two protagonists develop a relationship exclusively through silence is a welcome challenge, which has already pushed us to tell our story in unique and inventive ways.
Help us make our creative vision a reality! When ready, we will hold a free screening for all our supporters to show you how far your donation helped us get.
In the beginning, we planned to make These Quiet Creatures without fundraising, relying on the skills and relationship we have built up over years of creating films together. However, as our story grew and its scope expanded, it quickly became clear that this was the perfect stage to make our most ambitious film yet.
We realised that telling this story relying on only our own self-funding would compromise the impactful, vivid image we all want audiences around the world to experience.
We didn't want that.
Your help will make a massive difference, allowing us to elevate every sector of the film's production and compensate the amazing artists that we are planning to work alongside.
This is a story we believe everyone can resonate with and includes themes we feel a duty to do justice to, reaching our goal means we would be able to do exactly that to the fullest extent.
The money raised in this campaign will go towards all areas of making These Quiet Creatures, including:
TIME - The funds we receive from this campaign will enable us to add more days to the shoot, meaning we can pour passion into every setup and craft each scene with as much coverage, consideration and care as possible.
CAST AND CREW - We really believe in compensating all of the incredible artistry and work that goes into creating a film. Reaching our goal will mean we can bring on a highly-skilled cast and support the whole crew in the film's creation.
EQUIPMENT - We have years of experience in producing films that look stunning with our own kit, so with the funding from this campaign we can take that to its next level, achieving an aesthetic that is cinematic and unique.
SETS AND LOCATION - One of the most crucial elements of the film is that its sense of place feels authentic. We'd like to secure locations that have history and years of life behind them, then fill them with set decoration personalised to our characters' story.
MUSIC - With minimal dialogue, or score will at many times be a key driving force, a replacement for conversation and a look into the psyche of Bernie & Elsie. We want to give back to our musical collaborators for their time and make sure they have all they need to do their best possible work.
Here is a breakdown of how we will spend our funds:
It would be rude to not introduce you to our team for These Quiet Creatures! Let us tell you a bit about ourselves, and why we are so passionate to take you on this journey to tell this special story with us.
Calum Blackie: Hi I’m Calum. I will be working on Costumes and Casting as well as serving as the Sound Recorder on “These Quiet Creatures”. Having once lived on a farm, I’m excited to help rebuild that atmosphere capturing the isolating nature of the wilderness as well as the spirituality of the countryside. This story will require a deft touch to achieve the subtle hardship and beauty in the communication between 2 people mourning and bonding simultaneously. If done right, it could be beautiful! I am itching to do this fascinating story justice and bring it to life alongside a brilliant team!
Tom Callaway: I’m Tom, I am the Assistant Director of Photography and Co-Producer of ‘These Quiet Creatures’. This film provides us with the opportunity to showcase all the individual talents we each bring that have been cultivated over our work together in the last three years. As a group we have bonded not just through a love of film but the craft of materialising imagination into something that can be shared. The embodiment of this is the formation of our own production and rental house ‘Painting Pictures’. A joint endeavour aiming to support fellow creators realise their vision as well as funding our future projects together.
Alex Cheesbrough: I am the Co-Director and Writer of ‘These Quiet Creatures’. As cliche as it may sound, filmmaking has been my greatest passion for as long as I can remember. It is the language my imagination speaks through and a means for exploring life’s mysteries and my curiosities. Its ability to speak visually has always fascinated me. It is through the excitement of visual storytelling where the initial idea for the film came to me. One evening, the thought of two people forming a relationship over time, whilst remaining bound to a vow of silence, stirred my imagination. How could we tell a story without dialogue? Can we return to the beginnings of cinema where exposition wasn’t an option?
Jett Chen: Hello I'm Jett, the Director of Photography for These Quiet Creatures. I have grown up obsessed with images constantly challenging myself to achieve nuanced frames that have their own personality and style, but ultimately, serve the mood and direction of the chosen story. I am excited to discover new things about our characters as we begin to capture the film's first images and am striving to make portray our narrative in the most beautiful way humanly possible. I am an incredibly hard worker who will stop at nothing to make this film our best yet!
Will Foskett: I’m Will and I will be serving as Assistant Director, Producer, and also as camera crew on These Quiet Creatures. With such a small crew, we all will have to throw all of ourselves into telling this special story - to bring it to life with as much poignancy it deserves. This project is very close to my heart after growing up in the countryside of South Wales, knowing farmers all my life. I also have a personal connection to children who have dealt with traumatic beginnings, and to now have this singular opportunity telling the untold stories of these people feels like my sworn duty!
Lucas Molyneux: Hello people! I'm Lucas and am the Co-Director & Editor of These Quiet Creatures. Growing up less than 500 metres from the central location of our film means this story is genuinely pretty close to home. I, like the rest of the crew, believe strongly that the ways we communicate without words can be some of the most beautiful. We will push ourselves until we tell a story that is engaging, emotional and visceral. I’m in love with tying characters around our natural world and am excited to pursue our themes of fatherhood and the familial dynamic, striving to showcase a relationship that grows naturally, just like one of our farmer’s many expansive fields of green.
We have recently cast our actor for the leading role of Bernie! Meet the amazing Chris Beard, a man with decades of industry experience. Accredited for his work on Now You See Me 2 and Venom: Let There Be Carnage. We already know Bernie will be brought vividly to life through Chris's dedication to and understanding of the role.
Bringing even more passion and experience to our team, Chris is a real sure sign of success for These Quiet Creatures.
Primarily set in countryside fields, forests, and farmhouses. Our colour palette focuses on preserving natural tones. Our main visual style will be relatively minimalist but authentically expressive, aiming to use natural light as much as possible for the shoots.
Without dialogue, we’ll use considered production design to portray our characters' identity and history to tell their story.
We will draw visual inspiration from the Lubewski’s realism work with Malick as we construct our visions of landscapes which our pair will inhabit, as well as Tarkovsky’s many shades of green and experimentation with natural light.
We are already into the depths of pre-production, with principal photography taking place over a week in mid-February and over two weekends in early March. Post-production work will then begin full-time until a watchable cut of the film is completed by 1 May 2025 at the latest. Should this schedule change, we will let you, our supporters know how and why as part of our special behind-the-scenes documentary.
Never used the Bristol University Crowdfunding site before? No worries! Just follow these easy steps to donate:
Step 1: Navigate to the ‘DONATE’ button at the top of the campaign
Step 2: Choose whether you would like to select from one of our many rewards (by hovering over them and increasing your donation to the stated amount) or donate without benefits.
Step 3: Scroll down and fill out your personal details.
Step 4: (if you are a UK taxpayer) Please, please! Give the gift aid box a tick, it will make your donation go even further with no extra cost to yourself!!
Step 5: Payment is done via paypal, however, do not worry if you don’t have an account. You may enter your card details via the guest feature as you would on any normal payment.
Follow our journey via Instagram and watch our previous work on Youtube if you want to see what we are capable of as a team.
Instagram: CLICK HERE
YouTube: CLICK HERE
