May/June 2021
The
Human
Chair
the Crew
Pauline McGrath / Clara Gienger / Matthew Toner / Roksana Budych / Tomos Harrison / Camden Skerman-Stevenson / Athena Hadjistefanou /
Sergej Sarchevski / Jack Marshall / Katie Ingleby-Parylo /
Rebecca Sprague/
Robbie Henry /
Alzain Al-Baqsami /
Shavon Stewart /
Alex Rosling
The Project
DEW FESTIVAL 2023
The Human Chair is a University of Westminster graduation film currently in pre-production and scheduled to be shot in May/June 2021. The short film deals with the relationship of a couple, whose dysfunction slowly seethes to the surface due to an ominous entity in their new home. Films such as Mother! (2017), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) and Hereditary (2018) have informed the look and tone of the story we want to tell. This project, a blend of melodrama and horror, will be the second one produced by Clara Gienger and directed by Pauline McGrath, who have had national success with their last short film, most recently winning the NAHEMI Best Undergraduate film award as part of the Encounters Film Festival in 2020.
Our hard-working crew are dedicated to making this project happen, despite the distance and challenges posed by COVID-19. The pandemic has not stifled our ambitions, and our pre-production is taking place digitally, until we build our professional set on site, and capture and edit the story with industry-standard equipment and software, such as the Arri Alexa and Avid Media Composer, which the crew are proficient with.
The story
Synopsis:
Recently married couple Sara (31) and Earklow (29, Ear for short) move into a new apartment. Sara, who works from home, becomes infatuated with the beautiful view and the old armchair leftover by the previous tenants. Soon she becomes enraptured by the mysterious entity which resides inside the armchair. It catches hold of her mind and she is soon at risk of fading away entirely. Ear fails to acknowledge the gravity of the situation, at both of their risks.
Themes & Direction:
Ear and Sara’s dysfunctional relationship is the main focus of the story. Both are dealing with a difficult, shared past and construct a ‘fantasy’ so that their relationship can appear to function. The chair brings the couple’s deep-rooted issues to the surface, slowly unpicking the characters' disillusionment as to why they think they’re still together. At the core of the story lies an examination of the extent to which people will go to escape their reality and how far one may indulge in a toxic fantasy before breaking away from it, or not. The main themes explored are disillusionment, trauma, love, fantasy and escapism.
What we're raising funds for!
Our characters’ apartment, the only location in the script, is integral to not only setting the tone of the story, but also to act as the fuel for conflict, heightening the dysfunction between the couple and trapping them within it. In order to get the desired eery, tense feeling across, we intend to build a set tailored to the needs of our story. We don’t want it looking like a set however; it needs to feel like a place with history and character. We are therefore raising money for our art department team, who are currently working on the details of the production, and how to most effectively convey the story through the production design. You can see some of their plans below.
Risks and Challenges
The crew is very aware of the circumstances we intend to shoot this project in; the pandemic poses a number of challenges, and uncertainties which no one can predict. Our team is dedicated to making this project happen safely, following strict COVID guidelines specific to this production. The entire crew will be briefed about these in advance, and our COVID supervisor will enforce them on set.
some of our past work!
Rewards
1. £5 and above: Film credit in the ‘Thank You’ section
2. £40: An A3 print of original artwork from the film.
3. £60: A tote bag with an original artwork print.
We will be offering a variety of rewards based on the amount donated to our project and will put an order in if you pay the exact amount stated below. Free shipping in the UK. We will be sending the rewards out in April! Updates TBC.
Please help fund our film :)
And contact me (Clara) if you have any questions!
