This month the ever-elusive multi-award winning filmmaker Sheila Nortley returned to set after three years on sabbatical to shoot the trailer for her upcoming feature film The Strangers starring Ashley Walters, Aaron Fontaine & Jon Campling.
The full feature script took a gruelling six years to write and with pre-production on the full feature film is underway the talented crew shot a short teaser to test the market for such an unconventional and ground breaking production.
Needless to say the teaser has not yet been released and is already generating quite a buzz in the industry.
With layered theological and philosophical themes expressed in similar tone to The Matrix, V for Vendetta and Equilibrium, this will be the first British conspiracy thriller of this genre with an ensemble BAME cast, challenging stereotypes and representation in a beautifully executed cinematic narrative, which can both engage and entertain.
There is already a spectacular ensemble cast attached to the project including Aaron Fontaine, Jon Campling, and Ashley Walters. Amongst these gentlemen, an array of actresses including Shereen Walker, Jaye Ceesay and Ellouise Thomson in lead and supporting roles play complex and intricate characters.
“The Strangers is a story yet to be told. You can expect to go on a journey with a young man whos quest to find himself leads him down the path of enlightenment. Expect a story yet to be told. Think of ‘Demolition man’ combined with ‘Equilibrium” Aaron Fontaine
“Its a story that I have not heard before. When I read the script I wanted to do what I could to make this film happen! It’s unique perspective yet to be told.” Aaron Fontaine
“I intend for this film to actively challenge racial and religious intolerance and whilst addressing social issues of class and politics as well as general human themes such as love and brotherhood.” Sheila Nortley
The trailer will be released online in the next few weeks in order to attract investment for the full feature film. As an indie filmmaker funding is often considered the hardest part of the process and Sheila Nortley is confident she’ll secure the budget.
Nortley received the Women of the Future: Arts & Culture award for her work in film. The Women of the Future [WOF] Awards, supported by Aviva, announced the winners of the 2016 Awards at an event in London in the presence of WOF founder Pinky Lilani CBE DL, WOF patron Cherie Blair CBE, QC, Baroness Shami Chakrabarti CBE, and the Rt Hon John Bercow MP, Speaker of the House of Commons. The WOF Awards, now in their 11th year, continue to play a hugely important role, recognising, inspiring and offering practical support to the inspirational young female stars of today and tomorrow. They are open to women aged 35 or under and celebrate talent across categories including business, culture, media, technology and sport. 12 women were selected as category winners by a judging panel chaired by Sir John Peace, Chairman of Burberry Group & Standard Chartered.