Poster for The New Hope unveiled

Beg Steal Borrow News, The New Hope

Beg Steal Borrow is excited and proud to reveal the new poster for The New Hope.

Designed by the talented Angela Faillace, the poster shows leading characters Dennis and Hadrian silhouetted against two suns as their shadows are cast over an expanse of grass.

The poster draws its inspiration from Star Wars and in particular one of the posters for The Phantom Menace, in which a young Anakin Skywalker casts the shadow of Darth Vader, thus suggesting his shadowy destiny.

Here, however, the shadows that Dennis and Hadrian cast are, respectively, of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza as in the 1955 sketch that Pablo Picasso created of the two characters for Les lettres françaises.

Blending Star Wars with Don Quixote, then, the poster conveys the key themes of the film, which is an adaptation of the first part of Miguel de Cervantes’ great novel – although in this updating of Cervantes’ story, the main character believes he is not a knight errant, but a Jedi knight.

Finally, the grassy expanse conveys the way in which the film takes place mainly in London’s Hyde Park, itself a common ground that is free for anyone to visit.

The setting in this way ties in with the democratic aspirations of the film. Not only is it a movie about a man who wishes to be a Jedi knight (thus proving that we can be whoever we want to be), but so is the movie’s zero budget a bit like tilting at the windmill of the mainstream film industry.

If one charges with enough conviction, though, maybe one can give hope to people, by showing that one does not need expensive equipment and flashy CGI to make a film, but that there is equally magic in a park, a Boris bike, a scooter, a stick and a dustbin lid.

Designer Angela Faillace is currently a student at the University of Roehampton, London, where director William Brown also teaches. She also designed the poster for Selfie, her work having caught William’s eye through the posters she designs for the Roehampton Film Society, which she also runs. Angela also worked as a crew member for Beg Steal Borrow’s video of Extradition Order’s ‘Boy in Uniform’ and can be seen in a couple of shots in Selfie.

Designed by the talented Angela Faillace.

Designed by the talented Angela Faillace.

Here comes The New Hope

Beg Steal Borrow News, New projects, Selfie, The New Hope, Ur: The End of Civilization in 90 Tableaux

Exciting times for Beg Steal Borrow Films!

As final touches are put on to Ur: The End of Civilization in 90 Tableaux (with festival submissions to take place as soon as is ready), and as Selfie is about to go into post-production, shooting is about to begin on new zero-budget feature, The New Hope.

The New Hope is an adaptation of the first part of Miguel de Cervantes’ classic novel, Don Quixote. It tells the story of a man who claims to be Obi Wan Kenobi, and who spends his time going around London trying to right wrongs as per the old Jedi knight errant way.

Oh, and this Obi Wan also challenges Ewan McGregor to a duel – in order to prove that he really is Obi Wan Kenobi and not just some actor playing the part.

The film features Beg Steal Borrow regulars Dennis Chua, Alastair Trevill, Kristina Gren, Nick Marwick, Andrew Slater, Alastair Hird and Deanne Cunningham. And the film will of course be lensed in part by the ever-present and wonderful Tom Maine. Alexandra Brown will also have a brief role in the film – together with her gorgeous new daughter, Ariadne Bullen.

And the film will also feature new Beg Steal Borrow collaborators, including Aleksander Zerov Krawec, Grace Ker, Samuel Taylor, Millad Khonsorkh, Lucia Williams and others.

Filming takes place in and around Hyde Park between 23 and 25 August and 30 and 31 August. A whole feature in a five day shoot!

Passers by by are welcome to interact and to change the film if they spot us.

Otherwise, here’s a teaser featuring Obi Wan and a statue of Karl Marx – explaining how being, rather than acting a Jedi knight is the new source for hope in a world that’s blowing itself to pieces right now.

Ur preview screening at the Olympic Studios, London

Beg Steal Borrow News, Screenings, Uncategorized, Ur: The End of Civilization in 90 Tableaux

Ur: The End of Civilization in 90 Tableaux enjoyed a preview screening at the prestigious Olympic Studios in Barnes, London, on 25 May 2014.

The film tells the story of six disaffected people who are on holiday in the south of France – and who do not realise that the zombie apocalypse is taking place all around them.

The preview screening garnered an enthusiastic crowd, who overcame technical difficulties to watch this first airing of Ur.

Leading zombie film scholar Stacey Abbott was on hand to lead a Q&A after the screening with stars Edward Chevasco, Dennis Chua and Laura Murray, cinematographer Tom Maine, assistant director Alexandra Brown (who was/is nine months pregnant!), and William Brown.

Rosie (played by Roseanna Frascona) says good bye to the world in Ur: The End of Civilization in 90 Tabeaux.

Rosie (played by Roseanna Frascona) says good bye to the world in Ur: The End of Civilization in 90 Tabeaux.

On Facebook, various of those in attendance commented on the film. One viewer described the film as an ‘excellent zombie apocalypse film yesterday – funny, engaging, astute and beautifully shot.’

Another commented on the ‘fine work’ from cast and crew.

And Stacey Abbott herself described Ur as ‘a most unusual and fascinating zombie (but not zombie) film.’

Many thanks should be given to Mairead Murray, Will Orpin and Rick Gould at the Olympic for all of their help.

It was particularly a thrill to have the preview at a cinema where Jean-Luc Godard shot the Rolling Stones for his 1968 film, Sympathy for the Devil. Godard was, of course, at the heart of the first Beg Steal Borrow film, En Attendant Godard.

Edward (Edward Chevasco) and Rosie (Roseanna Frascona) talk love in Ur: The End of Civilization in 90 Tableaux.

Edward (Edward Chevasco) and Rosie (Roseanna Frascona) talk love in Ur: The End of Civilization in 90 Tableaux.