BROKENHEAD - FEATURE FILM

Genre

Psycological thriller.

Duration
89 minutes.

Synopsis
'Brokenhead' follows the final working days of Stefan, the last lighthouse keeper. He is content with his solitary life, living alone on his island like a hermit answerable to no-one. But the impending move back to the mainland and society is manifesting itself into uncertainty in his mind. The reasons he chose this solitary existence in the first place starts to come to the surface and the night before he is due to leave the lighthouse his past comes knocking on his door.

Cast
Sean Connolly
Ian Brooker
Barrett Robertson

Writer & Director
Steve Rainbow

Producers
Blair Kesseler
Michael Rehberg
Sean Connolly
Steve Rainbow
 

Editor
Michael Rehberg

Music
Andy Garbi

Themes around mental health issues

Whilst the story of ‘Brokenhead’ follows the development of a thriller, it also touches on how the human mind deals with isolation and loneliness.

Rainbow's first two feature films also deal with issues of the mind. ‘NFA’ (2012) addressed the plight of a homeless man, who has amnesia and schizophrenia. ‘iWitness’ (2015) looks at paranoia brought about by over use of screens and the misinterpretation they can cause.

Both films received critical acclaim and have screened at international film festivals.

Lead actor
‘Brokenhead’ stars Sean Connolly who is perhaps best known for his voice work in the audio world of ‘Doctor Who’, the Oscar-nominated ‘Shaun the Sheep Movie’ and the International Emmy Award-winning ‘Shaun the Sheep – The Farmer’s Llamas’. He is also well known for playing Ambridge fire-starter Keith Horrobin in BBC Radio 4’s ‘The Archers and has been heard in over a hundred radio drama productions in his long career.

Sean’s credits on TV include ‘Doctors’ (BBC), ‘No Angels’ (Channel 4) and ‘The Bill’ (ITV). On the big screen he has appeared opposite ‘The Avengers’, ‘Thor’ and ‘Mamma Mia’ actor Stellan Skarsgard and ‘Reservoir Dogs’ star Chris Penn in ‘Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang)’, as well as teen flick ‘We Are The Freaks’ for award-winning director Justin Edgar.

 
In ‘Brokenhead’ his character Stefan, reveals his dark past by use of a radio play that he is part of, so Sean's experience and gravitas within the voice acting world became essential for the role.

Composer
Andy Garbi’s cutting edge voice and music opened the Louis Vuitton 2015 Paris fashion show as well headlining major stages around Europe including Glastonbury, Big Chill, Trans Musicale and the Oerol festival.

Fascinated with ‘spirit of place’, his haunting style has been featured on BBC Radio 3's 'Late Junction', Classic FM, Chill FM and RTE Lyric FM. The launch of his 2008 debut solo album ‘The Sound Of One’ attracted global critical acclaim leading to a composition residency at Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada. Andy selected several tracks from 'The Sound Of One' and scored additional original tracks especially for ‘Brokenhead’.  

“An ambassador for British new music.” - Classic FM magazine 

“Inspirational…Garbi’s extraordinary, multi-octave vocal range dazzles.” - Metro 

“Garbi creates an eerie collection of sounds – the kind of music that could aptly soundtrack a David Lynch or Darren Aronofsky film.” - Muso 

The Sound of One Album by Andy Garbi

Blair Kesseler and Harriett Gilholm.

Marketing & Distribution
‘Brokenhead’ is the first feature film to utilise students from the Birmingham City University’s - Film Marketing and Distribution MA Course in its journey to a wider audience.

Taking the lead for the promotion and screenings of ‘Brokenhead’ is Harriet Gilholm, Head of Marketing and Distributions at RainbowFilms.co.uk and The Birmingham Film Company.

Email: hgilholm123@gmail.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harriet-gilholm-148006135/

Official BROKENHEAD movie poster

ONLINE REVIEWS

http://www.midlandsmovies.com/blog/4558436876/Midlands-Review---Brokenhead/11288725

The making of 'Brokenhead' - Notes from the director

"I'd never seen a film shot on Spurn Point before so I knew this would be a first. As soon as I went there and experienced it for myself I knew the location was perfect to juxtapose against the claustraphobia of the inside of the lighthouse.

The lead characters back story is complex, but I didn't want to tell it to the audience in the traditional way, so I came up with the idea of him being in a radio play and the play slowly reveals his past and ultimately why he has chosen to live on an island. Again, I haven't seen this done before.

We knew we were pushing the boundaries of film making when a prominent member of the Producers Forum asked to see the some of the cast and we slapped a yellow Post-It note pad down in front of him with doodles on it and said "Take your pick." 

We needed a boat to land on a deserted beach and someone to sail it there but the budget wouldn't allow such a thing so we built one, got it transported over to the island on a huge army truck, then we carried it over the sand dunes onto the beach. We were (inadvertently) recreating the famous boat moving scene from 'Fitzcarraldo'. 

Oh... I nearly forgot, the shoot was also haunted by the ghost of the lighthouse!"

Seeing Brokenhead
A tour of cinemas in the UK is planned to coincide with the International Lighthouse Heritage Weekend in August 2018.

Please keep checking this section for an update of a cinema screening near you.