A Stranger's Smile

CONCEPT: A Stranger’s Smile is a contemporary mystery thriller filmed in digital format for maximum cross platform exhibition opportunities in cinema, online and on DVD.

RUNNING TIME: 90mins

CERTIFICATE: Intended British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) certificate 15.

INDEPENDENT: This is a completely independent film made by professional filmmakers.

STATUS: Pre-production.

SYNOPSIS: A city street, a glance from those eyes and a stranger's smile.

Elicia, a photographer, who, while shooting a series of street portraits for an exhibition, encounters and photographs writer Aiden Dean. Intrigued by him she follows him to a cemetery where she sees him place flowers at a gravestone on which is the epitaph ‘Lizzie 1980 to 2009’. Elicia’s curiosity draws the reclusive Aiden out of his private world, but, by doing so she uncovers a haunting secret about the supposed suicide of Lizzie. Elicia discovers that police detective Antony Myles is still investigating Lizzie’s death, believing she was murdered. Also, a warning to Elicia not to get too close to Aiden from Lizzie’s friend Martha, adds weight to her growing suspicions about Aiden’s involvement in Lizzie’s death. Elicia is determined to find out the truth, but her curiosity and her feelings for Aiden, places Elicia’s life in jeopardy.

THE NARRATIVE: The narrative style follows the three act dramatic convention.

Act one introduces the character(s) to each other and the audience. In this scenario Aiden and Elicia meet and get to know each other. Other characters are introduced through this meeting. At the end of the first act the lead character(s) embark on a journey of discovery. Elicia sets out to find the truth behind the death of Lizzie.

Act two depicts the journey of discovery and brings the lead characters into conflict with each other and/or other characters in the story. Elicia, despite herself is drawn into detective Myles’ investigation into Lizzie’s death. An investigation that causes tension between all the characters. There is also the introduction of Elicia in jeopardy.

Act three is the resolution of the journey and of the conflict. There is also the revelation of the truth. In A Stranger’s Smile it is the resolution of the how and why Lizzie died and the role Aiden and other characters played in her death. It is also the resolution of the jeopardy Elicia is in.

Throughout the three acts there is a rising level of suspense, some story strands are resolved, a device to let the audience off the hook, others are left hanging to keep the audience watching. There is also the increased tension of the mystery surrounding Lizzie’s death and the involvement of key characters through the discovery of new evidence. This is all heightened by the shock tactics employed in the scenes of revelation and jeopardy.

VISUAL STYLE: The visual style will be created with digital handheld cameras giving a sense of dramatic live action and intimacy with the characters and their story. There will be naturalistic lighting giving the film a contemporary real environment context for the story. The film will feel that it is happening now.

The film’s narrative and visual style is influenced by:

Contemporary British Cinema:

Hallam Foe (Mackenzie 2006) Croupier (Hodges, 1998), Enduring Love (Mitchell, 2004), Dead Man’s Shoes (Meadows, 2004), Dirty Pretty Things (Frears, 2002) and Eastern Promises (Cronenberg, 2007).

And American/World Cinema:

Reconstruction (Boe, 2003), Before Sunset (Linklater 2004) Closer (Nichols, 2004), Three Colours Red (Kieslowski, 1994), Chungking Express (Wong, 1994), Ring (Nakato 1998) Breathless (Goddard, 1960) and Vertigo (Hitchcock 1958).

TARGET AUDIENCE: The target audience for A Stranger’s Smile is broad; the intention is to appeal to as large an audience as possible. There are three distinct cinema audience groups, by age, for this film: 15-24, 25-34 and 35-44.

PRODUCT PLACEMENT INVESTMENT: Product placement investment is a negotiated advertisement fee and supply of your branded products. As part of your marketing budget you buy product placement advertising in the film. In A Stranger’s Smile there is the opportunity to put your product(s) directly into the hands of the actors on screen and have your brand name referenced in the dialogue. Placing the products directly into the narrative of the film.

Invest in A Stranger’s Smile and be part of a truly independent film. This is an incredible opportunity to invest in established professional filmmakers and new talent. This is an opportunity to invest in art and entrepreneurship in a global entertainment market place. There is an avid global cinema going audience and a global internet audience who engage with the new Video on Demand (VOD) home entertainment culture. This is an exciting time to invest in independent filmmaking: a time when audiences are looking for new ways to engage with film via multiple multimedia platforms.

YOUR BRAND IN THE MARKETING CAMPAIGN: There is an on going marketing campaign for A Stranger’s Smile, in which your brand will appear. Online there is the official website, facebook, youtube and twitter sites on which your logo’s will link the registered film supporter ato your official website. Please click on the Wye Valley Brewery logos on the official A Stranger’s Smile website for an example of this.

Throughout the film’s pre-production, production and post-production phases news updates featuring your product placement will be posted on the official website and associated sites.

There will be a dedicated sequence in the ‘making of documentary’ that refers directly to the product placement products and brands and why they appear in the film; describing their individual qualities and how they enhance the characters representation in the narrative and how they helped the crew create the visual and sound effects required.

Your brand will be represented at the A Stranger’s Smile premiere screenings in Hereford and London for invited guests and media. There will be inclusion of company logos on all publicity material, websites, film credits, DVDs, VOD, at the premiere and on the soundtrack credits. There is also the opportunity to visit as an on location guest and be VIP premiere guests. The film will go on nationally release via the UK network of digital cinemas. Once it has been on release for three months it will then be released on DVD and via the internet as a VOD from itunes. Via the film your product and brand will be associated with style, entertainment and pleasure; reaching a regional, national and global audience. A worldwide cinema release will be negotiated once the film is completed and on general release.

Please note: A product placement investment does not entitle you to a % of the gross profits of the film.

PRIVATE INVESTOR: A private investor acquires a full return of their investment plus a negotiated % of the gross profits of the film from all formats and all associated material for the first year of the release of the film. This is the optimum time for exhibition receipts, DVD and soundtrack sales for a return on your investment.

Along with a high return for your investment there is the opportunity to be an extra in the film, visit as an on location guest and be VIP premiere guests.

CINEMA IN THE UK: The UK Film Council’s Statistical Yearbook 2009 states:

In 2008 the UK box office revenue stood at £850m with UK made films share of the global box office being 15%. There were 164 million UK cinema admissions in 2008. 18% of the population goes to the cinema at least once a month. By gender this is 46% male and 54% female. By age groups the audience breaks down into; age 15-24 = 41%, age 25-34 = 22%, and age 35-44 = 16% of the total audience admissions.

Film viewers who purchase one or more DVDs a month breaks down into; age 15-24 = 40%, age 25-34 = 34%, and age 35-44 = 39%.

Nearly all films are multi-genre releases; A Stranger’s Smile has drama, thriller, crime and horror genre elements. These genres make up 12% of the UK box office gross worth £113 million in 2008.

THE UNIQUE REGIONAL SELLING POINT: Along side the national and international appeal of independent cinema a unique selling point for the film is the making of it in Hereford. With few contemporary films b eing shot here the fact that A Stranger’s Smile is made in Hereford will appeal to the native and regional audience. All the cultural centers in the region have digital cinema exhibition facilities; for example the Courtyard in Hereford, Ludlow Assembly Rooms and both Worcester and Birmingham multiplexes have digital cinema screens.

A film made in Hereford will intrigue and appeal to people creating a core regional audience. The population of Herefordshire is: c.178,000. The West Midlands region is home to over five million people. Estimated cinema admissions in the West Midlands region was 13 million in 2008.

But the film is not restricted to established cinemas. Film events are held in large venues such as colleges and universities and at events like The Big Chill at Eastnor. Hereford has the Borderlines Film Festival, Hay-on-Wye exhibits films at the Literature Festival and Flicks in the Sticks tours small towns and villages across the region exhibiting digital feature films. These types of events take place internationally and are always programming new cinema.

An example of a successful film director of regional, national and international critical acclaim who has used the Midlands as a setting for his films is Shane Meadows; This Is England (2006), Dead Man’s Shoes (2004) and Once Upon a Time in the Midlands (2002).

For a detailed analysis of film audiences, an economical breakdown and an analysis of the British Film industry in a global market please visit Statistical Yearbook 2009 of the UK film industry complied by the UKFilm Council at www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/yearbook