SAIL IN THE WIND 

We are producing the beautiful short film Sail In The Wind and we need your help!

We are looking for funding to pay our actors and creatives, to hire equipment and locations and to cover expenses during our locations shoots. We already have some funding in place, however we are in-need of additional funding in order to fully and faithfully realise this beautiful screenplay.

the film

A lone person walks their dog through sleepy suburbs, chipped seafront shops and crashing seas, as their life does somersaults around them.

Not long ago they lost their elderly neighbour, Joan. She was something special, their unique friendship an  immovable in their static life. Now she’s gone, leaving behind an empty house, a loving dog and the same old town, cliffs and sea that they have called home their entire life. Today they walk the dog a little longer than normal, as they do we hear their thoughts and reflections as the trip becomes a journey of transformation. Sail In The Wind is a poetic, poignant short film about isolation, friendship and the rush of change. 

Watch out test teaser here to feel our vision for this film!

‘Jon Berry’s writing beautifully blends the poetic and domestic, the social and ecological, sitting somewhere between the kitchen sink and the endless horizon. Sail In The Wind is a deeply affecting expression of the process of grief, of memory and the affects of change.’
Tom Titherington - Director

why is it unique?

Sail In The Wind is a unique and important film for a number of reason:

  • It presents a fresh perspective on male isolation, one that is free from toxicity. It is open-hearted and gentle in the way it explores one’s need for connection.

  • It portrays a unique central relationship, an inter-generational friendship approached with deep respect and appreciation.

  • It is a fresh look at life in a small town. As they grow up, many people leave their hometowns. Jon Berry’s story is about someone who stayed. Now that time has brought the change they have avoided, it sparks a sharp reflection on the meaning of home, of the power of local knowledge, and the ways the sights, sounds, smells of home sits in our hearts.

  • In this way, the presence of nature is essential to the film. The character's longings and desires to belong are reflected in the permanent impermanence of the world around them, the waving branches of trees, the ebb and flow of the tides, to the cliffs collapsing to the sea.

Meet the Team

  • Tom Titherington

    Director / Producer

    Tom Titherington (He/Him) is a theatre director, filmmaker and educator from London. He has written his own work and directed a number of other projects. He graduated with distinction from Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts and recently worked with Cervantes Theatre developing a new project. He is the founder and director of MYST where also curates multidisciplinary events. He is a fascilitator and educator and has led workshops for young people on filmmaking, theatre and the natural world.

  • Jon Berry

    SCREENWRITER

    Jon Berry (He/Him) is a writer from South Wales. His work is poetic, elegiac and soulful. It blends poetry, naturalism and nature, with a fascination in complicated people, and their place in a social, ecological, geological and cosmological world. He was a member of the Sherman New Welsh Playwrights’ Programme, The Theatre 503Five and a recipient of the Kevin Eliot award. His play Birdwatching has been in development at The Royal Court and Theatre Clwyd.

  • Michael Blundell-Lithco

    ACTOR

    Michael (He/Him) is a British-Irish actor, director and therapist-in-training based in London.He has performed in a wide range of collaborative theatre pieces and short films and has produced and director a number of his own projects.Michael originally trained at Rose Bruford College and The Estonian Academy of Music & Theatre. He has facilitated theatre & filmmaking workshops across many venues and has worked as a Visiting Director at Rose Bruford College, collaborating with students from a variety of different programs.

  • Ula Moroz

    DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

    Ula (She/Her) is a filmmaker and videographer. She has worked as a professional filmmaker for The Royal Opera House, Opera Holland Park, Trinity Theatre Tunbridge Wells and Tara Theatre. Her short film Rain was selected for the Queerbee Film festival this year and she recently adapted Takdaja’s production Fruits into a cinematic film.

  • Coralie Bestiaens

    ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

    Coralie is an Actor, Director and creative from Belgium. She trained at Stella Adler in LA and is based in London.

  • Elle Sherwood

    ASSISTANT PRODUCER

  • Kay Rowan

    COMPOSER

    Kay Rowan (She/Her) is a composer, songwriter, actor, music(er) and word(er) based in London, England. She has composed extensively for both stage and screen, working on the soundtrack for Rose Collective’s short film ‘Rain‘, as well as for the physical theatre/dance piece ‘KLAZO‘, by Bold Mellon. She has also performed as a songwriter on many occasions under the pseudonym ghostgirl. You can usually find her having an existential crisis, or writing a poem about one.

Cinematography

Sail In The Wind is a film that relies on poetic, moving visuals to tell its story. Jon Berry’s Screenplay is full of memory, nostalgia and a continuous presence of nature. The film shifts between memory and the present, as the sights and sounds of the protagonist’s home and home-town jolt their mind backwards and forwards.

We will be predominantly shooting with wide angle prime lenses, which allow for a shallow focus on the character whilst immersing them in their surroundings. Combining this with a mix of still and gently-moving gimbal shots will create a stirring and poetic visual style.

We will be shooting in the old Academy Ratio. This is a perfect frame for a mini portrait like this film.

It’s old-fashioned shape is also a great evocation of memory and nostalgia.

location

Our production will be based in Weymouth, Dorset and the surrounding area including the Isle of Portland.

Director Tom Titherington became very familiar with the area during the project ‘Awaken…Stone!’.

‘This area has the perfect qualities for this film, with striking cliffs and seafront walks sitting alongside averagely-remarkable streets, houses and benches. It has a wonderful energy and is completely believable as the location for this film.’
Tom Titherington

budget

We have an upper target of £7,500

We are aiming to reach a target of £4,000 to cover pre-production and our first shooting period in July.

£2100 raised

July Budget

Whole Film Budget

  • Consumables
    £100 

  • Location Hire
    £800

  • Editor
    £500

  • Sound Editor
    £500 

  • Composer
    £150 

  • Contingency
    £750

  • Actors fees
    £1500 

  • Helios 44-2 Lens kit
    £800

  • Lighting kit hire
    £500 

  • Gaffer fee
    £1,500

  • Props and Costume
    £250

  • Travel
    £200 

SCHEDULE

July 2023

First shooting period in London and Weymouth, Dorset.

September 2023

3 days Final shoot. Majority exterior shots on location.

September - November 2023

Post-Production. Editing, Sound editing. Additional voiceover.

December 2023

Sail In The Wind Premier

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Donation Rewards

£5 or more

You will receive a shoutout on social media.

£10 or more

Your name will be listed on our credits and you will receive a shoutout on social media.

£20 or more

You will receive behind the scenes footage and insights from our shoot, alongside all of the above.

£50 or more

You will receive a free streaming link of the finished film, alongside all of the above.

£100 or more

You will be given an Associate Producer credit on the film, receiving regular updates on the project, alongside all of the above

£150 or more

You will be invited to a set visit to meet the company, alongside all of the above


£200 or more

You will be given an executive producer credit for the project, alongside all of the above

what next?

We want to distribute this film as widely as possible. We will be submitting it a large number of festivals in the UK and abroad. We feel that the storytelling style and themes will resonate with a wide range of audiences.

This is one of several projects in development for MYST Productions. We plan to release the film alongside future theatre and artistic projects, drawing in as wide an audience as possible. MYST also programmes and curates multidisciplinary variety events, in which the film can be screened.