The Burying Party is released this week
The time has come when we are able to release our film, The Burying Party to our friends who have been so supportive. It has been quite a journey. Crowdfunding campaigns, festivals and public receptions like the one in Birkenhead where we met Prince Harry and Meghan, Sir Kennneth Branagh and last week in Edinburgh where the Lord Provost invited us to a public screening for the City.
Our film tells the story of the tumultuous final year of probably the greatest war poet, Wilfred Owen as he makes his way through the the literary circles of England and Scotland in 2017 then culminating in the fatal ‘research trip’ where he returns to the front, earns the Military Cross for a successful assault at Joncourt. He is asked by High Command, not previously renowned for basic logic, to do it again at the Sambre Ors Canal which had been held by the Germans since the start of the war.
What our film did not shy away from was Owen’s sexuality. It had always been shelved in our home country of the UK. His brother Harold decided to burn his letters after his death at Ors, but that didn’t stop many of his followers reading between the lines and citing his his admiration of Sassoon and his attraction to fellow lumimaries such as Charles Moncrieff.
Any independent film maker will tell you that it isn’t easy. So why do we do it? For 95% of film makers it is not lucrative. It is more about doing the best you can with the budget available. Ultimately it is about being noticed by those with the real funds. It is possible, as has happened in the last two Oscar years, that an independent film has emerged from a festival and become an an Oscar winner. For such a perfect storm to happen, you need friends, influencers and a chain of positive events to happen which either involves much champagne drunk in smoke filled rooms or an issue which is prevalent to the era.In the 100th anniversary of that horrific conflict, it was always our intention to drink less champagne and raise awareness of the the dangers of empire building.
The film won 15 awards and has received an average of four stars which is incredible for us, given our operating budget. If you count our crowdfunding effort alone (discounting private funds), we raised £21k. When famous actor and film director (Dunkirk, Harry Potter, Hamlet, Murder on the Orient Express, Thor) Sir Kenneth Branagh came to see his sister play Owen’s mother, he said it was just so refreshing to see actors act without too much recourse to CGI. That was music to our ears.
We hope you enjoy the film as much as we did making it and thank you once again to everyone, particularly in the Tumblr LGBT community for tagging and re-posting for us during that crucial time when we were raising funds. Your help and support will never be forgotten. Finally Firmin ‘Oceane’ Lanoix, a young man from France should receive special attention as it was he who galvanised that support and helped us to reach our target.
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