Crystal Palace, the present day. On the eve of his retirement, Iain prepares to end a 30 year relationship with his selfish, co-dependent partner, Phil. Before he gets the chance, they are abducted by aliens. In the following days, Iain undergoes a terrifying extra-terrestrial transformation, which Phil is initially too self-absorbed to notice. But, when Iain’s new persona becomes increasingly horrific and inconvenient, Phil starts to miss the man he once knew. As his efforts to save Iain probe the darkest corners of their relationship, Phil is forced to confront the sad truth: Iain had become alien to him long before their abduction, and it may be too late to salvage their once-happy life together.
Fred is an award-winning writer-director. He shot his first film at 16, a mockumentary about a man convinced that Bigfoot was living in a South London park. Fred is a BFI Network mentee, whose recent shorts Pauline, Rodney, Woodhouse and Palo Santo have screened at numerous British and international film festivals, including Palm Springs, Hollyshorts, the Leeds International Film Festival, and the London Film Festival. His work has also been awarded two Vimeo Staff Picks. Fred’s latest film, Palo Santo was created in collaboration with Olly Alexander, of the band Years & Years. A 15 minute short, shot in Thailand and set in an erotic cabaret theatre on a distant planet, it was written, filmed and edited in the space of 4 months, and counted Judi Dench, Ben Whishaw, and cult Thai actor Vithaya Pansringarm amongst its cast members. Fred’s music videos, and commercial works have been nominated for, and won, several high-profile industry awards, including the prize for Best Fashion Film at the Berlin Ciclope Festival, where he was competing against directors such as Spike Jonze. Fred has two other projects in development. He is represented by Independent Talent and Blink Productions.
You can watch Fred’s film Palo Santo on the Creative England watch player.
Sabina Smitham (producer)
Sabina is an independent producer with a slate of shorts, features and TV projects with partners including the BFI and BBC Films. Alongside her own slate, she also works with producer Faye Ward, developing projects for Fable Pictures (Stan & Ollie, Wild Rose). With a background in development, Sabina freelanced with production companies including Ecosse Films, Working Title, Kudos and Mammoth Screen, while completing her MA in producing at the National Film & Television School. Sabina has produced a number of internationally-acclaimed shorts including The Master of York (dir. Kieron Quirke) backed by the UK Jewish Film Festival, and most recently, multi-award-winning Dead Birds (dir. Johnny Kenton, wri. Amelia Spencer), which was a finalist in The Academy’s Student Awards. Previously, Sabina has worked as a Digital Producer at FremantleMedia, Endemol Shine Group and VICE, and was nominated for a Broadcast Digital Award for her work in this space. She has been listed as a Broadcast Magazine “Broadcast Hotshot”, and she is an alumna of the Les Arcs Talent Village and the Edinburgh International Film Festival Talent Lab 2019.