NOCTURNAL

Photo: Gareth Munden

Cast: Meisha Kelly and Orion Lee

A man and a schoolgirl form a strange and intense friendship which comes undone when the true nature of his interest in her is uncovered.

Synopsis

A man and a schoolgirl form a strange and intense friendship which comes undone when the true nature of his interest in her is uncovered.Enigmatic 40-year-old Pete begins following Laurie, a listless young graduate. It has been five years since they last saw each other but rather than approaching her, Pete indulges in sinister and violent behaviour.Their relationship started when Laurie was sixteen and an aspiring runner. After Pete offered the schoolgirl a lift in his car, an impetuous friendship began to develop. Despite his dubious intentions, Pete soon became Laurie's confidant and drinking partner. But their series of nights out and riotous excursions came to an abrupt end. Now, if either of them want to move ahead with their lives, Laurie and Pete must look back and confront the secret that poisoned their relationship from the beginning.

http://filmlondon.org.uk/nocturnal

Director Statement

I see Nocturnal as a drama with a complex character map. The main drive of the flm is the enigmatic relationship between Pete and Laurie. Is Pete a paedophile? Is Laurie playing with re by inviting this dangerous older man into her life? Did

they have sex? NO. The lm constantly challenges our perception of taboo and stereotype. These characters are compelling, intuitive and animalistic. They have ordinary motives and desires but they are also extremely complex, like all human

beings. The film will look at how these two characters emerge - or don't emerge - from this damaging but also joyfully free-spirited relationship. The dialogue is electrifying, but what is unspoken, is equally powerful.

Team

Writer Olivia Waring

Olivia grew up in Hove and regularly told herself stories in the corner of the school playground. While studying English at York she started to enjoy writing plays and two of her black comedies were performed by drama students. She was bashing out stories too, including one about a mysterious man and a teenage girl. When Olivia started her Scriptwriting Masters at UEA, that idea formed the basis of her screenplay Nocturnal. It earned her a distinction and she won the Malcolm Bradbury continuation grant. An excerpt from her TV pilot Bram’s Emporium was also published in the Creative Writing MA anthology. Olivia has written several shorts including one set in a Butlin’s camp called Day of Leisure, and she is writing a play inspired by the unsolved case of Wakefield teen Elsie Frost’s murder. Olivia is now 24 and works as a journalist in London.

Producer Colin Day

Colin Day has been a working actor and producer for almost 10 years. His feature film credits include the award winning The Loneliest Road in America (co-producer/ lead) and Queen of Carthage(producer/supporting) opposite Keisha Castle-Hughes (Oscar-nominee Whale Rider, Game of Thrones, Star Wars: Episode III) and Shiloh Fernandez (Evil Dead, Dead Girl, Red Riding Hood). Notable stage work includes producing and starring in a 2013 production of Adam Rapp’s Red Light Winter. Current feature projects in development include Ladakh, Middle-8 and Goat Mountain (adaption of the award winning David Vann novel). Colin currently resides in London after living and working in Los Angeles for seven years. He completed his studies at the University of Denver with a B.A. in Theatrical Arts and minor in Business.

Producer Robert Williams

Robert Williams studied Film and English at UEA. He is the producer, writer and director of the short film,The Crackling Glade, commissioned by Ideastap's Innovators scheme. The film was an award winner of the Shakespeare Short Film Festival by Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. It was screened in Imperial War Museum for two weeks in 2014. He was the Producer, Writer and Director on Urban Spiritual, made for the Ex Animo Foundation and as part of the Roundhouse's creative programme. He has been producing for Shan Ng’s films, including The Cult of June and A Situation, in the past two years. Alongside production, Robert currently works as a senior casting agent in London.