Private Project

Fat Freddie's Drop

Eric is a YouTube sensation thanks to the videos he makes of his pet goldfish Fat Freddie. When Eric's family move to another town his new 'friends' set him challenge - kill Fat Freddie.

  • Alan Markey
    Director
  • Alan Markey
    Writer
  • Marie-Claire Hoysted
    Producer
    Jacob Wrestling With The Angel
  • Sean Burke
    Key Cast
  • Graham Earley
    Key Cast
    Monged
  • Jasmin Gleeson
    Key Cast
  • Dylan Jennings
    Key Cast
  • Therese Ballantine
    Key Cast
  • Peter Johnson
    Key Cast
  • Sophie Malaika
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 2 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 1, 2015
  • Production Budget:
    8,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Ireland
  • Country of Filming:
    Ireland
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital - Canon LogC
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.78:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Galway Film Fleadh
    Galway, Ireland
    July 8, 2015
    Irish Premier
Director Biography - Alan Markey

Alan began his career as a musician, playing with a wide range of bands and professional music groups. This introduced him to the concept of a creative collaborative workflow from an early age: writing; arranging; performing; recording; and additional promotional work. It was during the early music video shoots for these various acts that he started to develop a growing interest in filmmaking.

While living in Australia in 2007, he talked his way onto the set of HBO’s WW2 mini-series The Pacific where he spent nine months working as a special abilities extra portraying a WW2-era U.S. Marine. Inspired by this experience, he returned home to Ireland fully intent on pursuing a career in filmmaking and enrolling at Dublin City University and completing a B.Sc. Degree in Multimedia.

This broad media production course laid a strong groundwork for future filmmaking projects. After graduation in 2011 he studied Screen Acting, Screenwriting and Film Directing at Filmbase in Dublin to learn more about the numerous facets involved in the craft of film directing. He also acted in nine short films and this experience in front of the camera was to prove extremely beneficial for developing his relationship with cast and crew on set.

Fat Freddie's Drop is Alan's first professionally produced short film which was completed in June 2015. It involved a mixed cast of professional and non-professional Actors and a Crew of both established and emerging film crew currently working in Ireland today.

Alan is continuously developing his craft with other production related roles: scriptwriting; production; camera department; sound department; stills photography and a variety post-production roles including motion graphics, VFX, digital/social marketing and web design.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

The original idea for Fat Freddie began with the question, "what would we do to fit in with the crowd?".

This initial premise grew into a more complex storyline about a new arrival struggling with his sense of identity as his world changes uncontrollably around him.

Change is the only constant in life and Eric (Sean Burke) has built his own virtual 'Ivory Tower' which he is reluctant to climb down from. He is a YouTube sensation with his Fat Freddie videos and is much more comfortable letting his imagination run wild with his pet goldfish and a video camera than interacting with 'real' people.

Central themes include the uncertaintly in modern society that is constantly redefining the concept of family, community and individual and collective identity. The film also plays with the contrasting concepts of real and virtual communities and the different etiquette and social norms associated with each - Eric is a star in the online video world while on the street he is merely a lippy 'new kid' not without his own airs and graces.

I really wanted to play with the concept that we are all guilty of allowing ourselves to be manipulated and pushed around in different and subtle ways by the people and structures in our lives and how we justify this to ourselves with excuses like financial reward, personal development and social acceptance.

Alan Markey.
Writer/Director - Fat Freddie's Drop.