Private Project

Beyond Existence

*Miami International Science Fiction Film Festival 2022*
Winner of Best SciFi Fantasy Feature
Winner of Best Director Feature

*Boston SciFi Film Festival 2022 - Official Selection*
Best Feature Film nominee
Prime Time Directive Best First Time Feature Director nominee
Best original score nominee

*Amsterdam International Film Festival 2021*
Winner of Best Sci-Fi Film

*LA Sci-Fi and Horror Festival*
Europa Prize Best Film winner

What happens to our world when technology exceeds humanity?

Ellen is an agent sent on a mission to seek and destroy a professor who’s been illicitly trading government information to foreign territories. However, the Professor reveals a source of intelligence so powerful that Ellen has no choice but to spare the Professor’s life. The unlikely couple set across the barren landscapes of England on a new mission to save humankind.

Ellen, the ultimate professional, and the Professor, an old drunk with an acid tongue, don’t exactly make for the perfect travel companions. But the pair learn just how important their newfound relationship is when their road trip turns into a car chase.

As they flee from the Guardian - a bounty hunter resolute that the Professor sticks to his original assignment - Ellen discovers that the technology assumed to make her civilisation superior, is also the source of a predetermined path of destruction: and the Professor is the instigator.

To save humanity, Ellen will go beyond fate, beyond destiny, and beyond existence.

  • Schuman Hoque
    Director
  • Steven Farah
    Writer
  • Claire Farah
    Producer
  • Steven Farah
    Producer
  • Amelia Clay
    Key Cast
    "Ellen"
  • Gary McKay
    Key Cast
    "The Professor"
  • Vincent Vermignon
    Key Cast
    "The Guardian"
  • Pauline Turner
    Key Cast
    "The Waitress"
  • Steven Farah
    Key Cast
    "The Bartender"
  • Jon McKenna
    Key Cast
    "The Scrapyard Owner"
  • Bamshad Abedi-Amin
    Key Cast
    "The Security Guard"
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Genres:
    Sci-Fi, Thriller, Action
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 25 minutes 37 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    July 31, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    45,000 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Boston SciFi Film Festival 2022
    Boston
    United States
    February 16, 2022
    Official selection
  • Amsterdam International Film Festival 2021
    Amsterdam
    Netherlands
    Winner of Best Sci-Fi Film
Director Biography - Schuman Hoque

Bengali born and British raised, Schuman’s love of cinema first came from watching Bollywood movies with his mother and grew deeper when his father introduced him to the films of Akira Kurosawa, Francis Ford Coppola and Stanley Kubrick.

Schuman’s award nominated and winning short films have screened at numerous festivals including SXSW, Edinburgh International and the New York Television Festival.

As a filmmaker his strength lies in storytelling. His co-directed short film ‘Papa’ was funded by the UK Film Council and nominated for awards at festivals world wide. Schuman’s directing and editing work on 'The New Bromantics’ led it to win best British Comedy at the New York Television Festival and resulted in a development deal with FOX TV Studios.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Beyond Existence is a feature-length (90 minute) sci-fi, action thriller with a strong female lead.

I feel the film, like all good sci-fi, has some interesting, speculative things to say about the world in which we live and like all good stories, is an examination of the human condition.

It’s a very ambitious project - we made it on pretty much no budget (roughly £45,000 in total) and only 12 days of principal photography in Kent, London and Sussex. It’s been shot at 4K DCI and features more than 300 VFX shots.

The film was shot by a small, dedicated, talented and passionate cast and crew. Since the shoot editors, sound designers, musicians, VFX artists, and graphic designers have all contributed to the project – many of whom we have worked with in our ‘day jobs’ on commercial projects.

Considering that this is a story about what it means to be human, I am struck by the number of people who have put their talent and effort in to this tiny, totally independent film.

From the writing all the way to the poster design, people have worked for nothing more, really, than the film itself, and I believe that’s because there’s something special here.

When I dropped out of university to pursue my dream of being a feature film director (which was quite scandalous in my working-class immigrant Bengali family where education was everything), one of my cousins asked why I thought I’d be any good at it.

It was a good question.

The only answer I had at the time was that I just believed I could be. Truth be told though, I probably wasn’t that good to start with.

But, I hope this film shows that now, I am.