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HEAVEN

HEAVEN tells the story of Jonathan Stone, a middle-aged paramedic who struggles to find meaning in the midst of his everyday life, until he wakes up one day in HEAVEN and discovers that his life had more meaning than he could ever have imagined. Set between Heaven and Earth, HEAVEN follows the life and afterlife of Jonathan Stone and the lives of those around him from his past, present and future.

  • Angus Benfield
    Director
    Trust
  • Angus Benfield
    Writer
    Trust, Motorvation, The Holy Roller
  • Alan Duprey
    Writer
    Based on the book by
  • Angus Benfield
    Producer
    High Rollers, Meet Me in Miami, The Holy Roller
  • Michelle Fozounmayeh
    Producer
    Motorvation, A Champion Heart
  • Ruth Benfield
    Producer
  • Angus Benfield
    Key Cast
    "Jonathan Stone"
    NCIS: LA, The Holy Roller, Motorvation, Jimmey Kimmel Live
  • Eric Roberts
    Key Cast
    "Pops"
    Dark Knight, The Expendables, Runaway Train
  • Michelle Fozounmayeh
    Key Cast
    "Elizabeth Stone"
    Motorvation, A Champion Heart
  • Brittany Mann
    Key Cast
    "Elizabeth Stone (20s)"
    Insurgent, The Wanderer
  • Michael Maclane
    Key Cast
    "Jonathan Stone (20s)"
    The Young and the Restless
  • Scott King
    Key Cast
    "Andrew Stone"
    Puppet Master, Intersection
  • Juliet Rusche
    Key Cast
    "Rachel"
    Made for love, Weekend Warriors
  • Joseph Lopez
    Key Cast
    "Tim"
    Birthday
  • Tavarus Weems
    Key Cast
    "Chuck Williams"
    Alien Rising
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Genres:
    drama, romance, scifi, faith, religious
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 30 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    May 24, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    100,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    RED EPIC
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Angus Benfield

Angus Benfield was born in Sydney, Australia and has been working in the film and television industry since the age of 14, starting as a Production Assistant on commercial productions. Angus developed a passion to pursue acting and landed his big break straight out of acting school as lead 'LEX' in Dean Murphy's cult classic 'Lex and Rory'. From acting as character 'Cody Ryder' in Australian TV series E-street alongside 'The Mentalist' actor Simon Baker, playing 'Officer Tom' in the New Zealand TV series Kaitangata Twitch, among many other commercial and theatrical roles, he also developed a passion for writing, producing and directing.

In 2005 Angus co-produced the 11-million-dollar film ‘Meet Me in Miami’, a NZ/US co-production starring Carlos Ponce, (Couple’s Retreat, SPY), and Eduardo Verastegui, (Paul Blart Mall Cop 2). Angus then went on to direct and produce the New Zealand indie film 'Wait up Harriet' in 2006 and wrote and produced NZ film 'The Holyroller' in 2010 which was official selection for the International film festival in New Zealand, had a theatrical release throughout Australia and New Zealand including release in the US through RLJ Entertainment.

Angus went on to manage NZ media company FIN Productions and run the DVD, theatrical Distribution and Marketing department for Life Films alongside Rialto (NZ) and Heritage Films (AUS) from 2007-2015. In 2017 Angus wrote and directed Australian award-winning film TRUST, which was theatrically released throughout Australia including release in the US.

In 2016 Angus formed production company Cutting Edge Film and Television with his Chinese based production partner Xiaoding Li, to develop a slate of film and television productions for China. In 2018 Angus and Xiaoding produced the first film from their slate ‘High Rollers’, directed by Kelong Li and written by Angus Benfield.

Throughout writing, producing and directing, Angus has continued acting, having starred in many films and numerous TV commercials in the USA, Australia and New Zealand, including one with award winning actress 'Cate Blanchett' and recently worked on 'Jimmy Kimmel' as the 'Plumber' in the cold opening skit.

Angus has many projects currently in development including the feature drama, 'The Strongest Man Alive' (scheduled for production in 2020) and two Chinese productions, Sci Fi TV series 'Luna Rush' and the Action Comedy 'Dirty Money.'

Angus moved to Los Angeles at the end of 2017 and began working alongside production company ‘Damascus Road’. Together in 2019 they made the movie ‘Motorvation’, which was written and produced by Angus Benfield (Austin Screenplay finalist.) ‘Motorvation’ is currently in post-production and is set to be released in late 2020.

Angus has just completed acting in and directing the film HEAVEN, based on the book by Author Alan Duprey.

Angus continues to live in Los Angeles with his wife and son.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

HEAVEN is based on the book HEAVEN; THE ADVENTURE BEGINS by author Alan Duprey. The scope of the book is massive as it spans across time and space exploring what eternity might look like. This type of exploration intrigued me considerably as a Director but I was further intrigued by the personal story of protagonist Jonathan Stone and his journey through the loss of his wife Elizabeth. As we know death is all too real and we all experience it closely at some stage as we journey through life. I have experienced loss in my own life and know that the loss and grief of losing a loved one is hard to fathom and process. I did not want to sugar coat this experience in any way, however I did want to show and convey a message of hope.
I shot the film with the intention of giving earth and the present day a visually grittier feel, juxtaposed with the lighter golden warm glow of the Heaven scenes. This was expertly handled by my DP Cliff Goldsmith whom I have worked with before on other projects. The film is also shot in a very non-linear format as we jump back and forth in time from the late 90s through the 2000s and then beyond into eternity, creating different looks to reflect this.
As a Director I was inspired by the non-linear storytelling of films (Dunkirk, Arrival, Babel etc) along with The Fountain and What Dreams May Come which also deal with love and life after death. I was also inspired and influenced by Steven Spielberg and the domestic beauty in which he handled simple aspects of life in films such as Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Ultimately HEAVEN is about hope with the intention of taking the viewer on an emotive journey of life, looking at loss through a new lens and celebrating life here on earth as we look forward with hope and joy to an eternity in heaven.