Private Project

Standing Woman

“Standing Woman” is a dystopian drama with flourishes of body horror that depicts a near future where an authoritarian government turns those it deems criminals into trees as part of an insidious environmental campaign.

Under this green dictatorship, a propaganda filmmaker wrestling with the recent ‘planting’ of his wife for making seditious comments, embarks on an emotional journey to say a final goodbye.

Based on the short story by internationally acclaimed writer, Yasutaka Tsutsui, author of 'Paprika' and 'The Girl Who Leapt Through Time' and featuring incredible depictions of a populace being slowly vegetised by a production team who have worked on the likes of Censor, Doctor Who, and Peaky Blinders, the vision presented in Standing Woman is of a world that has edged into eco-fascism.

  • Toni Hipwell
    Director
  • Max Gee
    Writer
  • Toni Hipwell
    Producer
  • Max Gee
    Producer
  • Anton Thompson
    Key Cast
    "Tom"
    Tyrant
  • Yuriri Naka
    Key Cast
    "Mari"
    47 Ronin, Speed Racer
  • Jenni Suitiala
    Cinematographer
  • Waqar Shah
    Sound Designer
  • Sakiko Sakuragi
    Composer
  • Luke Downing
    Editor
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, Sci-fi, Horror, Dystopia
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 59 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    July 28, 2020
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Arri Amira
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1:85
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • Oxford Film Festival
    Oxford, Mississippi
    United States
    March 26, 2021
    World Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Maryland Film Festival
    Baltimore
    United States
    May 22, 2021
    Maryland Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Fastnet Film Festival
    Meenvane, Schull
    Ireland
    May 26, 2021
    Irish Premiere
    Official Selection
  • deadCenter
    Oklahoma City
    United States
    June 10, 2021
    Oklahoma Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Phoenix Film Festival
    Phoenix
    United States
    August 13, 2021
    Arizona Premiere
    Official Selection
  • WoodsHole
    Woods Hole
    United States
    August 7, 2021
    Massachusetts
    Official Selection
  • Fantasia Film Festival
    Quebec
    Canada
    August 14, 2021
    Canadian Premiere
    Official Selection
  • FrightFest
    London
    United Kingdom
    August 27, 2021
    UK Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Dead Northern Film Festival
    York
    United Kingdom
    September 25, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Sydney Underground
    Sydney
    Australia
    September 9, 2021
    Australian Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Coney Island
    New York
    United States
    September 18, 2021
    New York Premiere
    Winner - Best Sci-Fi Short
  • HollyShorts
    Los Angeles
    United States
    September 26, 2021
    California Premiere
    Official Selection
  • SENE
    Providence
    United States
    October 15, 2021
    Rhode Island Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Tallgrass
    Wichita, Kansas
    United States
    October 24, 2021
    Kansas Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Adirondack
    Glen Falls
    United States
    October 15, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Lusca
    San Juan
    Puerto Rico
    October 23, 2021
    Caribbean Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Sci-Fi & Fantasy Genre Lab - Lift Off
    Pinewood Studios
    United Kingdom
    October 28, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Hellifax
    Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Canada
    October 31, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Hamilton Film Festival
    Hamilton, Ontario
    Canada
    November 11, 2021
    Ontario Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Leeds International Film Festival
    Leeds
    United Kingdom
    November 14, 2021
    Official Selection - Yorkshire Film Award
  • South Africa Independent Film Festival
    Capetown
    South Africa
    November 24, 2021
    African Premiere
    Best Horror
  • ShockFest

    December 10, 2021
    Silver Bullet
  • Another Hole in the Head
    San Francisco
    December 15, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Black Sunday
    London
    January 29, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Cambria
    Cambria
    United States
    February 3, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Frostbiter
    Akranes
    Iceland
    March 12, 2022
    Icelandic Premiere
    Official Selection
  • NoseBleeds
    Sioux Falls
    United States
    March 19, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Motif Film
    New England
    April 14, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Nottingham
    Nottingham
    United Kingdom
    April 24, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Unrestricted View
    London
    United Kingdom
    April 30, 2022
    Winner - Best Actor & Make Up
Distribution Information
  • ALTER
    Distributor
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: Internet
Director Biography - Toni Hipwell

Tony Hipwell is a multi-award-winning filmmaker whose work has screened at Academy Award, Canadian Screen Award, BAFTA and BIFA qualifying festivals such as HollyShorts, Fantasia and the sadly departed Edinburgh Film Festival.

Their debut feature, Whoops! premiered at Raindance and made the Top Ten picks of 2013. It was also the only British film selected for the nationwide Raindance Tour the following year. Since then, Tony has developed projects with the BBC and Searchlight Pictures, worked as the Video Producer for Young Thugs Records in association with EMI and been selected for the inaugural Future of Film Incubator.

Tony's most recent project, an adaptation of 'Standing Woman' by internationally acclaimed author Yasutaka Tsutsui screened in competition at Leeds International Film Festival 2021 and is available now on ALTER

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

When Max sent me the first draft of the Standing Woman adaptation she was working on as part of a PhD research project, I was immediately enraptured by the world it presented. In a time of rising authoritarianism and a growing intolerance for different cultures and perspectives, a story following an extreme, yet chillingly believable end result of these movements that weaponised the fight for climate change was impossible to ignore.

Max and I began a passionate pitch to Yasutaka Tsutsui, the author of the short story the script was based on, to acquire the screen rights and produce the film. His work has been adapted into acclaimed anime films in the past, so we were nervous of being able to achieve our goal; but after many months of careful negotiation we were granted the rights. What followed was several years of script development and deep conceptual design to develop the look of the tree people, while we assembled an incredibly talented crew. As time went on, what had once seemed a potentially far-fetched idea began to feel ever more real in an age of Trump, Brexit and growing social unrest.

Featuring a Japanese co-lead, music from Sakiko Sakuragi, a composer on the acclaimed Resident Evil 2 Remake and the blessing of Yasutaka’s estate, this is a production that honoured its source material, whilst relocating the narrative to the all too familiar suburbs of England in a possible tomorrow. All that prevents it is the ever thin veil of scientific discovery.