The Bomb
WINNER at Miami International Science Fiction Film Festival, and London Independent Film Festival - please see awards sections for details.
The year is 2039. Great Britain and Europe are now separated since leaving the European Union in 2020 AD.
Britain has been amassing armies and power for its own protection.
The terrorist group Liberté are causing havoc across Great Britain and the United States.
Britain and Europe are poised for a possible war.
In this political climate, certain operatives are called upon to work for the Sentient Bomb Disposal Unit.
Due to the rise in technology, explosive devices and weapons of mass destruction are equipped with intelligent holographic protection units that can protect the explosive device on its discovery, and dissuade anyone trying to disarm it, by looking into the person's memory and duplicating a character from their past. This should stop them from getting close enough to stop it counting down.
The sentient bomb disposal expert must be trained in both psychology and advanced electronics devices to be able to perform their job. Normally ex military, they are forced or coerced into a vital role of trying to stop these units from being effective.
Dave Walker is such an operative, and although hardened in pyscho- warfare and bomb disposal even he did not expect the level of personal grief that he would be exposed to in his attempt to outwit an intelligent holographic unit that is constructed to destroy the city.
This is the story of the day he met his match.
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Martin RichardsDirector
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Martin RichardsWriter
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Robert AnsellKey Cast"Dave Walker"Curse of the Witch's Doll, Rotten Retail
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Claire CarrenoKey Cast"Hologram Claire"Curse of the Witch's Doll, Jurassic Predator
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Chris BradyKey Cast"Head of Operations SBDU"Never Ending,
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Project Type:Short
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Genres:Sci-Fi, Drama
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Runtime:17 minutes 27 seconds
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Completion Date:January 6, 2019
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Production Budget:2,500 GBP
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Country of Origin:United Kingdom
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Country of Filming:United Kingdom
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Aspect Ratio:2.39:1
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:Yes
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Student Project:No
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Miami International Science Fiction Film FestivalMiami
United States
March 22, 2019
North American Premiere
WINNER - BEST THRILLER/HORROR and also WINNER - Honorable Mention for VFX -
London Independent Film FestivalLondon
United Kingdom
April 12, 2019
United Kingdom Premiere
WINNER - Third Best Short 2019 -
Lift Off Manchester Film FestivalManchester
United Kingdom
March 13, 2019
North England Premiere
Members Nights Presentation -
SHORT TO THE POINT FestivalBucharest
Romania
March 31, 2019
Eastern Europe Premiere
Official Selection -
Lift Off New York Film FestivalNew York
United States
June 17, 2019
Online Premiere
Official Selection -
Scandinavian International Film FestivalHelsinki
Finland
August 9, 2019
Scandinavian Premiere
Official Selection
Distribution Information
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LIFT OFF - VimeoCountry: United StatesRights: Video on Demand
After studying for a Degree in Video Arts at Kent Institute of Art and Design, Martin went on to be a runner in Soho, and then from offline to online Editor. He went on to be a runner on 'Milk', Sky's first funded feature film in the UK. He then worked for Wiltshire Police Force in the video department filming murder cases, reconstructions, filming from helicopters, and using video technology to assist in crime analysis. After a short stint as a Forensic Analyst for a private firm in Chambers London, he then worked freelance as a graphics operator for TV while attending a second Degree in Film Production.
After this he worked for the Discovery Channel, the Disney Channel and Sky Television as a Transmission Controller while always writing scripts. He has recently completed a postgraduate course at the National Film and Television School in camerawork.
This film originated as a show reel piece for the main actress in the film, from a cooperative film group. It began as a play on the movie Dark Star, and the idea of talking to a thinking bomb. Sensing it had parallels with terrorist activities and ISIS suicide bombers originating from Syria at the time, a deeper script presented itself instead and the piece was extended from three minutes to just over 14 mins, due to persistence and the will to see it come to light.
The film group got involved over a two and a half day shoot. As the piece was written and story boarded, and organised with a 1st AD and cameraman to a very fine degree, it was not the filming that was hard (with some obvious hold ups, like an illegal church gathering striking up above us half way through a days filming). The real struggle was to take the footage from being filmed to creating believable effects to match it. An odyssey of hard work to finally craft a piece of futuristic film poetry,