Tourette's and Zombies, the Musical
Jim and Sophie are two twins living with Tourette's Syndrome. After a drug trip goes wrong, zombies appear, and the pair must settle their differences in order to survive.
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Zak FergusonDirectorDagger
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Zak FergusonWriterDagger
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George CarmichaelWriterYouth Fall
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Zak FergusonProducerDagger
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Will StantonKey Cast"Jim"
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Ruby FullerKey Cast"Sophie"Burnt Out Light
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Miles SpakeKey Cast"Rob"
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Kathryn MeneelyKey Cast"Kate"Dagger
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Thomas AntoniwOther Cast
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Tom GroganOther Cast
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Tom ChristieOther Cast
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Anthoniy HristovOther Cast
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Zak FergusonOther Cast
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Zak FergusonComposer
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Thomas AntoniwComposer
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George KnightComposer
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Gus MaloneComposer
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Project Type:Short
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Genres:Comedy, Horror, Drama, Mental Health, Musical, Dark Comedy
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Runtime:13 minutes
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Production Budget:480 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:2.35:1
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
Distribution Information
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Fergie Fresh FilmsCountry: United KingdomRights: All Rights
Zak Ferguson was born in Essex, but spent some of his upbringing in and around San Fransisco before attending school in Kent. From an early age, he was diagnosed with ADHD, accompanied by Tourette's Syndrome and OCD. After joining the Film Production BA at Arts University Bournemouth, he gained a mass interest in the depiction of mental health and mental illness in cinema, as well as sound design. After completing his previous film "Dagger", a film depicting Psychosis Disorder, which made a successful festival run last year, Fergie decided to take on a new project, dealing with a mental health experience much closer to home than ever before, and make it a musical.
Whenever anyone I meet finds out I have Tourette's Syndrome, the most common response is usually something along the lines of "Oh, well I haven't heard you shout anything so, you seem to be controlling it fine". This response has always bothered me because none of the 'ticks' I have are vocal. Somehow it seems that the commonly known and accepted definition fo Tourette's Syndrome is that it's when you have a habit of uncontrollably swearing all the time.
My personal experience of the condition is mostly physical ticks, including shaking my leg whenever I'm sitting down, my fingers twitch uncontrollably when I'm nervous, I compulsively cough when I'm uncomfortable, which occasionally leads tot throat pains. But I still have full control over my vocabulary.
I decided to make this film because I wanted to express my experience in a way that would destroy the stigma and common misconceptions around Tourette's, and in a way in which channels the feeling in a way in which others with the condition can relate to, even if their experience doesn't mirror mine.
I also wanted to explore the relationship between mental health and drug usage in the youth, because as a student currently attending university, I can confirm that a lot of students out there suffer from coinciding drug and mental health issues, and have been for a long time, which is why it made sense to set the film several decades in the past, in a time in which drug culture was at its' peak.
And why make a film about Tourette's a comedy? I've often been told that having ADHD makes me a very lively person for better or worse, so I wanted to choose a genre to capture the energy that having ADHD constantly gives you, otherwise this film just wouldn't work any other way.
And why a musical? I suppose it just fit.