Private Project

in too deep

Mourning the death of his young daughter, a grieving father goes to extreme measures, using A.I technology to relive their fondest memories. A story with an ominous warning to society.

Starring Academy Award® Winner Rachel Shenton and Olivier Award Nominee Stephen Wight.

  • Chris Overton
    Director
    The Silent Child, Leader
  • Rebecca Harris
    Producer
    The Silent Child, A Glimpse, Leader, Sucks Punch, Stand Still
  • Rachel Shenton
    Producer
    The Silent Child, Leader
  • Chris Overton
    Producer
    The Silent Child, Leader
  • James Spillman
    Writer
  • Stephen Wight
    Key Cast
    "Ben"
    I May Destroy You, Manhunt, Screw, Peterloo
  • Rachel Shenton
    Key Cast
    "Carol"
    All Creatures Great & Small, The Silent Child, White Gold, Switched At Birth
  • Ali Farahani
    Cinematographer
    The Silent Child, Leader, The Suit Weareth The Man, The Bookshop, The Beast
  • Ali Farahani
    Editor
    The Silent Child, Leader, The Suit Weareth The Man, The Bookshop, The Beast
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, Thriller, sci-fi, female, womeninfilm, vfx, horror, british, crime, fiction, narrative, neurodiverse
  • Runtime:
    16 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    March 23, 2023
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2:35
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Chris Overton

Chris Overton (neurodiverse) was born into a working class family from the West Midlands, UK. He started experimenting with his first handy camera at the age of 13 where he would make films at the weekend to keep himself and his friends out of trouble. He would later sell them around his neighbourhood, learning distribution from a very young age.

Years later, Chris is now an Oscar® winning director. He began his career as an actor and worked on various television and film projects with directors including Joel Schumacher and Roman Polanski. He also played a lead role in the BAFTA Award-winning film Pride, directed by Matthew Warchus.

Chris made his directorial debut with The Silent Child, for which he received the Academy Award® for Best Live Action Short Film. He won Best Director at The River Bend Film Festival and has won over 50 international awards with The Silent Child. It continues to play in film festivals and television channels around the world.

Chris has also directed commercials with Havas, FCB Inferno, Wunderman Thompson and Beiersdorf. His debut commercial in the UK for the hugely successful Huawei Story Sign Christmas campaign, won seven Lions at Cannes in 2019 (four of which were Gold), eight One Show awards, three D&ADs, a Grand Prix at Eurobest and a BAFTA nomination.

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Director Statement

I enjoy taking on projects that I believe can make a difference to society.

'in too deep' is a story with a personal connection and one I had to tell. My aim with the film was to display an authentic portrayal of two parents with the same trauma dealing with grief very differently, which leads to the films main underbelly - the fast developing AI technology

Up until now Deep Fake’s only purpose has been to swap recognizable faces for amusement. As machine learning technology becomes more advanced, the harmful risks of online manipulation will increase. In today's society, this story couldn’t be more crucial.

Currently this AI code is open to the entire world. What are we doing to society by giving internet trolls, media and law enforcement the power to adjust the truth and create endless possibilities for propaganda? How will convicted pedophiles manipulate this technology and are they already doing so?

The film holds an important message with the detrimental effects not really talked about. I hope to raise awareness for the risks of AI to be taken more seriously. It is the biggest threat to our humanity right now.