Poppadom

Survival becomes a high-stakes game when a powerful businesswoman finds herself imprisoned on a secluded farm, held at the mercy of a domineering captor. As tensions rise, the lines between control and surrender blur, leading to an unexpected turn of events.

  • Alan Cross
    Director
    The Briefcase
  • Alan Cross
    Writer
    Tripwire
  • Alan Cross
    Producer
    The Bench By The Sea
  • Kerri Hedley-Cheney
    Key Cast
    "Audrey"
  • Lee Ford
    Key Cast
    "Malcolm"
  • Kimberley Adams
    Key Cast
    "News Anchor"
  • Sarah Maddocks
    Key Cast
    "Client on phone"
  • David Allen
    Sound Recordist
    The Briefcase
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 26 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 31, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    500 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Alan Cross

Aged 12, I was a fan of Terry Gilliam’s animated collages on Monty Python’s Flying Circus and have been a stills photographer and filmmaker ever since.

I graduated in Architecture at the University in Sheffield and recently retired my UK registration as a fully qualified Architect. I now live in Lancing, UK by the sea.

My college band Chakk was signed to MCA Records so I pursued a music career. After moderate success and a deal with MCA Records, we eventually moved on. I continued to write songs for Warner Chappell Music and my work has topped Dance Charts both in the UK and the USA.

I have remixed music and DJed in many countries including: UK, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Czech Republic, Holland, USA, Australia, South Africa, Israel, Lebanon and beyond.

After directing a music video I continued to produce 3D animated motion graphics to make a living, with global commissions from Brighton to Beirut and Sydney to Sao Paulo.

My music videos for ‘ROY INC!’ have turned heads in both the music and fashion worlds.

I read Robert McKee’s “Story”, took a course at Central Film School and fell in love with screenwriting. I attend the London Screenwriting Festival every year.

My independent short film “The Bench By The Sea” won Best Film at Sussex and SERIAC Film Festivals in 2016. I’m now writing my third Feature script.

I embrace audio-visual technology. My Analogue-Digital Art recently featured in London at Chrom-Art’s #TRIBE Art Festivals. My artwork investigates the transition from the analogue world into the digital era.

I continue filmmaking and fly Commercial Drone Operations with a CAA Operational Authorisation and have shot several short form documentaries plus For The Love Of Noise, a feature length production and The Briefcase, a short noir spy thriller.

I have aerial drone footage clients ranging from as big as Glaxo Smith Klein pharma to as small as my next-door neighbour.

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Director Statement

As an experienced digital colourist and Writer / Director, Poppadom was born out of two things: first a desire to write something that at first appears to be a horror or psychological thriller to lure the audience in but which then turns out to be something else and second, from the ambition to shoot and grade something darker and more cinematic using a ProRes RAW workflow. This is the result and was almost a year in the making due to other commitments. We got there in the end.

Audio Visual art is my passion - I also embrace screenwriting and the written word. I am always looking for projects and collaborations - working with other writers and filmmakers almost always produces better results than working by yourself.

Please get in touch if you are interested in working together.