Yorkshire Oscar winner launches latest film project

Oscar-winner and founder of York production company Red Breast Productions Serena Armitage has started work on her latest film.

Armitage has begun production on a film called FOG with Red Breast, which was founded following a grant from the British Film Institute.

The new film is being supported through Film London’s “London Calling” scheme, set up to grow breakthrough talent.

Armitage won an Oscar for directing Stutterer, a film about a man that feels isolated from the world due to his speech impediment. It won an award for Short Film Live Action category in the Oscars in 2016.

Armitage subsequently launched Red Breast after working for an ITV-owned production company as a director and producer on shows like Come Dine With Me, Piers Morgan’s Life Stories and Paul O’Grady’s For The Love of Dogs.

“What an incredible 15 months this has been,” said Serena. “First an Oscar for Stutterer, which was beyond my wildest dreams, then the award from the BFI, which allowed me to set up my own independent production company, and now our new film FOG.

“All of us at Red Breast Productions share a desire to tell simple, compelling stories that get to the heart of the shared human experience. FOG does exactly that.

“The film tells the story of Charlie, a peculiar individual who doesn’t quite see the world in the same way as everyone else. He doesn’t speak, people struggle to fathom what goes on inside his head, and he has no apparent desires beyond exploring his vague, transient curiosity.

“Charlie lives in the secluded peace of the countryside with his father Henry, a rugged outdoorsy type, who cares for him. But Charlie’s world is turned upside down when tragedy strikes, and he is moved to live with his uncle Morris in the city. The peaceful calm of the countryside – all Charlie has ever known – is replaced with the chaos of urban life.

She added: “We love FOG because it’s a compassionate story about care and understanding. It’s a film which challenges us to try to see life through the eyes of every character we encounter – regardless of how weird or angry or destructive or detached people can be.

“We have a great team in place, as well as some initial funding from Film London and a few other sources close to us. Now we are asking for support to help us over the line to raise the last portion of funding, so that we can deliver FOG in the way we envisage it – a unique cinematic experience that stands out from the crowd. We’ll explain in detail below exactly how any extra funding will be spent.”