“Magpie” By Matt Cooper

The short film IN MEDIAS RUSH is an experimental cinematic journey into the depths of a manic mind. A poetic retro-sci-fi narrative unfolded in a string of unsettling tableaus that encapsulates the male protagonist’s ambiguous feelings about his birthday. While balancing between realities in his silent struggle with severe mental illness, we plunge into the film at a neatly orchestrated birthday party. The protagonist is accompanied by his girlfriend, and they are drinking cocoa on the couch in their mutual home. The setting breathes pure perfection, but through the voice over we sense that another reality is soon to be revealed. With one foot on the accelerator, he is heading towards the edge. The thematic focal point of IN MEDIAS RUSH is mental health problems among young adults, and the social/personal consequences related to the existing taboo on the subject. The film wishes to formulate an honest cinematic space in which words, sound, and image artistically interprets and articulates some of the perspectives related to especially bipolar, anxiety, and psychotic disorders. IN MEDIAS RUSH was nominated in the category 'Best Danish Short Film' at Copenhagen Short Film Festival in 2020. Original title: IN MEDIAS RÆS Directed by: Esben Persson -------------------- DK: IN MEDIAS RÆS IN MEDIAS RÆS er en filmisk rejse ind i dybderne af et manisk sind. En ung mand fejrer sin fødselsdag, mens hans tanker tordner afsted. Med en uvillig fod på speederen har han kurs mod kanten. FR: IN MEDIA RES IN MEDIA RES est un voyage dans les profondeurs d’un esprit maniaque. Un jeune homme fête son anniversaire tandis que ses pensées se multiplient. Malgré lui, il se dirige vers un point de non-retour. -------------------- Cast: Peter Alexander Bach & Amanda Overby Drew Director // Script writer // Set designer // Costume designer // Editor // Speaker: Esben Persson Photographer // Editor: Lasse Mølsted Producer: Latifa Lykke Ben Mabrouk Assistant producer: Cecilie Creutsberg Music composer: Martin Bejder Sound designer: Mads Hye Chief Lighting Technician: Rasmus Bruun Liboriussen VFX: Jonas Fonnesbæk Lodahl Colorist: Kristopher Paterson Graphic designer: Jakob Toft Kristensen -------------------- Shot on RED Monstro 8K with Lomo Squarefront Anamorphics.

Synopsis

A quiet and withdrawn mechanic arranges a late night tryst with the mysterious Magpie. After they meet on a dark corner of a bleak industrial estate, tension builds as their motivations come into question.

Directors statement

Sometimes you come out of a film asking “why did I think something bad was going to happen? Was it the film that led me in the wrong direction or was it my imagination?”. With Magpie, I wanted the audience to really feel this experience; playing with their expectations, prejudices and creating a twisting knot of tension in their stomach. So I littered the film with clues: the character's cryptic name, the long drawn out silences, the mumbles and the lies, the glitchy fluorescent lights, the mysterious cardboard box. These breadcrumbs all point to something. Whether the ending will be good or bad sorts the pessimists from the optimists.

Credits

Written and Directed by Matt Cooper
Produced by Georgia Woolley & Nicholas Jessup
Starring: Michael Fox & Ayoola Smart

Director of Photography: Benjamin Dowie
Gaffer: James Duffy
Production Designer: Jason Kelvin
1st AC: Joe Hofmann
Spark: Sam Crook
Spark: Sam Palmer
Sound: Pietro Giordano
Movement Director: Sara Green
Hair & Make Up: Austri Jordan
Costume: Katie Jude

Editor: Jamie Kataky
Colorist: Jonny Tully
Audio Post Production: SoundNode
Composer: Theo Whitworth
Title Design: Jonathan Waller

For Villager Films - Johnnie Campbell
Additional Thanks: Motorline Engineering, Firle, Mark Pilfold, Malcolm Campbell & Simon Crook

“Magpie” was submitted to us by Georgia Woolley. Have a film of your own you’d like us to check out? Click here!