Beauty 2020 - Staring Katherine Thomas, Written by Rory Tasker, Directed by Owen Barbet and Produced by Will McNally

Beauty’s themes are a reflection on the idea of humanity and it’s relation with emotions, taking an introspective look into how hate is taught and love and compassion can be discovered.

The film followers Meena, an android in a dystopian near future. Her mission is to retrieve survivors of humanity and bring them to the ‘Overseer’, where they are disposed of in the name of the new world order. With each person retrieved, Meena is granted the knowledge of a word, relating to the human psyche; a list of predetermined words that all revolve around the negativity of humanity. When Meena witnesses a mother call her child ‘beauty’, triggering her journey of self discovery and her part in a world that is being stripped of innocence.

I took on many roles as the producer of this production and to this day this project is the most hard working and stressful endeavour of my career. From organising fundraising and Kickstarter campaigns, to hiring a crew that had the talent and passion needed for the project, to casting across the country within budget for the numerous roles, negotiating and haggling my way to getting several locations, resources for the set builds, and costumes, and enormous amounts of lighting equipment that were needed for a week of January winter night shoots. It was a huge endeavour that involved trading many favours, hundreds of phone calls and becoming intimate with excel spreadsheets and paperwork.

My problem solving skills were tested to an extreme. Locations that cost upward of £500 a day, pulling out 3 days before the shoot. Sprinting through streets to hand in paperwork to two different councils allowing us to shoot with a 6 month old baby. Working with the art department to turn my rented apartment into a temporary dystopian hell-hole. Logistically transporting 30 cast and crew for 4 nights in a row, to a random field, and getting them to their hotels and accommodation at 4am. Not to mention driving half way across the country to rent a van for the shoot. Editing and Sound editing the film through COVID lockdown and returning undamaged lighting equipment that equalled £30,000 that had my name on the 18 pages of risk assessments. And so many more aspects.

Though this was one of the hardest projects I have ever worked on, I look back on this with such fond memories and love. A 21 year old with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome somehow finding the strength to get through 3 months of preproduction and a week of shooting on barely any sleep, given the reigns and told he is in charge of the well being of a crew and cast. I will forever be thankful of the motivation from my fellow producers on other projects, who were having to jump through just as awkwardly shaped hoops on fire.

I am delighted to say that this multi-award wining film was worth it and has sparked the joy in project based work in me, that is still burning to this day.