Breakwater is a psychological drama set between Oxford and the Suffolk coast, exploring how we connect, forgive and grieve for both others and ourselves. It follows the relationship between Otto, a university student, and John, a retired angler who lives on the coast who bond over shared trauma of losing a loved one. Breakwater is Oxford University's second ever feature film, with 2022 marking the 40th anniversary of Privileged, the 1982 film by Oxford undergraduates that launched the Hollywood careers of Hugh Grant, Andy Paterson, Mike Hoffman, Mark Williams, Imogen Stubbs and others. Our project is kindly being supported by Andy, Mike and other members of the Privileged crew, as well as successful filmmaking alumni from the University such as Rupert Wainwright and members of the University itself such as Lord Neil Mendoza, who is also OUFF's Senior Tutor.
DANIEL MCNAMEE
OTTO
TESS GUSTARD
LOUISE
AGNES HALLADAY
LUCY
SHAUN PAUL MCGRATH
JOHN
JAMIE PULLEY
PETE
NOAH RADCLIFFE ADAMS
TOM
We've been quite busy since our fundraiser closed in December. In February we hosted a Breakwater gala and art auction in Oriel Hall, featuring work by Maggi Hambling, Jonathan Hooper, Steven Appleby and a range of pieces by other professional and student artists. It was a wonderful evening featuring a live performance of the score (composed by Isabella Simpson and Alessandro McKinnon-Botti), and we raised just under £9,000 for the film.
In tandem with our fundraising process, we had countless production meetings to organise accommodation, catering and transport for the cast and crew. We also finalised our shooting locations with several location scouts to our coastal locations over February, with the camera team also paying several visits to oxford. On the creative side of the process, we rehearsed the script in full - either over zoom or in person with a camera - to ensure full familiarity with the plot and explore interpretations before arriving on set.
Now that we have wrapped on shooting, we are progressing onto the next stage of making Breakwater - the editing and post-production process. The process will last several months, while we perfect the look, sound and overall impression of the film. This will include overlaying our original Breakwater score onto the beautiful visual footage we have obtained over the past few weeks. By the end of the process, we will be able to present Breakwater to audiences in its final form.
Our aim, once we have completed the editing, is to submit Breakwater to film festivals both nationally and internationally in the 2024 circuit. Our sights are set especially on festivals like Raindance, TIFF, Berlin Film Festival and London Film Festival. Following the film festival circuit, we envisage Breakwater hitting cinemas and streaming platforms in 2024 for everyone to be able to experience the wonders of the film.
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