Everyone has to start somewhere.
Marcus Scott began his debut feature film over a pint with a pal. Soon they were casting, choosing locations and making a movie. Now their film, Recovery, is winning awards at film festivals around the world.
The ultra low-budget indie drama, made for just £2,500, was shot in Huddersfield and Leeds. Marcus, from Newsome, and writer/director partner Heath Hetherington, 35, an ex-pat Australian are already planning a follow-up – a slice of what they have dubbed ‘Blackpool noir’ entitled Off Season.
“I’ve always had an interest in film,” says Marcus, who went to Newsome High School and Huddersfield New College.
But he ditched the notion of going down the formal film school route, preferring instead to get his hands dirty on a genuine digital movie.
“I didn’t want to go to film school for three years and get into debt. So we just got out and made the film and learned as we went along.
“We had four days of pre-production, ten days to film it in Huddersfield and Leeds and then we hit the festival circuit. We have learned so much. I wouldn’t have had the same experience if I’d gone to university.”
Recovery focuses on the experiences of Philip, who wakes up after a boozy night out chained to a radiator and at the mercy of Wayne, an evangelical fundamentalist with a twisted idea of salvation. It stars newcomers Adam Cryne and AJ Salisbury.
The 71-minute drama has impressed enough people on the American festival circuit – winning top prize at the Los Angeles Horror Competition – to allow Marcus, who works at the University of Leeds, and Heath, a stockbroker, to consider a full-time career with their company OBD Films.
“Recovery is really low budget. We were going up against big hitters with budgets of hundreds of thousands. We didn’t expect to pick up awards. We are holding our own and that’s good. Heath and I enjoy a good dynamic so we will keep working together. It was my lifetime ambition to make films, and I’m doing it.”
The film is to be released on the video-on-demand site Vimeo on October 13. In the meantime it will get a late-night premiere at The Parish pub in Huddersfield on October 6, where locals will get a chance to judge the film and spot the Huddersfield locations that provide a backdrop to the action.
Tickets at £6.50 are available from www.obdfilms.com/events
