My Feral Heart | |
---|---|
Directed by | Jane Gull |
Written by | Duncan Paveling |
Produced by | James Rumsey |
Starring |
|
Cinematography | Susanne Salavati |
Edited by | Benjamin Gerstein |
Music by | Barrington Pheloung |
Production company | Rum Jam Films |
Distributed by | British Film Institute |
Release date | 2016 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
My Feral Heart is a 2016 British independent film written by Duncan Paveling and directed by Jane Gull. It charts the story of Luke, an independent young man with Down syndrome, forced in to a residential home following the death of his mother. Luke slowly builds relationships and goes on to demonstrate his abilities in a touching story.
In a reversal of the generally expected roles it is Luke, who has Down syndrome, that is the careperson for his elderly mother. When she dies social services remove Luke to Blossom House, a care home, where Luke struggles to adapt to the restrictive environment. The film explores the development of relationships between Luke; Eve, a carer at the home; and Pete, a hunt saboteur doing community service. The film goes on to develop Luke's relationship with a feral animal personified as a girl, bringing the four main characters together at the conclusion of the film. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Steven Brandon acts the role of Luke, a young man with Down syndrome who turns from being an independent caregiver to his mother to being a dependent in the structured regime of a residential care home for special-needs people. A member of the Mushroom Theatre Company it was 33-year old Brandon from Mersea debut film role and resulted in the award of best actor at the 2017 National Film Awards UK. [5] [1] [6] On an episode of "Loose Women" on 23 November 2017 Brandon's father Mike said how after the birth he had been told Steven "would "not be able to do much", "not be able to amount to anything", "possibly not talk", ... "and look!". [7]
The film contains three other major characters. Shana Swash plays Eve, a caregiver at the Blossom House residential home who slowly builds a relationship with Luke. Will Rastall is Pete, doing community service near Blossom House who befriends Luke and assists him to express his abilities. The fourth main character is contortionist Pixie Le Knot who as an anonymous girl personifies a trapped feral fox. [1] [4]
The complete cast runs into several dozen, including a group of disabled children who play the residents of the care home. At least two notable established actresses play roles: Eileen Pollock as Luke's mother Joan for a few scenes at the start of the film and Suzanna Hamilton does a single scene as Pete's mother.
The film was shot in Essex. [8] Music was composed by Barrington Pheloung. [2]
my Feral Heart made its UK premier at the 70th Edinburgh Film Festival. [9] and European premier at the September 2016 Festival international du film sur le handicap (FIHH). [10] The film was also available in screenings through the "Ourscreen" platform in UK, where an individual can hope to gather sufficient seats for a Cinema screening. [2] The film was released on UK terrestrial television on 18 March 2021, timed to coincide with World Down Syndrome day on the 21 March 2021. [11]
The film won two prizes at the FIHH including Prize for Best Fiction Feature (French : Prix du Meilleur Long Métrage Fiction). [10]
The main protagonist Steven Brandon, who has Down syndrome, received many accolades for his performance. [2] [1] Mark Kermode in a review states the film is about "ability not disability", noting the film has begun to gather a cult status. [2] Some reviews note dissatisfaction with the implausibility of the surreal abstraction of the feral animal. [4] [1]
Daniel Francis Boyle is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on films including Shallow Grave, Trainspotting and its sequel T2 Trainspotting, The Beach, 28 Days Later, Sunshine, Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, Steve Jobs, and Yesterday.
Harry Dean Stanton was an American actor. In a career that spanned more than six decades, Stanton played supporting roles in films including Cool Hand Luke (1967), Kelly's Heroes (1970), Dillinger (1973), The Godfather Part II (1974), Alien (1979), Escape from New York (1981), Christine (1983), Repo Man (1984), One Magic Christmas (1985), Pretty in Pink (1986), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Wild at Heart (1990), The Straight Story (1999), The Green Mile (1999), The Man Who Cried (2000), Alpha Dog (2006), and Inland Empire (2006). He had rare lead roles in Paris, Texas (1984) and in Lucky (2017).
The 400 Blows is a 1959 French coming-of-age drama film, and the directorial debut of François Truffaut. The film, shot in the anamorphic format DyaliScope, stars Jean-Pierre Léaud, Albert Rémy, and Claire Maurier. One of the defining films of the French New Wave, it displays many of the characteristic traits of the movement. Written by Truffaut and Marcel Moussy, the film is about Antoine Doinel, a misunderstood adolescent in Paris who struggles with his parents and teachers due to his rebellious behavior. Filmed on location in Paris and Honfleur, it is the first in a series of five films in which Léaud plays the semi-autobiographical character.
Crispin Hellion Glover is an American actor, filmmaker and artist. He is known for portraying eccentric character roles on screen. His breakout role was as George McFly in Back to the Future (1985), which he followed by playing Layne, one of the leading roles in River's Edge (1986). Through the 1990s, Glover garnered attention for portraying smaller but notable roles, including Cousin Del in Wild at Heart (1990), Andy Warhol in The Doors (1991), Bobby McBurney in What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) and the Train Fireman in Dead Man (1995).
The Devils is a 1971 British historical drama horror film written, produced and directed by Ken Russell, and starring Vanessa Redgrave and Oliver Reed. A dramatised historical account of the fall of Urbain Grandier, a 17th-century Roman Catholic priest accused of witchcraft after the possessions in Loudun, France, the plot also focuses on Sister Jeanne des Anges, a sexually repressed nun who incites the accusations.
Shana Frances Swash is an English actress, and the sister of actor and television presenter Joe Swash. She is best known for playing Demi Miller in the long-running BBC One soap opera EastEnders from 2004 to 2006.
Mark Kermode is an English film critic, musician, radio presenter, television presenter, author and podcaster. He is the co-presenter, with Ellen E. Jones, of the BBC Radio 4 programme Screenshot and co-presenter of the film-review podcast Kermode & Mayo's Take alongside long-time collaborator Simon Mayo. He is a regular contributor to The Observer, for whom he was chief film critic between September 2013 and September 2023. He is the author of several books on film and music, including It's Only A Movie, Hatchet Job, How Does It Feel? and The Movie Doctors. He has also written three volumes for the BFI's Modern Classics series, on The Exorcist, The Shawshank Redemption and Silent Running. Since the late 1980's he has contributed to the BFI's film magazine Sight & Sound and its predecessor The Monthly Film Bulletin, and since January 2016 he has presented a monthly live show, MK3D, at the BFI South Bank. It is the BFI's longest running live show.
Bad Boy Bubby is a 1993 black comedy film written and directed by Rolf de Heer, and starring Nicholas Hope, Claire Benito, Ralph Cotterill, and Carmel Johnson.
Laura Victoria Albert is an American author who invented the literary persona JT LeRoy, whom Albert described as an "avatar." She published various works of purportedly autobiographical fiction under the LeRoy name before being revealed as the true author. Albert has also used the aliases Emily Frasier and Speedie, and published other works as Laura Victoria and Gluttenberg. After the true authorship was revealed, Albert was sued for fraud for having signed a film-option contract as the fictitious LeRoy; a jury found against her. The damages to be paid to the film company were settled out of court.
Thomas Luther "Luke" Bryan is an American country singer, songwriter, and television personality. His first ten albums – I'll Stay Me (2007), Doin' My Thing (2009), Tailgates & Tanlines (2011), Crash My Party (2013), Spring Break...Here to Party (2013), Spring Break...Checkin' Out (2015), Kill the Lights (2015), Farm Tour... Here's to the Farmer (2016), What Makes You Country (2017), and Born Here Live Here Die Here (2020) – have included 30 number-one hits. Bryan often co-writes with Jeff Stevens. Since 2018, Bryan has been a judge on American Idol.
Dusty Mancinelli is a Canadian independent filmmaker from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Mancinelli is primarily a director of short films. Several of his films have been shown at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and other notable film festivals worldwide, winning numerous awards. Since 2017, he has collaborated with Madeleine Sims-Fewer. Their debut feature film Violation was shown at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival.
A Prophet is a 2009 French prison crime film directed by Jacques Audiard with a screenplay by Audiard, Thomas Bidegain, Abdel Raouf Dafri and Nicolas Peufaillit, from a story by Dafri. The film stars Tahar Rahim in the title role as an imprisoned petty criminal of Algerian origins who rises in the prison hierarchy, becoming a mob associate and drug trafficker as he is absorbed into the Corsican mafia and then ingratiates himself into the Maghrebi crime syndicate.
Mark Cousins is an English-born, Northern Irish director and writer. A prolific documentarian, among his works is the 15-hour 2011 documentary The Story of Film: An Odyssey.
Sunshine on Leith is a 2013 British romantic musical film directed by Dexter Fletcher. It is an adaptation of the stage musical of the same name, a jukebox musical featuring songs by The Proclaimers. It was screened in the Special Presentation section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.
Breathe is a 2017 biographical drama film directed by Andy Serkis in his directorial debut, from a screenplay by William Nicholson. The film stars Andrew Garfield, Claire Foy, Hugh Bonneville, Tom Hollander, Ed Speleers and Dean-Charles Chapman; it tells the story of Robin Cavendish, who became paralysed from the neck down by polio at the age of 28.
My Blind Heart is an Austrian feature film drama written, directed and edited by Peter Brunner. The film premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, in January/February 2014 and was nominated for a Golden Frog at the prestigious Camerimage Film Festival in November 2014.
The 19th British Independent Film Awards nominations were announced on 1 November 2016.
Bros: After the Screaming Stops is a 2018 documentary film about the English pop band Bros consisting of twins Matt and Luke Goss. It was directed by Joe Pearlman and David Soutar and produced by Leo Pearlman. The film documents the band’s preparation for their reunion shows at London's O2 Arena in August 2017, 28 years after their last performance. It is a British venture produced by Fulwell 73, with Lorton Entertainment and XYZ Films serving as distributors. It is also in association with BBC Music.
The People's Independent Party (PIP) is a political party based in Castle Point, England. Formed in 2020 by independent councillor Steven Cole and registered in 2022, PIP sought to prevent a Local Plan to build 5,000 homes in the borough, mostly on Green Belt, by taking control of the council from the ruling Conservatives. The party also focuses on expanding activities for children and pushing for consultation on streetlights being turned back on between 1am and 5am. At formation, the party was joined by 4 councillors, all originally elected as independents.
Mighty Penguins is a 2023 sports documentary film about an amateur football team Brentford Penguins, consisting of players with Down's Syndrome, established by former Tottenham Hotspur player Allan Cockram in London, in 2017. The film premiered at the Tribeca Festival in 2023.