ARK

Simone Lahbib (WIRE IN THE BLOOD) and Raffaello Degruttola resonate in director Mal Woolford's latest short film.

Shot in a single continuous take with no edits, ARK unblinkingly builds pressure from the very first frame to create a taut, wordless thriller which demonstrates total command of the short form.

Brick and Pin presents a Mal Woodford short film SIMONE LAHBIB RAFFAELLO DEGRUTTOLA in ‘ARK’
director of photography David Knight
production design Marianne Stroyeva
graphic design Philip Powell
sound design Haresh Patel
music Julian Hinton
screenplay Charlie Williams
produced by Andrea Thornton
directed by Mal Woodford.

Screen captures.

ARK

A Mal Woolford film featuring Simone Lahbib

Synopsis

A woman and her lover are disturbed by a mysterious presence in a secluded wood. Nothing turns out quite as it appears to be on the surface of this enigmatic psychological thriller set away from prying eyes.

About the film

Mal Woolford's initial spark for the film was the mental image of vehicles abandoned in lifeless woodland. Newly re-acquainted with television and theatre talent Simone Lahbib (Wire in the Blood), his next step was to visualise her standing in the middle of this dead environment and let the imagination – and the camera - loose.

With a small team notably including crime novelist Charlie Williams, Mal Woolford wanted ARK to be made with no image manipulation, no editing, no CGI - if possible not even using film lighting - a story told in one single choreographed shot lasting over 3 minutes.

On set, Mal worked quickly with Simone Lahbib and real-life husband Raffaello DeGruttola. A gap in a passing storm created the day's only chance to shoot in natural light. This is the take seen in the film.

Cast and crew

Woman Simone Lahbib

Man Raffaello DeGruttola

Director of photography David Knight

Steadicam Matt Fisher

Focus puller Daniel Russel

Camera assistant Tom Turley

Production design Marianne Stroyeva

Hair & make-up Alice Nickalls Topaz Knight

Runners Charlotte Bradley James Daly Joff Harvey

Thanks Ulrike Münch James Freedman Phasels Wood

Graphic design Philip Powell

Colourist Ray King

Sound design Haresh Patel

Music Julian Hinton

Screenplay Charlie Williams

Produced by Andrea Thornton

Directed by Mal Woolford

Festival selections

ARK was first screened along with Mal Woolford's earlier films at the Space4 Shorts Festival in Peterborough in July 2008.

Its World Première took place at Palm Springs International ShortFest 2008.

It is part of the opening selection of the bi-annual One Take Film Festival in Zagreb, Croatia in November 2008.

Press and publicity: Steph Smith

Steph Smith PR

www.stephsmithpr.co.uk

Rights & distribution: Blooblah Limited

ARK@blooblah.co.uk

Production: Andrea Thornton

Brick and Pin Limited

www.brickandpin.com

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