Micro-budget British film to go nationwide
The UK theatrical release of the micro-budget British feature ‘Common People’ was set to be a special one-off screening at The Clapham Picturehouse on January 19th 2014. However, the film proved to be such a hit with audiences that it went on to play for nine weeks to packed houses, screening alongside Oscar contenders and Hollywood blockbusters.
Picturehouse then took the unprecedented step of selecting the film to be released nationwide in 17 Picturehouse cinemas on June 10th 2014 as part of their prestigious, ‘Discover Tuesdays’ programme. The first entirely self-distributed independent film to ever be included in the programme.
Paul Ridd, London Cinemas Coordinator at Picturehouse, who booked the film for the initial screening, commented that the “barnstorming success” of the run in Clapham and positive feedback from audiences there, led them to take a leap of faith on a national release, even without a distributor attached. He said:
"Picturehouse has always championed independent films so we’re incredibly proud to be a part of this success story. After the overwhelming response to the film at Clapham it seemed like a perfect fit for Discover Tuesdays.”
Synopsis
When Princess Parroty escapes the confines of her cage she finds herself flying with parakeets in the south London skies and soaring into the lives of the Common People. Here begins a unique and enchanting story which will see the lives of those people changed forever…
The Common provides a beautiful backdrop where a disparate group of Londoners come to escape the stresses of city life. Among them, high in the trees, an escaped parrot witnesses their trials and tribulations: The blossoming of an unlikely romance, the poignant end of another, the revelation of a mysterious man’s past and the exploits of a troop of young boys who set off scouting for birds and end up performing the greatest good deed of their lives. These characters and many more, all face individual challenges before being brought together by an extraordinary encounter with one exotic feathered friend.
Common People received its world premiere in the USA at the Sedona International Film Festival where it was honoured with The Independent Spirit Award. It went on to screen at The St Louis International Film Festival where it was nominated for Best Narrative Feature, and it won the Excellence Award at The Rincon International Film Festival in Puerto Rico. At the end of April it screened at the world-famous Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard as part of the Beverley Hills Film Festival, and it will have its Canadian premiere at the ReelHeart Film Festival in Toronto in June.
First-time Producer/Directors Stewart Alexander and Kerry Skinner have been bowled over by the response to the film and said “Trying to release a micro-budget film, with no marketing budget, and no distributor attached sometimes feels like utter madness and is certainly a mammoth task. However, the feedback and support we have received from audiences, plus having Picturehouse believing in the film has really spurred us on. It is an honour to be the first ever entirely self-distributed film to be selected for ‘Discover Tuesdays’ and we are delighted to have the opportunityto bring this British film to audiences throughout the UK.”
Common People will be shown as part of a one off special at The Picture House in Exeter on Tuesday 10th June.
For more details visit http://www.picturehouses.co.uk/cinema/Exeter
