Quadraturin

SYNOPSIS

 
Quadraturin is dark fantasy short adapted from S. Krzhizhanovsky's short story of the same name. Set in Soviet Russia in the 1920s, it tells the story of Sutulin, a law-abiding office clerk living in a tiny room of a communal apartment, who accepts a stranger's offer to try a sample of Quadraturin - a liquid that expands interior space. To Sutulin's great surprise, Quadraturin works and makes his room grow bigger. Sutulin's excitement soon turns to anxiety, as he has to hide the illegal space from his Landlady and the Measuring Committee's Inspector. In a panic, Sutulin invites his Girlfriend to leave town with him. He returns to his room to pack his things, but can no longer find his way out of the vast, infinitely growing space. 

 
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT

 
We will adapt Quadraturin to the screen in classic film noir style, shooting on black and white Super 16mm film to create an aesthetic that supports the 1920s period setting. We will use dramatic lighting and shadows, extreme camera angles, melodramatic music and an archetypal femme fatale character to create an overall nightmarish mood in the film, and a combination of a practical set and expressionistic lighting to create the illusion of the growing room. Visual and tonal references include Orson Welles' Kafka adaptation The Trial and the more recent Delicatessen by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Although the overall tone of the film is dark, there is plenty of subtle humour in the characterisation and dialogue, and the film will be suitable to a family audience. 

 
Veteran Hollywood actor Jeff Fahey (Lost, Lawnmower Man, Machete) is attached to play the Grey Man and London's West End actor Edward Franklin will play Sutulin. The project has been developed with finance from public European film funds and has a letter of intent in place for theatrical distribution in Finland.

The first two scenes of the film have been shot in London. We are now looking for funding to complete the principal photography and post-production. 

 
LAURA HYPPONEN, Writer-Director

 
Laura Hypponen is a London based, award-winning Finnish/Russian writer-director with over ten years professional experience in the UK and European film industries. Her debut feature film Live East Die Young (2012) was nominated Best UK Picture at Raindance (London) and Golden Hitchcock at Dinard (France). The film was represented internationally by Paris-based Reel Suspects and is distributed globally by iTunes. Her ten-part short film series "Ten Faces of Anna" (2014) won Best Actor Award at world's leading fashion film festival, ASVOF at Centre Pompidou, Paris, premiered at the Arts Council England funded Stanley Picker Gallery in London, and screens in the Official Selection of the BAFTA-qualifying Aesthetica Film Festival in York (UK) next. She is currently developing a feature length crime thriller in a MEDIA-funded genre script development workshop at Italy's prestigious Scuola Holden with a scholarship from Skillset. In addition to narrative films, Laura has directed fashion films & music videos, which have screened at festivals and fashion events internationally, and featured in online press including Vogue Italia & Nylon Magazine. Laura studied filmmaking at Denmark's European Film College and subsequently completed a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Birmingham & Masters in Management, Specialising in Film Business, with Distinction, at Cass Business School in London, UK.

 
KASIA SKIBINSKA, Producer

 
Originally from Poland, Kasia spent fourteen years in Berlin, where she worked as producer of the BRITSPOTTING film festival and trained at WIM WENDERS' Road Movies. Upon arriving in London Kasia worked with producer NICK O'HAGAN and the BRITISH COUNCIL. Her latest film WOJTEK -THE BEAR THAT WENT TO WAR, (UK/GER/PL co-production) enjoyed a world-wide audience of five million people. She is currently developing three feature film projects, AT THE MERCY OF THE SEA; THE FOX - an adaptation of D.H. Lawrence novella to be directed by the award winning German director, Matthias Luthardt, and a road movie, THE ROAD TO NIRVANA, and is also a producer of a MEDIA funded feature documentary currently filming in Siberia.


PATRICK HART, Co-Producer / Executive Producer

An American ex-pat living in London, Patrick is an entrepreneur, country western singer, DJ and film executive.  With a background in corporate strategy for leading global companies his experience includes running large, global operations for accenture, Capgemini, IBM and Philips. He brings these skills, as well as those in finance and negotiation, to his work in entertainment and film. He also hosts a streaming online radio show on NTS.

Quadraturin

SYNOPSIS

 
Quadraturin is dark fantasy short adapted from S. Krzhizhanovsky's short story of the same name. Set in Soviet Russia in the 1920s, it tells the story of Sutulin, a law-abiding office clerk living in a tiny room of a communal apartment, who accepts a stranger's offer to try a sample of Quadraturin - a liquid that expands interior space. To Sutulin's great surprise, Quadraturin works and makes his room grow bigger. Sutulin's excitement soon turns to anxiety, as he has to hide the illegal space from his Landlady and the Measuring Committee's Inspector. In a panic, Sutulin invites his Girlfriend to leave town with him. He returns to his room to pack his things, but can no longer find his way out of the vast, infinitely growing space. 

 
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT

 
We will adapt Quadraturin to the screen in classic film noir style, shooting on black and white Super 16mm film to create an aesthetic that supports the 1920s period setting. We will use dramatic lighting and shadows, extreme camera angles, melodramatic music and an archetypal femme fatale character to create an overall nightmarish mood in the film, and a combination of a practical set and expressionistic lighting to create the illusion of the growing room. Visual and tonal references include Orson Welles' Kafka adaptation The Trial and the more recent Delicatessen by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Although the overall tone of the film is dark, there is plenty of subtle humour in the characterisation and dialogue, and the film will be suitable to a family audience. 

 
Veteran Hollywood actor Jeff Fahey (Lost, Lawnmower Man, Machete) is attached to play the Grey Man and London's West End actor Edward Franklin will play Sutulin. The project has been developed with finance from public European film funds and has a letter of intent in place for theatrical distribution in Finland.

The first two scenes of the film have been shot in London. We are now looking for funding to complete the principal photography and post-production. 

 
LAURA HYPPONEN, Writer-Director

 
Laura Hypponen is a London based, award-winning Finnish/Russian writer-director with over ten years professional experience in the UK and European film industries. Her debut feature film Live East Die Young (2012) was nominated Best UK Picture at Raindance (London) and Golden Hitchcock at Dinard (France). The film was represented internationally by Paris-based Reel Suspects and is distributed globally by iTunes. Her ten-part short film series "Ten Faces of Anna" (2014) won Best Actor Award at world's leading fashion film festival, ASVOF at Centre Pompidou, Paris, premiered at the Arts Council England funded Stanley Picker Gallery in London, and screens in the Official Selection of the BAFTA-qualifying Aesthetica Film Festival in York (UK) next. She is currently developing a feature length crime thriller in a MEDIA-funded genre script development workshop at Italy's prestigious Scuola Holden with a scholarship from Skillset. In addition to narrative films, Laura has directed fashion films & music videos, which have screened at festivals and fashion events internationally, and featured in online press including Vogue Italia & Nylon Magazine. Laura studied filmmaking at Denmark's European Film College and subsequently completed a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Birmingham & Masters in Management, Specialising in Film Business, with Distinction, at Cass Business School in London, UK.

 
KASIA SKIBINSKA, Producer

 
Originally from Poland, Kasia spent fourteen years in Berlin, where she worked as producer of the BRITSPOTTING film festival and trained at WIM WENDERS' Road Movies. Upon arriving in London Kasia worked with producer NICK O'HAGAN and the BRITISH COUNCIL. Her latest film WOJTEK -THE BEAR THAT WENT TO WAR, (UK/GER/PL co-production) enjoyed a world-wide audience of five million people. She is currently developing three feature film projects, AT THE MERCY OF THE SEA; THE FOX - an adaptation of D.H. Lawrence novella to be directed by the award winning German director, Matthias Luthardt, and a road movie, THE ROAD TO NIRVANA, and is also a producer of a MEDIA funded feature documentary currently filming in Siberia.


PATRICK HART, Co-Producer / Executive Producer

An American ex-pat living in London, Patrick is an entrepreneur, country western singer, DJ and film executive.  With a background in corporate strategy for leading global companies his experience includes running large, global operations for accenture, Capgemini, IBM and Philips. He brings these skills, as well as those in finance and negotiation, to his work in entertainment and film. He also hosts a streaming online radio show on NTS.