Saxon (film)
Encyclopedia
Saxon is an independent
British film written and directed by Greg Loftin, produced by Elise Valmorbida
and starring Sean Harris
in his first feature lead role. The world premiere on 22 August 2007 was part of the British Gala selection of the Edinburgh International Film Festival
. Set on a fictional corrupt housing estate called SAXON, the film is a hybrid genre: comedy
, drama
, mystery
, thriller and spaghetti western
by turns. The story revolves around a reformed villain who is compelled to undertake a desperate mission which unleashes the demons of his past.
Producer: Elise Valmorbida
Screenplay: Greg Loftin
Line producer: Sam Parsons
Director of photography: Steven Priovolos
Music: Michael Portman and Vincent Browett
Executive producers: Elise Valmorbida, Greg Loftin, Jack Fidler, Barry Bassett
and the Clint Eastwood
film Unforgiven
. The script garnered rave reviews from Triggerstreet.com, Kevin Spacey
’s website for screenwriters, eg: “Enjoyed every second. Great dialogue, well-paced, very funny… Eddie's the down-and-out anti-hero we've come to love in British films, beginning with A Clockwork Orange
.”
Debut feature director Greg Loftin was nominated for the Michael Powell
Award for Best New British Feature. Loftin’s earlier short film ‘‘Don Juan’’ appeared at the Santander
Film Festival.
First-time producer Elise Valmorbida
, also a published writer (Matilde Waltzing, The Book of Happy Endings, The TV President), was honoured as a Skillset
/EIFF Trailblazer, one of ten film-making talents in the UK to win this accolade.
EIFF Artistic Director Hannah McGill wrote of SAXON: “Startling UK thriller brings the grit of 70s Hollywood to a messed-up London estate… Sizzling with tension and vivid, near-surreal imagery, this is a forceful and confident debut.”
Saxon went on to further festival success as Official Selection in the British Film Festival in Israel (January 2008) and the European Independent Film Festival (March 2008) where the film won the award for BEST EUROPEAN DRAMATIC FEATURE. On 21 April 2008, Saxon had its English premiere at The East End International Film Festival, where it was nominated for the award of Best UK Debut Feature. Featured on BBC London, the film screened to a sold-out cinema, with a waiting list for returns.
The film is released in the UK 12 January 2009.
As with many micro-budget productions, Saxon’s cast and crew worked on the basis of part-deferred fees. Other professionals worked for company shares rather than cash. Post-production was delivered by St Anne’s Post (part of the giant Ascent Media Group) under the direction of Patrick Malone.
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
British film written and directed by Greg Loftin, produced by Elise Valmorbida
Elise Valmorbida
Elise Valmorbida is an Italian Australian writer and creative writing tutor who currently lives in London.Having graduated with First Class Honours in English from the University of Melbourne, and later in Graphic Design from Central St. Martin's, Elise was Creative Director at The Body Shop, then...
and starring Sean Harris
Sean Harris
Sean Harris is a British actor, who is best known for his performance as Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis in the film 24 Hour Party People. He grew up in Norwich, Norfolk, where he lived until he was 23....
in his first feature lead role. The world premiere on 22 August 2007 was part of the British Gala selection of the Edinburgh International Film Festival
Edinburgh International Film Festival
The Edinburgh International Film Festival is an annual fortnight of cinema screenings and related events taking place each June. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival...
. Set on a fictional corrupt housing estate called SAXON, the film is a hybrid genre: comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
, drama
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
, mystery
Mystery film
Mystery film is a sub-genre of the more general category of crime film and at times the thriller genre. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of a crime by means of clues, investigation, and clever deduction.The...
, thriller and spaghetti western
Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's unique and much copied film-making style and international box-office success, so named by American critics because most were produced and...
by turns. The story revolves around a reformed villain who is compelled to undertake a desperate mission which unleashes the demons of his past.
Principal cast
Sean Harris, Sarah Matravers, Michelle Connolly, Henry Kelly, Tony O’Leary, Drew Edwards, Stephen Manwaring, Paul McNeilly, Divian Ladwa.Principal crew
Director: Greg LoftinProducer: Elise Valmorbida
Screenplay: Greg Loftin
Line producer: Sam Parsons
Director of photography: Steven Priovolos
Music: Michael Portman and Vincent Browett
Executive producers: Elise Valmorbida, Greg Loftin, Jack Fidler, Barry Bassett
In development
Saxon is the brainchild of writer-director Greg Loftin, who developed the original screenplay over several years, quoting as influences classical Greek tragedyAncient Greek literature
Ancient Greek literature refers to literature written in the Ancient Greek language until the 4th century.- Classical and Pre-Classical Antiquity :...
and the Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
film Unforgiven
Unforgiven
Unforgiven is a 1992 American Western film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood with a screenplay written by David Webb Peoples. The film tells the story of William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job years after he had hung up his guns and turned to farming...
. The script garnered rave reviews from Triggerstreet.com, Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
’s website for screenwriters, eg: “Enjoyed every second. Great dialogue, well-paced, very funny… Eddie's the down-and-out anti-hero we've come to love in British films, beginning with A Clockwork Orange
A Clockwork Orange (film)
A Clockwork Orange is a 1971 film adaptation of Anthony Burgess's 1962 novel of the same name. It was written, directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick...
.”
Acclaim
Saxon won Official Selection in the 61st Edinburgh Film Festival under the artistic direction of Hannah McGill.Debut feature director Greg Loftin was nominated for the Michael Powell
Michael Powell (director)
Michael Latham Powell was a renowned English film director, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger...
Award for Best New British Feature. Loftin’s earlier short film ‘‘Don Juan’’ appeared at the Santander
Santander, Cantabria
The port city of Santander is the capital of the autonomous community and historical region of Cantabria situated on the north coast of Spain. Located east of Gijón and west of Bilbao, the city has a population of 183,446 .-History:...
Film Festival.
First-time producer Elise Valmorbida
Elise Valmorbida
Elise Valmorbida is an Italian Australian writer and creative writing tutor who currently lives in London.Having graduated with First Class Honours in English from the University of Melbourne, and later in Graphic Design from Central St. Martin's, Elise was Creative Director at The Body Shop, then...
, also a published writer (Matilde Waltzing, The Book of Happy Endings, The TV President), was honoured as a Skillset
Skillset
Skillset is the Sector Skills Council which supports skills and training for people and businesses to ensure the UK creative media industries competitive and productive.-History:It was founded 1992 and is jointly funded by industry and government...
/EIFF Trailblazer, one of ten film-making talents in the UK to win this accolade.
EIFF Artistic Director Hannah McGill wrote of SAXON: “Startling UK thriller brings the grit of 70s Hollywood to a messed-up London estate… Sizzling with tension and vivid, near-surreal imagery, this is a forceful and confident debut.”
Saxon went on to further festival success as Official Selection in the British Film Festival in Israel (January 2008) and the European Independent Film Festival (March 2008) where the film won the award for BEST EUROPEAN DRAMATIC FEATURE. On 21 April 2008, Saxon had its English premiere at The East End International Film Festival, where it was nominated for the award of Best UK Debut Feature. Featured on BBC London, the film screened to a sold-out cinema, with a waiting list for returns.
The film is released in the UK 12 January 2009.
Synopsis
London, the present. Soon after leaving prison, Eddie has his eye cut out by a loan shark chasing an old debt. Eddie's other eye will only be spared upon repayment. Desperate for cash, Eddie phones Linda, a childhood sweetheart. She lives in SAXON - a ghost-town of grim flats run by a corrupt council. Linda is very wealthy. Her husband Kevin won a million pounds on a TV quiz show. But Kevin has gone missing, feared dead. Eddie offers his services as an amateur sleuth, and so embarks on a comically gruesome journey through the surreal underworld of SAXON: the place where he grew up, the place where his mother works as a prostitute, the place where he murdered a bailiff.Micro-budget EIS
Saxon was funded entirely by private equity, including the producers’ own mortgage. The film’s financing structure was first announced publicly in ScreenFinance magazine: “Sillwood Films is launching a micro-budget Enterprise Investment Scheme to finance its urban thriller Saxon. Unusually… The EIS will be used to give a tax incentive to individuals who have already put money into the film.”As with many micro-budget productions, Saxon’s cast and crew worked on the basis of part-deferred fees. Other professionals worked for company shares rather than cash. Post-production was delivered by St Anne’s Post (part of the giant Ascent Media Group) under the direction of Patrick Malone.