CROWDFUNDING FOR LAUNCH 
STARTS SEPT 10.

The crowdfunding drive to launch ADRIFT IN SOHO into the wider world will begin on Sunday Sept 10th for one month only. 

The ultimate prize will be to see the film and be immortalised in the credits.

The film will be shown for one night only in the Soho of London in a private premiere and one week later in the Lace Market of Nottingham, two cities closely associated with the making of the film. 

Come and see Framestore's Pandora's Box of grading and visual effects quality. Your eyes will be amazed. Come and hear the surreal sound effects. You won't believe your ears.

There will also be posters, books, film memorabilia, a couple of surprises and tickets to see  the film in all its glory. The date of the private premiere will be some time before the end of the year, probably November or December (TBC). 

But the most important thing is that you will help to film to be seen by the public.

Follow ADRIFT IN SOHO's Facebook and Twitter accounts for crowdfunding details and latest news.

Launching a film is no easy task. The endeavour will be colossal. With your help we can do it. Give generously! 

THE 'FREE CINEMA' APPROACH

THE ‘FREE CINEMA’ APPROACH

The ethos behind the 1950s FREE CINEMA movement is vital to understand the way ADRIFT IN SOHO was shot. 

The filmmakers used similar ideas and methods although modern technology and a bigger budget replaced the limited equipment used at the time by Free Cinema filmmakers.

In 1956 a group of film directors and technicians started a kind of ‘movement’ now known as FREE CINEMA and which lasted until early 1960s. The group tried to distance themselves from the established commercial cinema that was churning out heroic war films and star-studded romantic comedies.

Independent filmmakers of that period took advantage of low-cost technology by using small and relatively cheap 16mm Bolex and Arriflex cameras to produce highly original short documentaries.

ADRIFT IN SOHO is also a homage to other European filmmakers, like Dziga Vertov and Francois Trufaut. 

Vertov is the man seen carrying the tripod in the film and then editing the material back in the studio. Vertov also inspired FREE CINEMA but only in choice of subject matter and not in extreme camera movement. The woman filmmaker in the ADRIFT IN SOHO represents the new generation of female directors and producers which started with Vertov and re-started with Free Cinema.

Also an influence are the early films of Francois Truffaut, like The 400 Blows, which was released in 1959, and Jules et Jim in the early sixties. 

The film also uses some dialogue and shots from iconic films beyond Free Cinema.





FREE CINEMA filmmakers became mainstream a few years later when their creative methods and subject matter catapulted them to be part of the 1960s New British Cinema generation. 

Some of the FREE CINEMA directors who went on to create a new wave in British cinema were Tony Richardson (Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner), Karel Reisz (Saturday Night and Sunday Morning), Lindsay Anderson (If…). 

Technicians of the movement such as Director of Photography Walter Lassally went on to work in seminal international films such as Zorba the Greek (1964) while innovative sound recordist and editor John Fletcher was recognised years later.

Colin Wilson, the writer of the novel in which the film is based (Soho segment only) was in contact with this movement and he was briefly featured in one its productions (Food for a Blush). 

Other filmmakers also connected to FREE CINEMA were Europeans Lorenza Mazzetti, Claude Goretta and Alain Tanner. The last two continued their filmmaking close to France’s Nouvelle Vague. The Soho night photographs of Ken Russell also inspired Pablo Behrens to make the movie.

ADRIFT IN SOHO recreates some of the original Free Cinema documentaries like ‘Momma Don’t Allow’ which features Jazz as the music of choice of Soho inhabitants and visitors in the 1950s, followed by Rock’n’Roll a few years later. If fact, the jazz 'jive' was the precursor of the rock dance. Other Free Cinema productions that inspired ADRIFT IN SOHO are 'Nice Time', 'March to Aldermaston' and to a lesser extent 'Every Day Except Christmas'.

In the cinema version of ADRIFT IN SOHO the very act of filmmaking is also one of the protagonists of the movie and not just a tool behind the camera.

WHAT INSPIRED THE MAKING OF 'ADRIFT IN SOHO'.

ADRIFT IN SOHO: THE SECRET CODES.

All films have tiny references to other directors, films, art or writers. ADRIFT IN SOHO has them too.

At some point we will release the hidden information and inspirational quotes. For the time being, these are some of the clues.

INSPIRATIONAL WRITERS
Isidore Ducasse
Colin Wilson
Paul Schrader
Harold Pinter
William Shakespeare
Hermann Hesse
Frederick Nietzsche
Marcel Proust
Dylan Thomas


INSPIRATIONAL FILMS
Nice Time - Free Cinema
Momma Don't Allow - Free Cinema
March To Aldermaston - Free Cinema
The Postman Always Rings Twice
Taxi Driver
Jules et Jim
Mishima
Nosferatu
L'Age d'Or
Nouvelle Vague
Cinema Verite
Film Noir
Pipping Tom
Four Weddings and a Funeral
The Prisoner of Zenda
Dziga Vertov (as himself)

PRODUCERS - PABLO BEHRENS & OWEN DRAKE

PABLO BEHRENS

Director and writer of Adrift In Soho and co-producer.

Pablo produced the feature film 'El Chevrole' in South America and also produced films and stills for UK advertising agencies, production companies and photographers.

Pablo has 25 years experience in films and TV commercials, having worked for many advertising agencies and production companies in London.

Over the years and in different capacities Pablo worked for film directors Charles Sturridge, Hector Babenco, Walter Salles, Paul Street; for producer Saul Zaentz; and for photographers Nadav Kander, Annie Leibovitz.

Pablo also takes photographs and directs short films some of which can be seen on www.pablobehrens.com.


OWEN DRAKE

Leading actor in Adrift in Soho, playing the part of Harry Preston, and is co-producer of the film.

Owen is and actor-producer based in Los Angeles, California, known for Messina High (2015), Adrift In Soho (2016) and Transformers: The Revenge Of The Fallen (2009).

ADRIFT IN SOHO RELEASE INFORMATION

ADRIFT IN SOHO is a film directed and written by Pablo Behrens, produced by Pablo Behrens and Owen Drake.

The film is currently in post production, for release in 2017.

Starring Owen Drake, Chris Wellington, Caitlin Harris, Emily Seale-Jones, Angus Howard, Olly Warrington and Lauren Harris.

With William Chubb, Warwick Evans, Martin Calcroft, William Jessop, Anthony Burrows, Hayley Considine.

Full cast and crew credits can be found on IMDB: ADRIFT IN SOHO.

COMPANIES AND SUPPLIERS THAT HELPED MAKE THE FILM

The producers of ADRIFT IN SOHO are very grateful to the professionalism of the following companies and organisations, without which the film would not have been possible to make.


MEDIA DOG, Birmingham.

PIXI PIXEL, London.
DAVE WALTER LIGHTING, Birmingham.

PEA SOUP FOG MACHINES, Ingleby Barwick.
HAWTHORNE THEATRICALS, Nottingham.
MEDIA INSURANCE BROKERS LTD, London.

LOADED DICE EDITING, Soho.

BAR ITALIA, Soho.

LITTLE ITALY RESTAURANT, Soho.

BARCLAYS - Soho.

BARCLAYS - Nottingham.

GOLDEN AGE TV, Essex.

BLEU VINTAGE SHOP, London.
CLAUDE COMMUNICATIONS, London.
ACTOR'S CENTRE, London.

THE OVAL THEATRE, London.
CENTRAL LINE CASTING, Nottingham.
ACTORS WORKSHOP, Nottingham.

THE COSTUME STUDIO, London.
LE MONDE HATS, London.

BRISTOL COSTUMES, Bristol.

LACE MARKET THEATRE COSTUMES, Nottingham.

WIGS UP NORTH, Manchester.

ACCEPTANCE, Nottingham.

JAM CAFE, Lace Market.

LORD ROBERTS PUB, Lace Market.

PARAMOUNT CENTRE, Soho.

NEWMARKET PUB, Lace Market.

LACEHOUSE BAR, Lace Market.

BREW DOG BAR, Lace Market.

SOUTHWARK FILM OFFICE.

NOTTINGHAM FILM OFFICE.
WESTMINSTER CITY COUNCIL.
NOTTINGHAM CITY COUNCIL.

BROADWAY CINEMA, Lace Market.

PRINTFAST, Soho.

FIVE LEAVES BOOKSHOP, Nottingham.

IMDB.

SENDEAN CAMERAS, Soho.

BECTU, London.

WIDESCREEN CENTRE, London.
JIGSAW SYSTEMS, Nottingham.

PROTAPE, London.
HSS, Nottingham.
IBIS HOTEL, Nottingham.

NEW DOME HOTEL, Camberwell.

STALLION CARS, Nottingham.

ZIP CARS, London.
THRIFTY VAN HIRE, Nottingham.
EAST MIDLANDS TRAINS.
PARK CAMERAS, Soho.

PROKIT, London.

CALUMET, London.
FINAL DRAFT.

HARTLEYS CAFE, Lace Market.

CROSS KEYS PUB, Nottingham.
200 COFFEE, Nottingham.
KAREN BASSET, Horse-Drawn Hearse, Carriages & Horse Master, Nottingham.

Note: This list is not yet complete. 

For list of actors and crew please click:
ADRIFT IN SOHO IMDB LISTING

FOR NEWS FOLLOW:

TWITTER: @adriftinsoho
FACEBOOK: ADRIFT IN SOHO

ADRIFT IN SOHO - FIRST PICTURES

ADRIFT IN SOHO will be finished in mid 2017. Here are some pictures in the meantime. Currently working on grading, sound mixing and online effects. All going very well. 

First grading references.

by Stef Perry at Framestore.

Visual Effects 

by Framestore.

The film has more than 150 individually crafted visual effects hiding behind a look of simplicity as the film was shot using the methods and techniques of the Free Cinema movement of the 1950s. Note: when they are finished we will post a few. In the meantime, here's one.

Pictures from the production.

Note: ungraded.

iPhone pictures.
Note: by members of the crew.

Some research pictures then and now.

Note: The author of the original Colin Wilson lived and worked in Soho and was involved marginally with the Free Cinema movement. The film draws on his books, his experiences and in events at the time. Some real events were reproduced for the film.

Piccadilly in 1952