Principal photography just wrapped last week Friday on Ava DuVernay’s sophomore feature narrative effort Middle Of Nowhere, which co-stars David Oyelowo, who also just wrapped production on a short sci-fi film he stars in called Rahab, based on an idea that won the 2011 Enter The Pitch contest.
In short, the contest requests that you create a 2 minute pitch for your short film idea, based on a story in the bible, whether directly or loosely, and the winner gets £25,000 (or about $40,000) to produce it. That’s a hefty chunk of change isn’t it? Especially for a 15-minute short.
But it’s a sci-fi project, so $40,000 can get used up really quickly!
In addition, the winner will be flown to Hollywood for a week, and will have a private meeting with a Hollywood producer about your completed film, and meet other industry professionals.
I couldn’t immediately find a synopsis for Rahab, but the director, Brit Rob McLellan, has been blogging about the making of the short film, sharing production art like the one you see above (and below), and stills of weapons he created for the film (below). I do know that it takes place in a dystopian future.
You can follow Rob’s blog HERE.
According to a casting call sheet I found online, production wrapped on the 16th, last week Saturday, though I couldn’t find any info on when the film will make its debut. I’ll be watching for it. Ya never know… if it’s received well, the $40,000 short could become a multi-million feature film; whether it’ll still star Oyelowo at that point is another story. By the way, his wife, Jessica Oyelowo, co-stars.
Also, if you’re interested in entering the current Enter The Pitch contest, you can do so HERE. You have until October to upload your pitch materials.