KAMERAD

Synopsis

Destitute in a crater in the heart of no man's land, two men await their fate as soldiers and human beings amid a great war of conscience.

Genre: War Drama

Directed By: Toby Kearton
Produced By: Kelsey Maples, Lou Murrall and John Yonover
FULL CREW LIST AVAILABLE HERE - IMDB

The story of Henry Tandey has always fascinated me. The most decorated soldier of WW1 allegedly had an encounter with Adolf Hitler, this 10 minute short film explores that scenario.

Kamerad holds great significance to me due to its portrayal of real-life subjects. With a long-standing acquaintance with Ryan Hayes, I personally recommended him for the role of Tandey, and it turned out to be a great choice. Ryan's connection with Warwickshire, the county we both hail from, allowed him to embody the character of Tandey.

Pre-visualisation was very difficult for me, planning was essential but I knew from the start I could never truly grasp the film until I was stood in a cold, wet and very muddy crater we had specially made. Matt Harley, our production designer who is another longterm friend took care of this for me. I knew when Matt had finished the crater everything would hit, a bit like a boxer having a plan until he’s punched in the face.

We shot over 3 x days so consistency was everything, if it hadn’t had been for the reliable crew I had round me we would never had accomplished the continuity required.

Using as little artificial light as possible and embracing the moody clouds we were blessed with, I mainly used ultra bounce, diffusion and negative fill. In my mind going into the film, I knew how I wanted this film to look, one of my favourite films is ‘Book of Eli’, the grade in this film somewhat inspired me for Kamerad. I used a combination of filters and diffusion to get close this but also knew the right colourist would be an asset to make the footage pop. Karl Barnes-Dallas who is also a good friend of many years accomplished the look I wanted, I wanted this film to feel harsh and earthy, drained faces and dark eyes (I’ll say here Paul Fletcher our MUA was also an asset to creating this), and the raw soil of the crater was fine tuned under Karl’s watchful eye.

Along with Kelsey Maples my fellow producer we worked tirelessly to bring the directors vision to life, I couldn’t have made this film without her incredible hard work and commitment to getting us over the line and ensuring all the crew were well looked after.

All that said, the film was always about Henry Tandey, and while this story most likely didn’t happen, what is true, Tandey was awarded a Distinguished Conduct Medal and the Victoria Cross for his unquestionable bravery during WW1. Tandey shouldn’t be remembered for his alleged encounter with a lunatic, but for the British hero he truly was.

Kamerad is currently on a festival run, we hope to release it to the public early 2024.

You can learn about Henry Tandey here - VCONLINE

The film is available for special request viewings, please contact me.

Interested in collaborating?

I am actively looking for scripts to collaborate on within my home region of the West Midlands. Both paid, and none paid projects. Get in touch with me to discuss.