Festival accolades for West Sussex film-maker

Ollie Finlinson, who has just completed his degree at the University of Kent’s School of Arts, has had his short film Acid Rain selected by six international film festivals.

It offers a post-apocalyptic look at a world where a mysterious illness has wiped out most of the population and a dangerous new order is emerging…

The film follows the character of Jim who leaves the safety of a compound to navigate his way through the chaos with what could be humanity’s last hope – the cure.

He is soon faced with the harsh realities of the outside world which has descended into a dark, desolate and dangerous place. It may already be too late for humanity...

So far, the response to the film has been great.

At the recent Canterbury University Film Festival, Acid Rain won best short film and best director. It has also been officially selected for Brighton Rocks Film Festival on August 15. Acid Raid has also been selected by festivals including Life-Off Sessions, FirstTime Filmmaker Sessions, The Monkey Bread Tree Film Awards and The New Indie Film Festival.

“I am really thrilled about it. I thought it might have been affected by everything that is going on, but the interest seems to be building really well. It has been really encouraging.”

For the film, Ollie, a former student at the Angmering School, used locations including Cocking and Angmering.

He made the film as an extra-curricular venture, with the cast and crew predominantly assembled from fellow Kent students alongside two professional actors. Ollie also used contacts he made during his placement as a creative producer intern at The Walt Disney Company to assist him with the post-production process.

“I wrote it with two of my friends from university. We actually wrote it in 2017, and we filmed it between then and 2018 and finished off all the post-production work in 2019 and we had it ready by January 2020. It was quite a long process.

“There are certain obvious parallels with what has happened now, though it hasn’t quite followed down the same path as my film. But it is quite spooky that in some ways it has almost happened.

“There were some ideas when we were making the film that we wanted to replicate the news reels hearing about the beginning of the virus and then society descending into chaos… It has been surreal to see something like that actually happening.

“But we wanted to make a film that was challenging. We really wanted to push what we could try to do.

“Some of our other friends were making student films about students and about young people. We just wanted to push the boundaries and do something more ambitious.”

Once the film has been seen at the various festivals, Ollie will investigate making it available online.

Ollie said: “This project has been years in the making, and it is so gratifying to see it come to life and be recognised by the industry. It is great that it has had such a warm reception so far. I am looking forward to what the future holds.”

Ollie is now looking at various options.

“Having now completed my degree in film, I am ready to build my career further. I’m looking for opportunities in film and creative production where I can contribute from the skills and knowledge I have acquired over the past few years.

“So if anyone has opportunities, do contact me at [email protected].”

A trailer for Acid Rain can be viewed at: https://vimeo.com/259053830.

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