PRESS KIT

ARTERIAL
SHORT FILM
A MODERN MOVING IMAGE PRODUCTION
STARRING CHRISTIAN KINDE AND SHEENA MAY
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY CHRISTOPHER IAN SMITH

www.arterialshortfilm.com

chris@modernmovingimage.com

00 44 (0) 7980 308743

FILM INFORMATION

ARTERIAL

Title
Arterial
Director
Christopher Ian Smith
Production Company
Modern
in association with Black
Lizard Productions
Country
United Kingdom
Completion
January 2013

LOG LINE

Running time
9m 07s
Language

Benjamin encounters a girl. Arcadian and beautiful she offers escape from his
lonely, repetitive life. But is she human? And does she even exist?

English
Subtitles
None required (no dialogue)
Picture

SHORT SYNOPSIS

Inspired by the Keats poem La Belle Dame Sans Merci, Arterial is a short fantasy film exploring desire, escape and the impact of mans progress on nature.

Colour
Aspect ratio
16:9 (1.77:1)

Benjamin is trapped in a cycle that he cant escape, his life is his work and he
lacks the company of others. One day he sees an otherworldly girl by the road
and cant get her out of his mind.

Shooting format
HD

He embarks on a journey with her and his life changes forever.

Exhibition formats
QT (Apple ProRes)

LONG SYNOPSIS

DVD / Blu Ray

Digibeta / HDCam
Sound

Every day Benjamin travels to work on the same road. Driving through a sublime
but confused landscape of factories, gasworks and estates that contrast with the
surrounding wildlife and lush flora.

5.1

Hes trapped in a cycle that he cant escape, his life is his work and he lacks the
company of others. One day he sees a girl by the road side, arcadian and beautiful, he cant get her out of his mind.
He embarks on a journey with her and his life changes forever.
Directed by Christopher Ian Smith (www.citizensmith.net) and inspired by the
John Keats poem La Belle Dame Sans Merci, Arterial is a short fantasy film
exploring desire, escape and the impact of mans progress on the natural landscape. It features an original soundtrack by renowned electronic music artists
Isan (www.isan.co.uk).
www.arterialshortfilm.com

chris@modernmovingimage.com

00 44 (0) 7980 308743

CAST AND DIRECTOR BIOGRAPHIES

CHRISTIAN KINDE Benjamin
Christian trained at Drama Centre and is a rising star in the London theatre scene,
with roles in several acclaimed productions, .
He was recently in the feature film Born of War starring as Frederick and in 2013 he
will be starring in feature film Plastic as Danny alongside Alfie Allen and Ed Speleers.
He has also starred in a number of short films and music videos.

SHEENA MAY The Girl

Sheena trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre school and has appeared in numerous
theatre, TV and short film productions, including The Traveller and Apprehension.
She recently played Hero in Much Ado About Nothing and starred in a production of
Olgas Room on the London Fringe theatre circuit.

CHRISTOPHER IAN SMITH Producer / Writer / Director

After studying screenwriting at the University of California - Chris joined of the audiovisual collective Addictive
TV. At Addictive he was involved with the production and live performance of a wide range of experimental films,
audiovisual cut-ups and motion graphics. This included performances and screened work at festivals and venues
across the globe, including: Le Centre Pompidoo, the National Film Theatre, Curtas Vila De Condo, Encounters,
Transmediale. He was also the Production Manager of the TV and DVD series Mixmasters and the Optronica
Festival at the British Film Institute.
Over the past 10 years Chris has been Creative Director at digital and advertising agencies - producing campaigns, ads, films and digital properties for a wide variety of brands. He has now left advertising behind to focus
on filmmaking.

www.arterialshortfilm.com

chris@modernmovingimage.com

00 44 (0) 7980 308743

CREW BIOGRAPHIES
LEWIS DAVIES Director of Photography
Lewis is a DoP and Filmmaker with over 7 years of experience working in both film and TV - across short films,
music videos and promos.
He currently produces much of the video material for the human rights organisation Survival International, this
includes writing, filming, editing and motion graphics. Hes also produced documentaries, adverts and infographic
animations to help with their campaigns.

ISAN Original Music

From minimalism to melody and back again, Isan have been navigating the aural Autobahn since a chance meeting brought together Robin Saville and Antony Ryan in 1996. Saville and Ryan now consider Morr Music their
spiritual home.
Theyve remixed and been remixed by the likes of Depeche Mode, The Notwist, Seefeel and Piano Magic
amongst others. Isan have also brought their Kosmische confection to the stage, gracing respected festivals such
as Sonar and the Big Chill and playing as far afield as China, Japan, Iceland and Russia. isan also contributed
tracks to the Italian film Le Conseguenze DellAmore (Consequences of Love).

STEPHEN DUNNE Editor

Stephen has spent his career working on ads along with spells on popular TV shows in including Skins and
Shameless. He began his career working for The Quarry and is now at White House Post. He has worked on a
number of short films including This Old Dog which won an Royal Television Society Award.
MIGUEL LIMA Sound Design
Miguel is an award winning Composer and Sound Editor based in Portugal. He has worked in on a wide range of
Portuguese feature films, short films and television series. Recent films include the well received feature Budapest
TOBY TOMKINS Colourist
Toby is a rising star in online editing and colouring with some impressive credits on his CV. This includes the
recent Plan B feature film iLL Manors and a wide range of well received shorts, music promos and ads.
www.arterialshortfilm.com

chris@modernmovingimage.com

00 44 (0) 7980 308743

DIRECTORS NOTE
Arterial evolved from the landscape in which it is set, the industrial borderlands of London that stretch out to the
coast to the East. Concrete, steel, smoke and oil battle with lush countryside and wildlife for supremacy. I wanted
to make a film about this entrancing, confused place that is rarely seen on film - exploring how this landscape and
environment affects the lives and minds of those who live within it.
It is also the area where I grew up, so there is an element of autobiography in the film.

A further inspiration for the film is the Keats poem La Belle Dame Sans Merci. Its a tale about a wandering Knight
whos is doomed to wander the countryside after an encounter with a beautiful, otherworldly creature. Its meaning is a matter of debate for scholars, arguing about the symbolism and ultimate intentions of the writer. Whats for
certain is that it evokes nature, lust and reverie and inspired a number of Pre-Raphaelite artists.
I have kept elements of the poem in the narrative and tried to give the film a poetic pace and rhythm, as well as
keeping certain key events open to interpretation. To achieve this I decided to eschew dialogue, creating a silent
film driven by imagery and sound.
Music and sound design are crucial to the film, and closely linked to my background as a VJ and DJ with the
group Addictive TV (www.addictive.com). The original score was produced by renowned electronic music artists
isan, who have released numerous albums on the Morr Music label, with tracks on the soundtrack of the wellreceived Italian feature film The Consequences of Love (Le Conseguenze Dellamore). The score of Arterial shifts
from analogue to digital instrumentation in line with the lead characters journey.
I was lucky to have a great cast and crew for the film - including Toby Tomkins, colourist for the Ben Drew feature
film iLL Manors and Miguel Lima as sound designer, who has worked on a number of acclaimed Portuguese and
Brazilian features. Christian Kinde, the lead actor, is a rising star on the London theatre circuit and has starred in
various high profile music videos and shorts, in 2013 he is starring in the feature film Plastic with Alfie Allen and
Ed Speelers.
I have worked in the advertising industry for the past 10 years, applying my creative efforts to ad campaigns for
brands such as O2, Guinness and Sony PlayStation. Ive now left this behind to focus on writing and directing.
This is my first film project since I left that industry and was a joy to produce. I hope you enjoy it too.
Thanks
Chris

www.arterialshortfilm.com

chris@modernmovingimage.com

00 44 (0) 7980 308743

CREDITS AND LINKS

A MODERN MOVING IMAGE PRODUCTION IN ASSOCIATION WITH BLACK LIZARD FILMS
PRODUCED WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY CHRISTOPHER IAN SMITH
CAST
Benjamin CHRISTIAN KINDE
The Girl SHEENA MAY
Man in lift PAUL MICHAEL ANGELL
CREW
Director of Photography LEWIS DAVIES
Editor STEPHEN DUNNE
Original music ISAN
Production Manager DAMIANO BLLOSHMI
1st Assistant Director PAUL MICHAEL ANGELL
Sound Recordist CHRIS CUBITT
Camera Assistant ALISA BOANTA
Visual Effects JOHN SELLINGS
Colourist TOBY TOMKINS
Sound Design MIGUEL LIMA
Edit Assistant GARY LEON BOWYER
Additional footage MARK RIGLER
Stills Photography LUCAS FERREIRA
Insurance ESSEX INSURANCE
FEATURED CONTENT
American Look - Produced by HANDY (JAM) ORGANISATION
Public domain courtesy of the copyright holder PRELINGER ARCHIVE
FEATURED ARTWORKS
Kestnermappe Proun EL LISSITZKY
La Belle Dame Sans Merci WALTER CRANE
La Belle Dame Sans Merci FRANK DICKSEE
La Belle Dame Sans Merci ARTHUR HUGHES
La Belle Dame Sans Merci HENRY MEYNELL RHEAM
La Belle Dame Sans Merci JOHN WILLIAM WATERHOUSE
All artworks featured are out of copyright and in the public domain
SPECIAL THANKS
Ian and Susan Smith, Louise Smith, Paul Angell, Fatima Abass-Allie, Christopher Decouland, Emily Grantham, Lewis Hare,
Kenneth Hibbeler, Tom Kington, Tom Marchbanks, Jonathan Preston, Cassie Wiles, Tusia Wiles, Penny Wiles.
Lambeth Council, Thurrock Council, Wat Tyler Country Park, Langdon Hills Country Park, Whitehouse Post, Indigo Musica,
Indiegogo.
LINKS
Arterial website: www.arterialshortfilm.com
Arterial Facebook page: www.facebook.com/arterialshortfilm
Arterial Vimeo channel: www.vimeo.com/channels/arterialshortfilm
Modern Moving Image website: www.modernmovingimage.com
Modern Moving Image Twitter: www.twitter.com/modernmi

www.arterialshortfilm.com

chris@modernmovingimage.com

00 44 (0) 7980 308743