A STOURBRIDGE student is reaching out to the public to help him fund his latest film-making project.
Max Tobin, 17, needs to raise £1,300 to produce a dark comedy about recreational drug use entitled ‘Enrichment’.
The King Edward VI pupil, who had a previous film showcased at the Canadian Film Festival, has taken to the global crowd funding website Kickstarter to get his latest endeavour off the ground.
He said: “We have 30 days to raise £1,300 so I'm nervous but optimistic that we will meet the goal.
“We have previously funded two short films on Kickstarter – a surreal sci-fi called 'Erasable' and a coming of age comedy called 'Rubber Duck' that we made with the help of West Midlands Police.
“It's a great website because it lets people support local and international projects in return for personal rewards that you don't get anywhere else.
“It also helps give the film an audience as suddenly you have this large group of people who have had enough faith in the project to fund you, and they're all eager to watch the film and tell you what they think.
“It really is incredible. So far the Kickstarter has been up three days, and we've raised £240 which is fantastic, but most of the money does come early on.”
Enrichment depicts the story of three college students who plan a heist to steal money from the father of a new pupil at their school, who happens to be a notorious drug dealer.
Describing the film, Max said: “It is a comedy, but it's certainly darker than anything we’ve made before because the premise of college students stealing from a gangster doesn’t work unless you have some 18 plus rated violence.
“The themes of drug abuse and crime are quite adult, and the parts about college aren't aimed necessarily at my own generation, it’s meant to remind everyone of their teenage years.
“I wanted to make a film about drugs because I think every country in the world has a drug problem, and it's not just about people taking them, I really want to look at both sides of the argument.
“I think there are so many areas to the subject of drugs that people have very strong opinions on and I don't want to change those opinions myself. I just want to give people an insight into areas they might not have considered and see if they question themselves.”
For more information about Max’s previous films visit www.tobinfilmstudio.org, or to donate to Max’s Kickstarter fund, before the deadline of April 21, visit www.kickstarter.com/projects/407809441/enrichment-dark-comedy-film
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