Arnie at Home in leading role
AN ACTOR named Arnie is playing a heroic lead role in a sci-fi movie – but this one is from Macclesfield not Hollywood.
Arnold Pollock, 29, of Bond Street, stars in Home, an 18-minute film written and directed by Christian Holtappel, 28, from Bollington.
The pair have been friends since meeting at Tytherington School’s sixth form and made the short movie while studying at the Northern Film School, in Leeds.
It was made on a budget of £3,200 and has now been selected to be shown at the Manchester Film Festival in March.
Home tells the story of William – played by Arnold – who tries to protect his niece in a remote woodland cabin while her mother spearheads a revolution in a dystopian war-torn future.
Christian, of Nursery Road, said: “We are quite proud of it, William has to keep his niece safe when her mother arrives on his doorstep.
“It is set in the 25th century so it is quite ambitious as it has to appear authentic.
“William lives a stripped back existence so we didn’t have to do too many technical things.
“We wanted to put a space ship in the film but we didn’t put it on screen, you can hear it coming and as it approaches the cabin shakes and the plates rattle.”
When shown with other student films in Leeds, Home, which features some CGI, won the audience choice award.
It will be shown at the Manchester Film Festival on Sunday, March 10, at the Odeon Manchester Great Northern, Deansgate and is in the award category for best student film.
The duo also have their own business that makes films and promotional videos, chiefly for commercial clients.
Christian, who counts Star Wars and the Good, the Bad and the Ugly among his favourite films, is hoping an appearance at the festival will lead to the opportunity to make more entertainment movies.
He said: “I’m optimistic, it may help us go to other film festivals as when you go to one things can snowball.
“I’ve always wanted to be a story-teller, as a little kid I was always writing stories. A film is audio visual so there are so many elements you can go into to tell the story.
“People say they want to know what happens next so there could be a sequel somewhere down the line.”