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Short film shot in and around Cambridgeshire asks: ‘Who would you believe?’




A short film shot in Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Norfolk from an Anglia Ruskin University alumnus that explores themes of mental health and drug addiction from a unique perspective is being submitted to film festivals.

APOCRYPHAL, by the writer-director Josh Armstrong, founder of production company Last Dog Films, is set in modern-day England and follows the main character Oliver in police interrogation recalling the events of the last 48 hours.

A still from the film APOCRYPHAL, by Josh Armstrong
A still from the film APOCRYPHAL, by Josh Armstrong

The 33-minute film forces us to question whether we would believe somebody kicked to the curb in life, when they claim something otherworldly has destroyed their lives.

The piece is not simply a science fiction film or a drama, but rather a story about judging a book by its cover. The filmmakers say it asks if our prejudices obscure the truth, no matter how much we may or may not want to believe it.

It was originally a concept on Kickstarter, where it raised £26,000, and an additional £10,000 from an angel investor. The story is dedicated to a friend of Josh’s who died from drug-related issues, and any profits he personally makes from the film will be donated to the mental health charity Mind UK.

A still from the film APOCRYPHAL, by Josh Armstrong
A still from the film APOCRYPHAL, by Josh Armstrong

Josh, who grew up in Freckenham but now lives in London, says: “I filmed all of it around East Anglia. I grew up in Cambridgeshire so East Anglia’s quite close to my heart – it was a pleasure to film around the area.”

APOCRYPHAL finished filming in December, 2021, and then the project was finally completed last April. “It took a fair while to do the edit,” explains Josh, 33, who has made one feature film and two other short films under the banner of Last Dog Films, “but the only reason why we’re releasing it now is because I became a father, so my priorities shifted and I was focusing on that.

“Now we’re submitting it to festivals – unfortunately we missed the Cambridge Film Festival, however we are planning on hopefully getting it into the festival in 2024.”

APOCRYPHAL, by Josh Armstrong
APOCRYPHAL, by Josh Armstrong

An alumnus of Anglia Ruskin University, where he did film studies, with a specific focus on screenwriting, Josh recalls his friend who passed away in 2019 and whose death ‘inspired’ this new film.

“Sadly he suffered from mental illness and he did have a heroin overdose,” he reveals. “I felt that what was odd about it was that when you told somebody that story, the first thing they thought about was, ‘Oh well, drug addict, he was just a junkie’ and this sort of thing but it’s always way more complicated than that – there’s always an underlying issue.

“So with this story I wanted to highlight the mental health of our character, so it really focuses on this person who’s really struggling – and that’s why they turn to drugs. It’s not they’ve turned to drugs and thus they’re suffering, it’s the other way around.

“And we thought we’ll give it a bit of a twist, we’ll make some otherworldly set of events that he has to recall – and ultimately, the audience is left to decide whether or not he’s telling the truth. Then by doing that, it does make you, hopefully, reconsider your preconceptions of somebody, given their appearance towards you.”

Filmmaker Josh Armstrong. Picture: Last Dog Films
Filmmaker Josh Armstrong. Picture: Last Dog Films
A still from the film APOCRYPHAL, by Josh Armstrong
A still from the film APOCRYPHAL, by Josh Armstrong

View the APOCRYPHAL trailer at youtube.com/watch?v=elispbyJ_Fc. For more on Last Dog Films, visit lastdogfilms.myportfolio.com.



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