David Leon
Zeitgeist Films
Daisy Allsop & Dan Cleland
Feature - Production Designer Short - Art Director
Prod.
Dir.
Prod. Co.
Role
David Leon goes filming on streets of Tyneside
June 2012, the film cameras have been rolling on Tyneside as a host of TV and movie stars take to our streets.
Newcastle-born actor David Leon, currently starring opposite Brenda Blethyn in ITV’s Vera, is getting behind the camera to direct his third short film. Shot on location in & around Newcastle and Gateshead.
The film’s impressive cast includes Stephen Graham (This Is England, Snatch, Boardwalk Empire), Michael Smiley (Kill List, Perfume, Luther), Giacomo Mancini (Top Boy) and Chris Fairbank (Pirates of the Caribbean, Auf Wiedersehen Pet). David Leon, who plays DS Joe Ashworth in Vera and who also starred in Guy Ritchie’s RocknRolla and the TV series Cutting It. He has previously made two acclaimed short films. One of which, Man & Boy won the top prize at Robert DeNiro’s Tribeca Film Festival.
Orthodox tells the story of Benjamin, played by Stephen Graham, an Orthodox Jew with boxing connections. When his life took the wrong turn he ended up in prison and lost his wife and children. Now he is out and desperate to be a part of his Jewish community, but reintegration is harder than he thought. Benjamin turns to his old boxing coach thinking there he has an ally, but is left even more isolated. He must make a choice which will affect not just his own future but the life of a young Jewish boy, who he can see his own history repeating for & is determined not to let that happen.
“Everything is going really well, and Newcastle is a great place to shoot,” said Producer Daisy Allsop. “Everyone is so friendly and helpful – you never get this sort of help in London. We’re shooting over just five days, which is really ambitious. We are really excited about our great cast, and a lot of the crew are the same people who worked on Vera, as David has good relationships with them.”
The aim is to have Orthodox edited and complete by the end of the summer as a 25-minute short film. Then to play at festivals, It will screen in London and Newcastle, as well as having a special industry screening at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). The short film is part of an idea for a full feature-length movie which David hopes to develop. David is currently working with Film4’s and Northern Film and Media’s Film4ward scheme on the idea.
Producer Daisy Allsop said Tyneside was a great place to film the latest project. The team are also planning another film, Driven, to be shot in the region early next year.
This feature film shot in March 2013 was developed from a short film shot in June 2012.
It tells the story of an Orthodox Jewish boy, persecuted and bullied for his faith. He turns to Boxing as a means of self defence. As an adult, his choice alienates him from the Jewish community pushing him towards the fringe of society and an involvement in unlicensed boxing.
Tangled up in a web of criminal activity, he makes an immoral decision in order to provide for his family and as a result goes to prison leading to the loss of those he loves. Once released he is determined to rehabilitate and right the wrongs which led to his downfall.
He finds a way back into community life through his old boxing gym, where a devastating truth about his past is revealed and becomes the catalyst for a series of events that ensures he will never return to the normal life he has always craved.
David Leon & Stephen Graham discuss Orthodox Film
View the Orthodox trailer hosted by :-
Jason Solomons interviews David Leon, Stephen Graham & Giacomo Mancini
Premiered at LJFF 11th NOV 2015
Phoenix Cinema, East Finchley, London, UK
