THE STORY
James Bellwether wonders how many people were called before someone picked up the phone to him to tell him that his own Dad was dying.
That is what it is like being the child of a ‘great’ man. Always ignored, never valued for yourself. While James is angry, he is not bitter. He just has one thing to find out. What happened to the letters he wrote to his father whilst his father was a political prisoner? Did his father keep them or not?
So starts James’s journey through his father’s life via a tour of his office. The questions are: will he find what he is looking for? And regardless of the outcome, what will it mean to James? What are the next steps for the ‘not-so-great’ man?
THE WRITER – BEN WEINER
The winner of BAFTA Rocliffe – writing for children’s media 2016, Ben lives in London now, but has previously lived in China, Taiwan, France, India and even Scotland.
He has worked as a script reader and at production companies and literary agencies. He has written a number of shorts, a four-part television drama series and has a drawer full of feature film scripts.
Ben has benefited from training courses at the National Film and Television School and the Script Factory and developed a feature script as part of the NFTS development diploma.
Currently, Ben is working on a number of projects, including:
The Bafta Rocliffe winning children’s tv project: Mirror Worlds – After falling through a gateway between worlds, mother and son team Penny and Albie have to navigate the fantastical Mirror Worlds to get back home. A TV comedy series with Romanian producers about a famous Romanian tennis player. An NFTS developed feature: Alphamale – Felix and Paul, two thirty somethings marooned in adolescence, have to survive in the remote Scottish Highlands with a guide who hates their guts.
TV Drama: Fine Lines – Immigration CRISIS… Political CRISIS… Energy CRISIS… Financial CRISIS… It’s nothing compared to being a teenager growing up in Enfield.
Radio Drama: A topical global crisis, re-invigorates the biggest political rivalry in Victorian Britain.
For more information, please see www.benweinerfilms.com
THE ACTOR: CARL PREKOPP
Carl Prekopp is an Actor, Radio Drama Director and musician.
ACTOR: His recent TV credits include ‘No Offence’ by Paul Abbott for Channel 4, ‘Call the Midwife’ for the BBC, ‘Law and Order’ and ‘Lewis’ for ITV. Theatre credits include The Royal Shakespeare Company, Regents Park, The Arcola, Northampton Royal, Southampton Nuffield, The Donmar Warehouse, The Orange Tree and The Finborough. Carl has worked extensively in BBC Radio Drama since winning the BBC Carleton Hobbs Award in 2001 appearing in hundreds of plays and readings for Radio 3, Radio 4 and World Service. He is currently a regular in 2 downloadable audio series ‘Freud’ and ‘John Sinclaire’ for Bastei Productions. As a voice over artist he has worked for clients including Guggenheim Museum and Tate Modern. He has been nominated twice as Best Supporting Actor at The BBC Audio Drama Awards.
DIRECTOR: As a director for BBC Radio Carl recently directed ‘The Truth about Anna’ by Michael Butt, Robert Rigby’s adaptations of Alan Sillitoe’s ‘The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner’ and ‘Saturday Night and Sunday Morning’ and ‘Taken’ by Suzanne Heathcote.
MUSICIAN: As a musician Carl was commissioned to write the music for BBC Radio 3’s adaptation of ‘Fanny and Alexander’, was nominated for an Off West End Award (OFFIE) for Best Sound Design for his music/sound design for Baz Theatre’s ‘Macbeth’ at The Crypt and co-wrote the music with Lee Sparey for Radio 4s ‘Taken’ by Suzanne Heathcote.