Many people will be familiar with the tragic tale of British Antartic expedition to the North Pole led by Captain Scott. While the actions of Scott are well documented, Azerbaijani Director Javid Zaidov chose to retell the story in his short film, OUTSIDE, but from the perspective of one of Scott’s men.
Five months into their journey, the team starts to run short on supplies as they return from the South Pole. Titus Oates is injured and suffering from frostbite, forcing the group to slow down. It is this sense of alienation as Oates contemplates his options of carrying on or ending his misery to aid his team that Zaidov was keen to focus on. "I wanted to tell a story of contrasts: outside are the antarctic flats, a seemingly endless, lonely desert, but its inside the tent where Oates’ isolation becomes unbearable”, Zaidov states in OUTSIDE’s press pack. "As one of the men becomes more and more alienated from the group, I was intrigued to explore the changing dynamics and his internal state within the gradual division of the group.”
OUTSIDE has been selected at two festivals which are taking place simultaneously in both London and Poland. The entire crew will be in attendance at the BAFTA-qualifying Underwire Film Festival in London (30th Nov - 4th Dec) to support Jackie Teboul’s nomination in the Best Cinematography category. Meanwhile, Director Zaidov and Nia Fausset will be living in style as they attend the Grand Off World Independent Film Awards in Poland (28th Nov - 4th Dec), where Fausset’s work on OUTSIDE has received a nomination in the Best Production Design. The festival is putting the pair up in a 5 star hotel during their stay, where they'll also be expected to attend a meeting at the Palace of Culture and Science with the City Government.
Watch the trailer and “Behind the Scenes” video for OUTSIDE. For more regular updates, follow the film’s Instagram and Facebook accounts.
ABOUT THE UNDERWIRE FILM FESTIVAL
Underwire is the UK’s only film festival celebrating female filmmaking talent across the crafts. Founded in 2010 with the aim to change the face of the industry from the inside out, the festival has awarded training and mentoring opportunities to over 40 filmmakers, and has screened over 300 films.
The festival recognises talent across Directing, Producing, Screenwriting, Editing, Cinematography, Sound Design, and Composing, and any short film that has a woman in one of those roles is eligible. With women making up only 21.8% of a typical feature film crew it is clear that these talents must be showcased early, to propel the women filmmakers of the future into their feature film careers.
Writer: Ben Corbett
Photo Credit: Jacki Teboul