Director/Creator: Layke Anderson, Executive Producer: Stephen Fry, Cast: Alexis Gregory and Ricky Nixon. Featuring music by Chris Weeks, Closing score by Theo Bedoucha, UK, 2019, 13’, Rights: World except UK and Éire.
Executively produced by Emmy award-winning actor, comedian and writer Stephen Fry. Mankind is from young BIFA nominated director Layke Anderson (Dylan’s Room). The couple Will (Ricky Nixon) and Evan (Alexis Gregory) are having a domestic row as Evan discovers Will has unbeknown to him signed up for a mission to Mars called Red Genesis, and is shortlisted to be part of the mission and maybe have to leave family, love and the Earth behind. Will, presented with an opportunity of a lifetime discovers it comes with the price of risking everything he once loved in the world including his relationship, which is on the brink of separation. Mankind reflects on the idea of human beings as explorers by nature, and on the consequences of standing still for too long.
“That Anderson can say so much, so subtly, in so short a space of time is proof, once again, that he is one of the most interesting filmmakers working today.”
“Epic in its ambition, this is a big scale idea executed perfectly on a small scale. Polished with a Gravity-Esque veneer, the film’s small budget has been no barrier in producing an excellent slice of science fiction… The very best sci-fi finds the balance of humanity within the vastness of the universe, which is exactly what Mankind manages. An excellent short.”
Awards:
FilmOut San Diego (USA) – Best Male Short Film 2019
Tel Aviv Film Club Pride Film Festival (Israel) – Best Director
