THE latest film by Wirral film-maker James Chalmers is to have its world premiere at the Wirral Museum.
The Other World of Meredith follows the success of his first film The Magic Opera, which screened last year at the John Hopkins Film Festival in Baltimore and later picked up a silver award in the UK.
Like its predecessor, The Other World of Meredith has a science fiction/ fantasy theme.
Chalmers wrote and produced the film, set round Wirral, with Birkenhead Priory in a key role. “It provided exactly what we wanted, a mysterious backdrop for the action,” Chalmers says.
It certainly fitted in with his plot about an American visitor, Brad Campbell, seeking some valuable jewellery belonging to his aunt.
It is in fact out of his reach as it has been lost in a parallel world, and one of the ways into this world is through the ruins of The Priory.
The film has been produced through his own company Shoreline which began life as a theatre-producing company.
Chalmers, a former BT manager who took redundancy in 1999, set it up to present his musical Dream-boat and a dark comedy Love and Infidelity, both scripted by him.
They were followed by The Magic Opera, also written for stage, but which he developed into a film with the help of Sue Bence whose daughter was in the stage show.
They worked on the film script together and bought a camera with a National Lottery grant.
The Other World of Meredith is an original film script from Chalmers and stars actors Richard Dodd from Neston and Anna Davies from Heswall among a cast of 12.
Sue Bence has directed the movie which was filmed around Neston.
Filming on Sundays and during the week when cast were available, the 72-minute feature took six months to complete. “After the premiere it will be sent to film festivals in the USA and elsewhere,” says Chalmers.
The film will be premiered at Wirral Museum on March 29. Tickets, £5, can be obtained from Shoreline at 0151 336 4253 or Linghams Bookshop in Heswall.
