PRESS RELEASE
November 2010
Rogue Runner Films is pleased to announce the release of their new short film and innovative multimedia mystery website for White Other, starring Tom Felton (Harry Potter) & Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake). White Other is the story of a young man who enters a hospital ward in the dead of night, who must overcome the objections of the attendant nurse if he is to save his brother and end a gang related feud. The latest film from Director Dan Hartley, BAFTA nominated for Love you, Joseff Hughes. Dan has spent the past ten years working on the Harry Potter films as a Video Playback Operator, providing the ‘first cut’ of many action sequences such as the hi-octane Quidditch matches and Knight Bus chase scene.

In creating the website for White Other, Hartley states: “the inherent problem in generating interest in short films is their length. With this website we set out to create a lot of additional content, to give the audience an opportunity to explore the greater world of White Other.” In order to achieve this Hartley worked with a freelance social media consultant and graphic designers Marmalade-on-Toast to develop a creative website that would encourage audience interactivity. This leads visitors through a series of video clips, sound files and news reports, some of which are real and some fictional. If one can follow the trail of clues they are encouraged to become Facebook friends of Felton’s character Ray Marsden, which conceals a code that will enable them to watch the film for free.

“We’re hoping to raise the bar in terms of what can be achieved in short film promotion but also use the internet as a means of expanding and populating the universe that the story is set in, therein creating the opportunity for White Other to develop into a feature film,” states director Dan Hartley.

As for BAFTA winning actress Imelda Staunton, Hartley says: “I’m astounded by her generosity in giving a fledgling director such an amazing opportunity… Her approach to acting was fantastic to watch; she makes it look easy and yet there wasn’t one nuance of her character’s inner life that she didn’t bring to screen.”

The cast also took a lot from the experience, with Tom Felton describing it as ‘one the most enjoyable filming experiences I’ve ever had.’ Asked what made her decide to do the film, Imelda said, “the story spoke to me… I liked its twists and turns… If more films were as economic and well-written as this, they would learn a lot.”

In conjunction with LOVEFiLM, there will be a gala performance of White Other in December of 2010. Hartley is hopeful a feature film will follow, with shooting to commence in 2012.