| "It's turned out in a way that we’re all very proud of…I really can’t wait for everyone else to see it." | | John Francis |
A feature film that was written, shot and edited locally is premiering at the Jersey Arts Centre on Thursday, 23 November. ‘Cowfusion’ is the work of Jersey based independent film company Normal Vibes Productions, and is the culmination of nearly two years hard work by its creators. An old school hero “The film centres around a character who due to an unfortunate accident believes himself to be a cowboy,” describes writer, producer & director John Francis, “he’s living in the modern day but with the characteristics and values of an old school hero.” Cowfusion was shot on a deliberately limited budget, and a modern day western seemed like the perfect genre of film to make on Jersey, said Francis: “When you’re looking at making a low budget film you really have to look at what’s available to you, and Jersey has a huge variety of locations, a lot of which look to another time – if you look at the sand dunes they really don’t look like they belong in the current world.
 | | Cowfusion poster |
“The idea of doing a western struck me as a very good idea, especially with the locations available. The problem was that I’d need a lot of expensive sets and costumes to recreate the western world, so we decided to set a western in the present day.” Helpful island Although it’s taken almost 2 years from inception back in February 2005 to putting on a public screening in November 2006, the actual shooting took place over just three weeks in the summer of 2005, when local actors and crew members volunteered their time and help for free. “If people are aware of what you’ve done previously - I’ve made a few short films that have done quite well [he’s been nominated for a Royal Television Society Award], and basically you have enthusiasm and you persuade them that it will be fun, people are willing to help out.” And it wasn’t just the recruiting of actors and crew that Francis found relatively easy, he was impressed with the co-operation of everyone he contacted, from land owners whose property he wanted to film on to getting the okay from the police; “In Jersey because shooting a feature film is such a novel idea everyone we asked was perfectly willing to help. We didn’t experience much red tape at all…I think if you are working for nothing people are always more willing,” explains Francis.
 | | Scene from Cowfusion |
With everyone involved mucking in and doing a bit of everything it was inevitable that the cast and crew became a close nit group; “Possibly my favourite element of the film was the bonding of the crew…everyone really helping out and working in a tight community,” said Francis. The premiere Francis, who has also had a key role in the editing and post-production of the film believes that Cowfusion has “turned out in a way that we’re all very proud of…I really can’t wait for everyone else to see it.” “Hopefully when people watch it they’ll remember that it’s not a multi-million pound film that they can go to the cinema and watch; it’s something that we’ve made from our own money and in our own time. “It’s a piece of fun that we’ve made and we hope that they enjoy it. The whole point of cinema is escapism and enjoyment of the art form, so hopefully we’ll have achieved that and everyone will come out thinking ‘that was fun, I wonder what they’re doing next’”. Cowfusion is showing at the Jersey Arts Centre at 20:00 on Thursday, 23 November. A reception with complimentary refreshments is being hosted by EFG Offshore.
Tickets for the Cowfusion screening are free and can be requested by contacting Normal Vibes Productions. email:
info@normalvibes.com |
NB: Normal Vibes Production warns that there are some scenes of violence and use of strong language throughout the film and advises that Cowfusion is not suitable for children. | 
