Armchair & Rocket presents a surreal dark comedy about a man trapped in a bar.

Synopsis.

‘Back in Five’ is a dark comedy centred around Dave, who is trapped in a bar after hours. It’s a strange location, stocked with memories and people from his past. There’s only 1 door out and it’s locked. Between attempts to open it, all he can do is interact with people that he sort of knows and deal with a variety of weirdness as it presents itself.

Stephen Mullan (Out of here, How to be Happy) and Bronagh Taggart (The Fall, His Mother’s Son) star in this off-beat short about the subconscious and its journey back to reality, with Chris Robinson (Counsel), Christina Nelson (The McCooeys) and Dara Graham. This is the debut film written and directed by Stephen Pierce.

Running time: 14 minutes

Logline.

A man tries to escape from a bar containing memories and people from his past.

Production info.

Filmed in Belfast, Northern Ireland over 4 days during the Covid-19 pandemic, the film utilises special effects and edit techniques to hide the fact that actors had to wear face coverings and socially distance on set. This brought a new challenge to a low-budget production that required interaction between cast without the ability to bubble cast and crew prior to filming.

Filmed on location at The Menagerie Belfast, Northern Ireland. Produced with support from NI Screen.

For further information relating to screenings, or production of Back in Five, please contact producers Jude Sharvin (jude@armchairandrocket.com) or Michael O’Neill (michael@armchairandrocket.com)

Producer & Casting Director - JUDE SHARVIN.

Jude Sharvin is an innovative and creative producer/casting director. Drawing on her extensive experience and networks in the creative world, she brings her unique approach to everything she does. She has cast and produced features, shorts, ads and theatre and been involved in artistic endeavours across the island of Ireland. Raised by a publican, Back in Five suited her down to the ground – stuck in a bar for four days with a dozen or so good people…

Producer - MICHAEL O’NEILL.

Michael is a writer and producer working out of Belfast. He has spent the past nine years working mostly in advertising and creating educational content for BBC NI Learning. In 2018, together with Stephen Pierce, he established Armchair and Rocket as a company that is primarily about telling stories, of which Back in Five is the strangest so far. He is also an experienced teacher and artist with a range of solo exhibition credits in Ireland and beyond.

Writer & Director - STEPHEN PIERCE.

Stephen is from Belfast, Northern Ireland, where he studied Graphic Design and Advertising, moving on to direct TV commercials, and youth programming for UK networks; BBC3, BBCNI and E4. Stephen’s commercial work has been awarded in the UK and Ireland, initially as a student (Channel 4 - D&AD student Yellow Pencil) and professionally (National Trust - The Drum Awards). This is Stephen’s first screenplay and first directed drama, and what he hopes will be a step towards film and television directing. Director’s statement.

Director of Photography - ROBIN MORGAN

Robin is a cinematographer with 2 decades of experience in the commercial field, working for major international brands like Coca-Cola, Williams F1, Audi and Universal. This is his debut as Director of Photography, with his extensive expertise as an editor ensuring that he shoots purposely with the final edit in mind. Robin also brings his understanding of storytelling and composition to the post-production process, supervising the edit as Head of Picture at Outpost Belfast.