aRENA

Arena was a definitely a passion-fuelled production from start to finish.

I worked with director Mike Ogden from development to distribution on this hard hitting comparison of two true stories, 75 years apart. The first is of Erna Petri in 1943 Poland, who murdered six Jewish children that she found in a forest, and the second of Salman Abedi as he made his way across Manchester to set off a bomb at the Arena in 2017.

We raised funds independently on this project through a Crowd Funding campaign and investment both from the director and our own Cherry On Top fund, and as such, this strongly Mancunian piece definitely has a special place in our repertoire. It’s been warmly welcomed at a number of film festivals and screenings.

Arena’s website has more info and pictures if you’d like to peruse further!

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Our incredible cast all went above and beyond with these very complex and challenging roles, but a particular shout out should go to the five amazing young men who played our concentration camp escapees. The boys all showed an incredible maturity beyond their years, both in their personal connections with the Manchester bombing, and in their understanding of their characters in the story. Each agreed to have their heads shaved before the shoot and were absolute troopers as we filmed outside in March in just a pair of shorts. Furthermore, in one of the most striking shots of the film, our lead boy actor, Charlie Concannon, ran full speed through the forest in his bare feet while we watched on open-mouthed at his absolute commitment to the cinematic moment.