The Impact is a crowd-created feature film with multiple stories connected by one thing – a meteor strike. The film is a fascinating tapestry of interwoven stories from diverse voices around the world; at times moving and profound, at others hilarious and irreverent, but always asking ‘what would we do in our final moments?’ A multi-cultural and global reflection of pop culture’s vision of the apocalypse… written and filmed BEFORE the global pandemic that is covid-19.
The film is a London Screenwriters’ Festival initiative to get as many creative people as possible their first break and a ‘produced’ IMDb credit. Having been treated to a preview screening ourselves, the film is a remarkable feat of crowd-sourcing ideas, perspectives and talent. The opening scene is played by Olivia Williams (The Sixth Sense) who acts as the President of the United States giving an announcement, with the rest of the stories that make up The Impact, anchored around this initial address. Interestingly, Rather than play out as a linear anthology of short films, the constituent films have blended together in a way that provides multithreaded series of complementing and contrasting tales. A must watch for film fans of all kinds.
How did this all come about?
The film’s journey is an incredible one, starting in 2016 with over 2,800 script submissions from around the world, they whittled down to the final 50 which were then released to filmmakers. ‘The Impact’ sets two new world records for the Most Screenwriters and Most Directors on a feature film. It may also set the record for longest end credits, with the official credits listing sixty seven writers & thirty-six directors.
Leading the charge is Chris Jones, creator of the Impact50 concept and the lead director and producer of The Impact. The director of the London Screenwriters Festival, has also co-created and authored the best-selling Guerilla Film Makers Handbook series and runs regular film making workshops for filmmakers. Discussing why he decided to create The Impact, Chris said
“After running The London Screenwriters’ Festival for ten years, I have seen a pattern emerge among creatives. For one reason or another, many emerging screenwriters and filmmakers find it difficult to get that all-important first credit on a large-scale project, one that gets lots of press, IMDB listings, real-world reviews and massive internet activity. That’s why we evolved beyond 50 Kisses to The Impact. By involving major names such as Joe Eszterhas and Olivia Williams, we elevated the aspiration of the film and everyone involved.”
– Chris Jones, Writer & Director
The Impact will have its world premiere at Genesis Cinema, London, U.K on Tuesday 31st May.
Also Read: Don’t Look Up Vs Moonfall: Exploring The Reactions To Both Disaster Movies
