NEWS

UDF jump on board 'Paper Babylon'.

Ugly Duckling Films has jumped onboard to produce the upcoming feature PAPER BABYLON with Blue Shadows Films (Butterfly Kisses, Wasp).

PAPER BABYLON is co-written by Henry Eagleton and Greer Ellison (Butterfly Kisses). Des Hamilton is the casting director. The project is receiving development funding from Northern Ireland Screen. Stephen Fry is an ambassador and has deemed the script "extraordinary".

Based on Eagleton’s own experiences, the film follows Josh, recently out of school, as he explores the hedonistic underbelly of London’s Soho gay scene. In his search for love in a loveless world, Josh teeters dangerously close to the perils of chemsex, becoming a victim to its allure. Fuelled by a fantasy with death and harbouring his own suicidal desires, Josh finds himself balancing on an increasingly fragile tightrope between life and death. A coming of age story about self-acceptance, PAPER BABYLON is a challenging but intimate look at how we come to terms with life.

The script was a participant of this year’s CINESTORY. Merlin Merton, Sophia Gibber and Lene Bausager will be producing. Casting will commence next month, with shooting set for the first quarter of 2017.

Said Merlin Merton of the coproduction, “Paper Babylon is an important but difficult story, with complex characters at its core. I’m extremely excited to be working with Lene and Sophia, who will bring their experience, great taste and sensibility to what will hopefully prove a powerful and original piece of filmmaking.”

Speaking on behalf of Bausager and Ugly Duckling Films, Sophia Gibber commented the following: “We’ve long been admirers of Merlin and his team, and were struck by the strength of the script and its subject matter. We’re looking forward to working together on this project, bringing what we deem to be an important aspect of our society’s culture to light."