Heavily influenced by world affairs, the movie deals with themes such as isolation, captivity and mental illness, with the tagline – ‘Never let self-doubt hold you captive.’

A Wasted Life is about Hero, a character who is allowing himself to exist in a situation which, fundamentally, is not allowing him to be his true self; to be completely free and happy. This feeds into a feeling of captivity and then paranoia. Seeking counsel and already struggling with substance abuse, Hero’s dreams and thoughts become more chaotic, before he is faced with a shuddering reality and a choice. 

Creator Lee Charlish says, "The movie is littered with allegory and metaphor about the way we treat ourselves, others and animals; the cage we put ourselves in and self-imposed restrictions. The main strand of thought being that even when we’re free, we’re not as free as we could be". 

"We are involved in lots of situations which we just blithely accept and adhere to, more often than not for ‘an easy life’ when, in fact, the easy life only actually exists outside of this way of thinking. When we don’t suppress ourselves or ‘give in’. When you can escape that thought process, the situation which is keeping you dormant as a personality, that’s when you’re truly free", adds Lee.

"This movie explores those themes to a stark degreed and then lets itself unravel quite magically. It’s a cathartic film, considering the imposed restrictions we currently face and I expect a high trigger of liberation after it ends, with more people defending their own personal freedoms and will".

The film is heavily influenced by Lee’s musical choices with elements of two songs in particular inspiring the them and tone. 

"I’m often inspired by lines from songs or random thoughts arising, more than I am from watching films", explains the director. "Although interpretation through the use animation or film is till the most natural expression for me. ‘It’s a real journey and I hope I can carry it off. To many it will appear ambiguous, but it will and does all make perfect sense without obvious signposting".

The movie promises to involve lots of bleak imagery and characters, all made tirelessly from photographs and digital elements compiled and stitched together by Lee himself. 

Lee will be joined on voice work duties by a highly-accomplished cast. Korky Films stalwarts, Martyn Luke from Leicester and the hard-working and sublime Stuart Walker, the only non-Midlands resident involved, have given their services, once again, to this project.

Mark Hancock and Damien Trent also provide voice work; swapping their usual roles behind the camera for these acting parts. The line up is completed by Korky Films newbie Chrissie Chanel, a Warwickshire based actor, who provides the voice for two characters.

"I’m so grateful to have these guys on board. Their work is amazing and I’m glad they buy into the script, even though I’ve hidden a lot of the elements from them. It’s great that they have recording equipment which enables them to work remotely and safely on this project, in their own homes".

With an expected release date for early summer the film hopes to be a "truly lockdown movie".