Midlands Spotlight on A Wasted Life
midlandsmovies • April 29, 2020
Midlands Spotlight on A Wasted Life
Midlands Spotlight on A Wasted Life
Lee Charlish, under the Korky Films banner, is currently using the extended lockdown period to produce a new animation – A Wasted Life.
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".
On Sunday 26th April Midlands Movies Editor Michael Sales & awards ceremony co-host Ed Stagg (BBC Radio) announced the nominations for the 2026 Midlands Movies Awards live from the Queen of Bradgate Vintage Cinema in Leicester. A big thanks was given to the entire Jury Panel of industry experts who gave up their precious time to watch a huge selection of creative projects and as always, had a difficult time choosing from the excellent number of films from the region. You can read the full list of nominations across all 16 categories below and watch our announcement videos here: Part 1 & Part 2 And please also check out our great awards partner Chrome Video Best Actress in a Leading Role Karendip Phull for Family Kate Bracken for The Lace Rachel Baker for Throwing Fruit Chloe Wade for How Long Sophie Bullock for Ma Prison Best Animated Film Of All the Things by Steff Lee Big Red by James Pyle Statue in the Garden by Qianhui Yu Butterfly by Jacob Christie Best Director Luke Worrall for The Waterline Lily Portman for Quiet Jack Richardson for Daniel’s Room Jonathan Hawes for Sorry We’re Closed Sophia Dall'Aglio for Man from Mars Best Documentary Nothing's Impossible by Jacob Thomas McClean A Birmingham Symphony by Jemma Saunders We Bring Light: Leicester's Diwali Legacy by Kieran Vyas The Sunshine Café by Jill Lampert Through the Viewfinder by William North Best Sound (Editing or Mixing) Neil Evans & his team for Artificial Insanity Alasdair Gretton for Dead on Distribution Deepanjali Patel for Earworm David Hamilton-Smith for The Pause Heidi Wilson for Of All The Things Best Actor in a Supporting Role Devon Junior for Lazar Tim Sparrow for Safety Net Shaiek Ahmed Rana for Family Luke Rollason for Quiet Peter Willoughby for A Story of Spring Best Visual & Special Effects Jake Wesley-Worrall for Soul Trader Steve Askey & team for The Correction Unit Nick Willett, Matt Burkey & Jayne Hyman for Black Goat JaqD SFX MUA, Mind Magic Studios and Ben Harker for Beyond the Witching Hour Pete Key, Jai Blanks and Jacob Christie for Countenance Best Cinematography Gary Rogers for The Pause Laurence Mason-Guetta for Sorry We’re Closed Ian Snape for Soul Trader Ash Connaughton for Daniel’s Room Duane Adamoli for Surfing (nominations continue below...)
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