Fylde coast filmmaker Brad plans premiere for costume drama

Brad James has been filming the elegant costume drama, Redcoat, since September last year.

The film is a dramatic love story, set against the upheaval of the Napoleonic wars, with the main character being a vulnerable British soldier, played by professional Blackpool actor Paul Eryk Atlas.

Brad was hoping the 30 minute film would have been ready to be screened for the first time during the Winter Gardens Film Festival back in May, but the pandemic halted filming back in March.

However Brad, 29, of Neville Avenue, Cleveleys, says he has been able to return to filming over the past few weeks, with social distancing, and he hopes the film can be released online in December and have a red carpet premier at a cinema yet to be confirmed.

He said: "Lockdown has been really difficult for a lot of creative artists but I have managed to get back to filming on Redcoat.

"The original date was set for May 22 at the Winter Gardens Film Festival, however, now I will be holding my own red carpet premiere for it at a cinema which I hope confirm soon.

"We filmed with a French colonel and also a short battle scene with British soldiers.

"I'm hoping this can give some encouragement to people in these difficult times."

Brad has been working with local young people whom he hopes to give vital experience in films for their CV, via his company, Lyceum Entertainment.

As well as costume coordinator Georgia Bates, the film crew has been joined by Nathan Pound, from Blackpool, who has had his first film industry experience as the firm's production assistant, helping with lighting set-ups and set dressing.

Brad, who trained at the Westminster Film School in London added: "We adhered very closely to the Covid-19 regulations released by the Government, with all cast and crew also having a Covid test in the week prior to filming."

Some of the filming last year took place at Lytham Hall, which doubles as a French chateau.

One of Brad's previous films, the Rome-based Infamous, has already appeared on YouTube and also on Amazon Prime.

Brad has also been invited to be a guest on a podcast called “Have You Scene This?” ran by cinema managers and owners in London, to discuss filming and giving people opportunities to build their CVs in the film industry.