top of page
Search

'Boifriend' selected for Cinemart 2023

Bombito producer Reece Cargan will be heading to Cinemart in January 2023, with writer director Jack Goessens to present feature project Boifriend.


Boifriend

When a fresh-faced lesbian starts to explore dating and the LGBT community, it quickly becomes clear the story doesn't end once you come out. Plagued by disturbing visions of Dysphoria and Euphoria, she starts to question her identity and place in the community once again.

The Team

Writer Director: Jack Goessens Producer: Reece Cargan of Bombito Productions

Jack and Reece worked together as director and producer on short film Everyman (2021) commissioned through the Scottish Documentary Institute’s Bridging the Gap programme. It recently won an RTS award for best short form.


It won Best Short Film at SQIFF and Euregion film festivals, as well as being shortlisted for a Grierson Award and screening at multiple BAFTA and Oscar qualifying festivals worldwide.

Their second short collaboration 'Who I Am Now', was funded by Creative Scotland & LEAP sports. The script was written by Michael Lee Richardson and starred Adam Kashmiry and Talisa Garcia. This film premiered at Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2022.


The Project

Boifriend is at first draft script stage and has been developed with the assistance of Screen Scotland and BFI NETWORK with its delivery partner Short Circuit via their first features scheme.


Jack has received additional support from Cinesud through their Career Lab and from winning the Royal Film Pitch with this project.​


Jack Goessens on Boifriend:

Boifriend is a character-driven, coming of age story exploring the feelings of gender dysphoria and euphoria. Tegan is disconnected from their body and consequently themself and desperately wants to feel a connection with somebody.


It’s a story about the fluidity of gender and sexuality. Although in the logline I have described a lesbian, by the end of the story the main character will realise that this label does not fit and they identify as transmasculine.


This story is not about gender transitioning, but the (potential) lead up to it. The process of working out what your gender identity is. It’s about what it means to be male or female in this world. It’s about body image, sexuality and identity; and about learning to love who you really are.


Cinemart

Cinemart is a co production market and the competitive industry platform which runs in parallel with the 52nd edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR).


20 titles have been selected for Cinemart 2023 with only 2 from the UK. Presentations to international sales agents, programmers and buyers will take place on February 1st 2023.


Goals at Cinemart

Ideally we would like to find a European co-production partner, international sales agent and distributor interest.


Chat about the project

If you would like to chat about the project or want to come onboard - drop a line to Reece Cargan - reece@bombito.co.uk




Prosopagnosia: For Your Consideration at the 95th Academy Awards

Steven Fraser's short documentary Prosopagnosia is currently qualified for the 95th Academy Awards and the voting has begun! The film has been submitted by distribution partner The New York Times in the Best Documentary Short category.


We are very excited to qualify and our keeping everything crossed that this Scottish, Stop Motion Animation and deeply personal account of Prosopagnosia can make it to the Academy Award shortlist and maybe bring a gold trophy home to Glasgow in March 2023.


The film

Steven's film uses expressive animation to investigate intimacy, communication and memory.


Prosopagnosia

Prosopagnosia means face-blindness and to understand this neurodiverse behaviour, the contents of a memory box are intricately explored.


Steven uses his sketchbooks, photographs and diaries to tell a unique, engaging and personal story.


In partnership with the New York Times - you can watch the film via their Op Docs site.

If you are a voting Academy member in documentary - please watch the film and of course - vote for it if you like it.

The film had its International Premiere at the world renowned IDFA Documentary festival in Amsterdam. Steven returned to screen the film again and take part in multiple Q&A sessions as part of the IDFA School Programme Screenings.



Other screenings

Since the premiere, the film has appeared at over 40 International festivals and had many more screenings. It was Grierson nominated and has won multiple awards for best film, experimental awards and a variety of grand jury prizes.


The Sebastopol Documentary Festival was our first Academy Award qualifying festival where the film won the Jury Award.


Sebastopol Jury Note:

“Beautifully shot, edited, and produced.


A warm, uplifting story about resilience and creativity. “A personal, vulnerable, and vibrant exploration of a fascinating yet little known topic – face blindness.


The jury was impressed by the visually rich design and stop motion animation, poignant narration, and profound questions raised.”


North American screenings and successes

The film continued stateside success and won an inaugural Marvels of Media award sponsored by AMC networks. Following this Steven attended the event to pick up his prize and artefacts from the film are now hosted in the Museum of the Moving image (MOMI).

The film is continuing to show across venues in North America across 2022 and 2023 thanks to Reel Abilities.


Watch the trailer


Watch the film online via the New York Times

We were thrilled when we gained support from the New York Times and if you have a subscription - Prosopagnosia is now featured to view on their Op Docs site.



Further information

Everyman wins a Royal Television Society award

Updated: Dec 14, 2022

We are so pleased that Jack Goessens personal, short documentary Everyman was nominated then WON an RTS award in the best short form category!

Director Jack Goessens and Producer Reece Cargan with the RTS award for best short form

The RTS Awards recognise and celebrate the best talent, skills and creativity across TV production in 2021. Juries have been meeting for the past two months, with the unenviable task of whittling entries down to a shortlist across 24 categories.

Stephen O’Donnell, Chair of RTS Scotland

“The standard of entries this year has been outstanding, and our jurors have had an incredibly difficult task in creating this impressive shortlist. I’m thrilled that we’ll be celebrating the wealth of TV talent we have here in Scotland at our awards ceremony later this month. Huge congratulations to all the nominees!”


The film

Everyman by Jack Goessens is a personal, visual essay about gender transition – focusing on the social context and exploring how the world is different living as female compared to being perceived as male.


Jack tells his story by using and reframing gender focused tropes and imagery from popular culture, mythology, history and art.


Starring

  • Adam Kashmiry as 'Mars'

  • Goose Masondo as 'Venus'

  • Arran Skillin as 'Young Jack'

  • Jamie Stewart as 'The Gatekeeper'


A majority queer cast display different aspects of Jack's life and identity, mirroring his experience from his unique point of view.


Filmed safely in and around Glasgow in October 2020, adhering to strict Government guidelines during the COVID 19 pandemic.


The team

  • Written, Directed & Edited by Jack Goessens

  • Produced by Reece Cargan for Scottish Documentary Institute

  • ​DOP: David Liddell

  • Design: Cara Roxburgh & Kirstin Rodger

  • Make Up Artist: Hollie Mckenzie

  • Composer: Alex Mackay

Further information

bottom of page