Why I'm Producing
The most important reason I wanted to be involved with producing my script is because this story is very important to me. I didn’t want a producer optioning the script and then turning the characters, who are members of my family, into people they were not.
Especially the main characters in the story, who are Penrose and Miss Ad.
Can you imagine if some Hollywood hotshot turned demure Penrose into an action hero?
It would be easy for a producer and director to rewrite the script, which is set in a very volatile period of South African history, and turn Penrose into a political animal or a sexual character – of which he was neither. I am here to protect his legacy!
Thus, to protect and stay true to his character and my grandmother’s character (Miss Ad), I decided that the only way to protect them was to ensure I had creative control of the story. No way is anyone going to fictionalize my beloved grandmother either. She was formidable for sure, but I can't see her flying around like Wonder Woman!
Film Team So Far
I wanted to work with someone I had previous experience working with and most importantly, someone I could trust.
Chantelle De Carvalho and I have been friends for 20 years. We both lived in the same city, Durban (or commonly known as Durbs by the sea) doing similar things in our secondary schools and we even played hockey against each other but never met! She also lived through the same volatile period in South African history that Penrose and I lived through.
Fast forward a few decades, and we met at an online film forum when we were both looking for film collaborations. This is after we both emigrated from South Africa to England and were raising our young families here.
Chantelle is a producer at Coco&Claude Films, and because I wanted someone I could trust completely, I contacted Chantelle and was delighted that she loved the story and came on board to produce Finding Penrose.
Without further ado, meet Chantelle De Carvalho...
Chantelle De Carvalho
As a Creative Producer, Chantelle has a strong track record for producing narrative and documentary features, taking them from concept through to distribution.
Features include The Hatching, a comedy/beast horror which was distributed worldwide (Icon U.K, Kaleidoscope, Lionsgate US), The Secret Philosophy, an art house drama, Credo, a supernatural thriller aka The Devil’s Curse (Lionsgate US) and Copposites, a body-swap comedy.
Recently she completed her feature documentary, I Am Gen Z directed by Liz Smith,, and is currently in production on The Deadline, a series of social commentary feature docs.
Chantelle approached her longtime friend, the highly respected producer, Nigel Wooll and because he also loves Penrose's story, Nigel has also joined our production team.
Nigel Wooll
Nigel Wooll brings a wealth of experience and a production talent that has spanned over forty years.
Working with film legends such as Ridley Scott, Peter Yates, Ron Howard and Warren Beatty, his producer credits of over twenty-five titles include , “Willow”, “Son of the Pink Panther”, “G.I. Jane”, “Keeping Mum”, “Miss Potter”, “The Dresser”, “Reds” and Madonna’s “W.E". Nigel has recently completed Todd Field’s, Tàr starring Cate Blanchett.
Collaborating for more than a decade with Chantelle, they produced "The Hatching" together, and currently he has a slate of films in development and pre-production.
As a Director of Photography, Carlos’ passion for cinematic storytelling draws him to dramatic filmmaking. He is equally at home lighting for major studio franchises and lower budget Indies having recently completed Black Panther, Wakanda Forever, Black Widow, Spider-man II & III an,d Dumbo. He was also DOP/2nd Unit Director for Snow White currently in post. Indie features for which he has garnered critical attention include Vita & Virginia, Burn, Burn, Burn a,nd Outpost: Return of the Spetznaz.
Robin worked with his father, producer Omar Kaczmarczyk, for many years. As a freelancer writer, Robin has worked with many Hollywood film directors and producers including Ulli Lommel, Jeno Hodi, Staffan Ahrenberg, Lawrence Mortoff, David Williams, Lynn Taylor, Jon Fries, Berta Dominguez, and many more. As a Director of Development for Salkind, Robin worked as a script doctor, co-writer, editor and had various other writing assignments for a variety of production companies.
If you’d like a front row seat as Penrose’s story lights up the silver screen, we welcome Executive Producer investors with at least 5-10K (or more!) to help rocket this production to life. You’re invited to contact me directly so we can chat about this exciting opportunity. Alternatively, if you know any potential investors who want in on the ground floor of this inspiring film, go for it - connect me with them! For any intros leading to 7 figure funding, we’ll happily give you an Executive Producer credit so you can walk the red carpet too.