The sanctuary

In a future crippled with an international fertility crisis, the majority of the women are slowly growing infertile. Society is spiralling out of control and the wealthy and insatiable have prospered in human kind's darkest hour; herding the slim percentage of fertile women into institutions known as 'Sanctuaries'. Under the guise of safeguarding humanity, these victims have become mere tools to further enrich the greedy.

The Unfortunate residents of the Sanctuaries are drugged and kept docile in order to push them through their disturbing life sentences. However, when one Sanctuary "Surrogate" stops taking her medication, she begins to piece together the fractured imagery of her past and the horrors of her present...

Directed by Christopher Linton, written by Dan Major and starring talented young actress Victoria Gibson, 'The Sanctuary' is a 15 minute short science fiction thriller and is the proud culmination of the efforts of all involved. The finished film was screened in early 2014 at the Star & Shadow Cinema, Newcastle Upon Tyne and has since then enjoyed a life touring festivals around the UK. The film was nominated for the best horror / thriller and best sound design categories during the awards ceremony at the 3rd Annual Southampton International Film Festival in October 2014. As well as numerous short films collections around the country, the film is now available to view online an the Linton Pictures Vimeo Channel and here on the Linton Pictures website.

Cast & Crew

Featured

Victoria Gibson as 'THE SURROGATE'.

Co-founder of Twenty Seven Productions and long time colleague of director Chris Linton, talented lead Victoria Gibson plays the Surrogate; the confused victim of the Sanctuary and the fertility crisis. She must piece together the broken elements of her past before she can come to the stark realisation of her present.

Dennis Baer as 'THE OVERSEER'.

Dennis plays the capitalist figurehead of the Sanctuary; the Overseer. A man of high taste and refinement, the Overseer is in charge of the running of the business and is responsible for handling new clients and dealing with dissatisfied customers.

Laura Sill as 'THE WIFE'.

A very talented north east based actress and dancer, Laura plays the part of a wealthy but sadly infertile young woman. The character is desperate for a family of her own and has walked down a dark road in order to achieve her goal of being a mother.

Ben Lucas as 'THE HUSBAND'.

As well as his skill sets as a production figurehead, Ben is also a highly gifted actor. He plays the troubled Husband; a man in conflict with his own dark urges as he uses the Sanctuary at the behest of his wife and her desire to parent a child.

Paula Wright as 'THE NURSE'.

The Nurse is a kind, motherly figure charged with the care of the Surrogates. She severely disapproves of the circumstances but is in no position to be able to help the girls. Instead she must do her best to make sure they are well looked after during their time at the Sanctuary.

Richard Jack as 'THE FATHER'.

In her drug fuelled flashbacks, the Surrogate has fractured dreams of her Father, a role very skillfully portrayed by Scottish actor Richard Jack. Richard is a welcome phantom that takes the Surrogate back to a happier time, before the Sanctuary and her incarceration.

Christopher Linton, Director.

Writer / Director and Head of Production at Linton Pictures, Chris Linton saw The Sanctuary through from start to finish. Along with writer Dan Major and actress Victoria Gibson, The Sanctuary is very much Chris' project.

Dan Major, Writer.

A university colleague of Chris, Victoria and several of the other crew members, Dan is a very talented writer. He is behind most of the creative projects laid out by Linton Pictures and Twenty Seven Productions and his name can often be seen under the lead writer's credit.

Michael Gardiner, Director of Photography.

Michael is an audio-visual artist based in the north east. The Sanctuary was his first venture into the world of drama film production, however prior to that he filmed and produced a broad portfolio of music videos and abstract film work. It was through these short films led the production team to wanting to work with him on the project.

Monika Kasprzak, Producer.

Now a film making veteran of some years, Monika made her first step into production with The Sanctuary. She has since gone on to work with the likes of Third Films and GSP Studios in making award winning feature films, in both production and casting roles.

Steve Lee, Sound Design.

For his work on The Sanctuary, Steve was nominated for Best Sound Design at the 3rd Annual Southampton International Film Festival in October 2014. He is a very talented sound mixer with a great deal of industry experience.

Fantome Line (Stephen Hedley), Edit & Grade.

Fantome Line Pictures (then Fantome Line Post Production) cut The Sanctuary together with director Linton. Stephen Hedley was the lead editor and did a fantastic job, despite occasionally dropping untimely Mortal Kombat references into the rough cuts.

production Stills

Stills are available as high quality prints and posters or as high resolution desktop backgrounds. Get in touch for more information!