Cold Warrior

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A young gymnast questions her dreams of Olympic glory, when she discovers she's part of a sinister government plot to win at any cost.

Story:

Cold Warrior is the latest short film from award-winning writer/director, Emily Greenwood, and is being produced by BAFTA nominated production company, Wellington Films.

Romania 1980. It is the run-up to the Moscow Olympics. 14 year old Romanian gymnast Ana, trains hard with her trusted coach, Teodor. They want nothing more than a taste of success at the impending Olympics. But in the highly competitive world of gymnastics, the 'Olympic spirit' is soon overwhelmed by the State's desire to win.

The film is inspired by abortion-doping allegations that have come to light in recent years from a former President of the Olympic Committee. Gymnasts, some as young as fourteen, were believed to have been impregnated by their coaches and then forced to undergo traumatic abortions after a 3 month term. The pregnancy and subsequent abortion would lead to a natural boost of red blood cells and hormones giving the gymnast an undetected increase in strength.

While this is a fictional film based on allegations, at its core is a story of a relationship (that of Ana and Teodor) based on trust, which breaks down under severe pressure and leads to betrayal. Cold Warrior follows Ana through her training to the Olympic stage where, with the world watching, she finally shows her life-long coach, and her country, just how strong she truly is.

"While female Olympians may have taken advantage of the physical benefits of pregnancy, some have done so in a rather abhorrent manner. Athletes may get pregnant two or three months before competition, then have an abortion about two weeks prior to competing. Females may become artificially inseminated in order to receive the 'natural' benefits of the abortion-doping scheme. The beneficial changes to the woman's physiology linger after the medical procedure, allowing the athlete to obtain an increase in performance."

Extract from 'Should the International Olympic Committee Be Policing Motherhood : Constitutional Implications of regulating Pregnancy and the Abortion-doping Scheme under Domestic Law' Jarvis, Lisa. Seton Hall Journal of Sports Law (2003), volume 13 , issue 2 , p. 301

Why?

First of all, we plan on making a fantastic film.

Over 30 years on, there are still allegations of abuse in sport. Athletes, particularly children and teenagers, continue to face sexual, physical and mental abuse from their coaches. We hope that this film will make people more aware of abuse in sport.

How?

Emily Greenwood is an award-winning writer/director supported by the South of England's film agency Screen South and Kodak. Emily’s previous short film, A Neutral Corner, won Best Short Film at the Kodak Showcase in 2007.

You can check out the trailer for Emily's previous short, A Neutral Corner, by following this link... 

The Kodak award provides 35mm film stock, camera and lighting equipment to be used on her next short. Screen South has provided some funding to be put towards making a short film as part of the development of the feature length Cold Warrior.

Where will the funds go?

Emily's collaboration with Wellington Films aims to produce an outstanding high-profile short. Screen South and Kodak are contributing a great deal, but we need your help to complete the film to the highest standard.

We have big ambitions for Cold Warrior. We want to make sure we capture a totally authentic look and tone for the film. Your donations will help us to do the following:

Locations: Recreating late 1970s Romania on a low budget is no easy task, so we need to work with experienced location managers to discover some really fantastic places.

Vintage props and equipment: We need '70s gymnastics apparatus, broadcast camera and photography equipment, old television sets and a classic Romanian Dacia 1300 car.

Gymnasts and Choreography: We need to work closely with a gymnast and choreographer in order to recreate the style of gymnastics showcased at the time.

Archive Footage of 1970s Gymnastic Competitions: To add to the authenticity of the film, we want to include vintage footage, capturing the full scale and excitement of gymnastics at this time and showing the timeless beauty of the sport.

Outstanding cast and production design are key to this film and the money we raise through Sponsume will be split between our on-screen production values and hiring the best people we can.

How can you help?

Help spread the word!

Join our Facebook group, invite your friends, leave comments, follow us on Twitter. Tell us what you think of our plans.

Become actively involved and donate to the film - get hands on experience of the production, get a part as a spectator, judge, gymnast or a member of the press in the Olympic competition scene*, take part in Wellington's next feature production, receive a credit and rest assured that your donation will be used to make a really special film.

Any support is greatly appreciated and we look forward to you getting involved.

Who we are

The Cold Warrior team are a group of film industry professionals, working together to make a small film as big as it can be.

Director:
Emily Greenwood's interest in film was sparked by a love of photography and creative writing. In-between working as a digital film editor on films such as Quantum Of Solace, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World and Paul, Emily has written and directed 3 short films. A Neutral Corner won 'Best Film' at the Kodak Showcase and following a worldwide festival tour, opened the Dinard British Film Festival in front of Ken Loach's It's A Free World. This year she is being sponsored by Screen South to participate in Think-Shoot-Distribute 2010/11.

Producers:
Wellington Films is the BAFTA nominated British production company founded by Rachel Robey and Alastair Clark in 2000. Their films include London to Brighton, Better Things and Unmade Beds.

Producer:
Tom Wood began his film career in 2007 at London-based Autonomous for Cat Villiers. After working on a number of projects with Cat, including Boogie-Woogie (starring Danny Huston and Amanda Seyfried) and Danis Tanovic's Cirkus Columbia (due for release in 2011), he joined Wellington Films as Development Producer in 2009.

Co-Producer:
Anna Griffin has been working in the UK film industry for the past 4 years and has worked closely with directors such as Samantha Morton on her directorial debut, The Unloved, and Nicolas Winding Refn on his two UK based films, Bronson and Valhalla Rising. Anna joined Wellington Films in 2010.

*Please note that we will be shooting the film in and around the Nottingham area. Unfortunately our budget does not allow for us to pay for anybody's travel, should they wish to take part as an extra, or to shadow the filmmakers, as outlined in the perks.