Rapt partner with Delaval Film on Joseph Wallace’s ‘Salvation Has No Name’
Salvation Has No Name (Image courtesy of Delaval Film)
Rapt, a production company “dedicated to telling stories in compelling and unprecedented ways” led by Maisie Williams and BAFTA Cymru winner Lowri Roberts, has this week announced its partnership with Delaval Film on stop-motion director Joseph Wallace‘s upcoming short film Salvation Has No Name. The pairing will see Williams and Roberts join the production as exec producers, with Loran Dunn of Delaval producing.
We’re so excited to be working alongside Loran at Delaval Film, she’s a brilliant producer and as a new production company, the relationships we make early on are massively important. There is no denying the distinctive style and taste of Joseph Wallace. That and the topics that he brings to light through his characters was an easy pull to the project for us. We’re delighted to be on this journey with them.
-Maisie Williams
We’re thrilled to be working with Maisie and Lowri from Rapt on this film, our ethos and ethics are very closely aligned and I hope this is the start of a long partnership with many more bold and distinctive films to come.
-Loran Dunn, Producer
Boasting the talents of top-tier animators including Tim Allen (Isle of Dogs) and Jody Meredith (Fantastic Mr Fox, Early Man) and an all-female cast led by Itziar Ituño (Money Heist), the film is a fifteen minute cinematic folktale that explores themes of xenophobia and faith.
Joseph Wallace and team (Image courtesy of Delaval Film)
A troupe of circus performers come together to tell a cinematic folktale of a desperate refugee, a dishonourable priest and a contemptuous village. When the refugee rejects her fate, the performers are forced to question the morality of their tale.
Scheduled to wrap production in September, Salvation Has No Name initially received a development residency at the Open Workshop in Denmark in 2017, later securing support from the BFI, the Visegrad Animation Forum and the Czech Film Fund. Production began at Bristol’s Aardman Animations before moving to Manchester’s Media City to ensure the safety of the shoot during the pandemic. Joseph’s work as a short film director – which includes 2011’s The Man who was Afraid of Falling and 2014’s Natural Disaster – accompanies a critically-acclaimed body of work spanning music videos, advertisements and, most recently, animated segments for Edgar Wright’s acclaimed documentary The Sparks Brothers.
Salvation Has No Name is my most ambitious work to date, the film aims to deliver a uniquely thrilling animated vision with timely themes. I’m delighted to be partnering with Rapt, whose filmmaking aspirations very much chime with my own, to finish the film and bring this story to a wide and diverse audience.
-Joseph Wallace
Salvation Has No Name will hit international festivals in 2022