Kade graduates to become amateur filmmaker

A Leicester College alumnus is making waves in the film industry, having already written and directed an award-winning movie, with plans in place for his next one.

Kade Kelly graduated from the Film and TV Production course at Leicester College and after deciding to work whilst writing scripts, rather than going to university, he planned his first film for three to four years, gathering equipment and saving money up.

Debut film scoops award

The 39-minute film, Until Tomorrow, deals with very real and hard-hitting topics, and was all filmed locally around Leicestershire with local actors including two recent Leicester College BA Acting graduates - Siera Taylor and Thomas Saxon.

Until Tomorrow is a fictional tale about mental health - both the experience of suffering poor mental health and the systems in place to support those affected. The film follows two siblings, one of whom takes their own life.

The movie won the Best Original Script at the Athens Film Festival and was screened at Leicester city centre's Showcase cinema.

Watch the trailer for Kade’s first film here.

‘Exactly what I was looking for’

Talking about his journey so far, Kade says: “I’ve always had an interest in film, storytelling, and writing. I find film and TV a huge form of escapism. From making films with my cousins on an iPad, I was ready for a more hands-on film production course and the course at Leicester College was exactly what I was looking for.

“Although Covid struck during the course, meaning that we missed out on a few subjects, I really enjoyed it all and the final practical piece at the end went well. The class split into groups to bring together sections for a short horror/psychological film. It’s my favourite genre and we had the freedom to do what we wanted.”

Second film underway

Now, Kade, whose day-job sees him work at Tesco, is working on a new film and hoping to start filming soon.

The ambitious project will be about a woman in the 17th century witch trials and another living in modern America, focusing on women's rights issues. The film is in support of women globally and specifically targets the conversation around women’s access to abortion and control over their own bodies.

The script is written and the film in pre-production, although Kade is pitching for funding from production companies and via a GoFundMe campaign. You can contribute to Kade’s film on his GoFundMe page.

“My future plans are to complete the second film and get it to international film festivals. Later, I may move to one of the UK centres for filmmaking such as London, Manchester, or Scotland but I will keep making my own stuff,” concludes Kade.