Actor Chris Jenks who was raised in Sliddery is hoping to raise awareness of his new Kickstarter campaign in an effort at moving into directing and producing his own films.
His first foray in the directing world will be in the short film, &Sons, which is a comedic take on the story of a funeral director who is planning his own funeral with the help of his two begrudging sons.
The gothic comedy-drama sadly coincides with the death of Chris’ own father so while it humorously deals with the sensitive subject of death, it also has an underlying and more serious undertone, that of dealing with the difficult emotions surrounding death.
Chris said: “We are hoping that our film will enable the difficult emotions surrounding death to be more easily talked about. And laughed about. Our film is a comedy and we believe there is tremendous power in humour, helping to demystify and process the unprocessable. When we laugh we acknowledge the truth.
“Through our film we also hope to inspire conversations between parents and children. Closing the distance in relationships which can sometimes open up when dealing with death.”
An accomplished actor, Chris will soon be starring in the second season of BBC’s Vigil with the first three episodes of the series due to be released this Sunday, December 10. The first season of the series was the UK’s most watched drama of 2021.
In the military drama, which is set at a Scottish military facility but which was filmed in Morocco, he will play military character, Callum Barker, alongside DCI Amy Silva (Suranne Jones) and DI Kirsten Longacre (Rose Leslie).
Chris told the Banner: “The shoot was split between Glasgow and Morocco so weather-wise it was a real roller coaster. We got to film on a Moroccan air base: you had to hand over your passports at the gate and were surrounded by real-world military exercises. It all felt very covert and exciting.
“I think the series is going to be thrilling and tense – it was a great challenge for me to play a character with a bit more steel and determination and show a different side of myself.”
Speaking about his current project, &Sons, Chris appealed to his Arran fans to look at his latest project too. He said: “We are hoping to create a hilarious, surreal film which helps explore the difficult conversations surrounding death. It can be very difficult and expensive to get short films made so we are tremendously grateful for the support we have received so far and would ask everyone to visit our Kickstarter page and read more about our story. Thank you!”
An overview and synopsis of the film can be found on the Kickstarter page at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sonsshortfilm/andsons and further details about the second season of Vigil, including interviews with the top actors, can be found at https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/mediapacks/vigil-series-two
Arran actor Chris Jenks in the second series of the BBC drama Vigil where he plays the troubled Callum Barker. No_B49Arranactor01_23_Chris_Jenks