Award-winning film distributor Revolver has set up a stand-alone production arm – Gunslinger – to develop, finance and produce feature films for distribution it was announced today by the company’s Chief Executive Justin Marciano.

Gunslinger will be led by a Head of Production that Revolver is currently looking to employ along with a team of production and development executives working to convert projects for the company to distribute to the market. Although the types of projects are not being determined by genre, Revolver already has a proven track record for delivering youth-oriented films, horror and other specialized titles successfully to British audiences. 

Gunslinger already has a number of projects in development, the first of which has just begun shooting is action thriller SHANK. Filmed entirely on location in South London, Shank is written by Paul Carter who is also producing alongside Revolver’s Nick Taussig. The film is directed by Mo Ali, one of the most exciting directors to come out of the British urban music scene. The film is set for a UK release in 2010.

“We have been quietly developing film projects for some time now,” says Justin Marciano.  “The fact that we’ve started principle photography on the first project already shows that we’ve been busy building our slate over the last few months.

“Gunslinger allows us to do what many others in the industry can’t - by being in constant contact with the marketplace, we can essentially reverse engineer how we approach film production by delivering a product with the right sized budget to fit its market value.

“As others are moving away from committing to UK filmmaking, we’re stepping up to support and nurture some of the most engaging new talent coming out of Britain at the moment. Mo is an exciting director to be working with and our talented cast demonstrate our belief in backing films that really say something to today’s young audiences.”

The cast of Shank boasts a wealth of British rising talent including Adam Deacon (Kidulthood, Adulthood), hot urban musician Ashley ‘Bashy’ Thomas, Michael Socha (Summer, Soft), Kaya Scodelario (“Skins”), Jan Uddin (Boogie Woogie) and Jennie Jacques (Cherry Tree Lane).  The film also features appearances from  Kedar Williams-Sterling (Silent Witness) as Junior, Jerome Holder (“Holby City”) and newcomer Rheanne Murphy.  Robbie Gee (Hush), and Tim Westwood (Pimp My Ride) complete the cast.

In a London of the future, the gap between rich and poor has grown to epic proportions and food has replaced drugs and guns as a priceless commodity. Junior (Kedar Williams- Sterling) and his gang the Paper Chaserz trade in ‘munchies’ but stay away from the territory disputes and the violence. A tip off about a food delivery leads to a conflict with a rival gang and the death of one of their own. Now Junior has to decide whether to stay true to his principles or whether to drag them all into a quest for revenge that could get them killed. 

www.shankthefilm.com

Gunslinger IMDB page

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