INDEPENDENT film-makers from Oxford have won praise for their new psychological thriller The Great Charade.
In the latest of a string of accolades, the homegrown movie received an Honourable Mention for Best Indie Feature after Los Angeles Film Awards results were released on Wednesday evening.
The film, written and directed by Oxfordshire couple Rodeo Strange, 24, and Daniel Strange, 26, has been scooping awards and nominations at film festivals worldwide, including those Italy and New York.
Lead Ricardo Freitas won ‘Best Actor’ and Marcus Davis-Orrom picked up ‘Best Acting Debut’ at the Oniros Film Awards in August. Francesca Louise White also received an Honourable Mention in the ‘Best Actress’ category.
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The results from The New York Film Awards, Festigious International Film Festival in Los Angeles and The Monthly Film Festival have yet to be released.
The Great Charade has been nominated for Best Film by every organisation.
The Oxfordshire couple directed their 90-minute psychological thriller over the course of just one week last November.
The couple met while students at Oxford University where they formed their company Rodeax, but their links to Oxford date back even further.
Ms Strange attended The Cherwell School in Oxford while her partner Mr Strange grew up in Chipping Norton.
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The film follows Hollywood stars Amara Giovanni (played by Francesca Louise White) and Ryan Sterling (Ricardo Freitas) who are abducted by their adoring fans (Candice Palladino and Marcus Davis-Orrom).
They wake up bound and bruised in a disused room, vulnerable to the whims of their captors.
Actors Ms White and Mr Davis-Orrom are also from Oxfordshire.
Ms White has previously appeared in numerous short films.
In 2018 she won ‘Best Actress in a Leading Role’ at the Moscow Indie Film Festival for her performance in short film Between the Divide’.
Writer-Director Ms Strange attributes her burgeoning film-making success to growing up in Oxford and to Film Oxford, a film and creative arts charity which provides training for local filmmakers.
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“I am definitely a product of living in Oxford. Film Oxford was the main company that fostered my ambitions early on.
“When I was younger and finding my feet during film, I spent a lot of time shooting things around Oxford and there is a really vibrant scene of filmmakers around if you’re looking in the right places.”
Until now, Rodeax has worked mainly on short films and adverts for local businesses in Oxfordshire.
Ms Strange said: "We’ve run our own business for five years now. After five years we developed enough funds from our adverts to fund our own feature film.
“Dan and I, along with most of the crew all met in Oxford while we were students and have stuck together and collaborated ever since. The entire crew has previously worked on lots of short films together.”
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She added: “The actual shoot [of The Great Charade] flowed quite smoothly so that we had a weird onset family in the end. We all had the same ethos and got really into the production. Everyone gelled instantly.
"For seven days we would all get there at about 5pm and leave there at 5am. Rodeax is currently seeking a distribution agency to put The Great Charade out on general release.
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