Man Who Sold The World

Other Info:

Man Who Sold the World weaves a twisting tale of evil and madness. Written and directed by Louis Melville, the film tells the story of Max Trisch (Jonathan Sidgwick), for whom the inheritance of his grandmother's mansion signals the first step on a terrifying, psychedelic odyssey. As he and his girlfriend Lidija (Rita Kvist) are drawn into a deep-running conspiracy involving the Second World War, the Holy Grail, and a sinister religious cult, Max finds his perceptions of time and reality beginning to unravel.

With two decades experience in front of and behind the camera, Louis Melville makes his feature debut as writer-director with Man Who Sold the World, following his work as co-producer on cult hit The Last Horror Movie, which won the award for Best UK Feature at the 2004 Raindance Festival. One of the producers on Man Who Sold the World was Stuart Fenegan, who produced Moon for director Duncan Jones. 

Man Who Sold the World writer-director Louis Melville

Louis entered the film industry in the 1980s, first working as an actor, both in Europe and the USA. By the 90s Louis found himself moving more to the other side of the camera, working in advertising, corporate films and music videos. In 2003 Louis co-produced The Last Horror Movie, followed by Cargo (2004) and associate produced Safety in Numbers (2005). Louis wrote and directed Man Who Sold the World in 2007, and he three further films that he has written and will direct scheduled for 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Name: Louis Melville.

Movie: Man Who Sold the World.

What is your earliest movie memory: Being scared and crying at seeing Disney's Sleeping Beauty at the age of three.

What are the biggest influences on your work: The surreal! From British TV shows of the 60s and 70s, like The Avengers and The Prisoner, to the work of directors like Ken Russell and David Lynch.

What is your favourite film of all time: A Matter of Life and Death, by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.

What is your favourite film of the last twelve months: Antichrist, by Lars von Trier.

What do you want to achieve with your movies: To give the audience a puzzle that they want to decode and debate. I want them to tell me what the film is about.

What single thing would improve the film industry: The UK government financially supporting British film-makers between productions.

What is the most exciting development in contemporary cinema: The advent of high quality cameras at an accessible price to film-makers, and the advent of online distribution, giving film-makers a place to find an audience for their individual voices.

Complete this sentence “My next movie is going to be...”: Wine’O In The Woods, the story of lost 1980s photographer Tony Banks, [to film] early in 2010. Then in late 2010, the New York state-set In Every Dream Home - the story of three women all linked in a web of lies. The film is painted against the surreal backdrop of a small beach-front resort closed up for the winter.