LOGLINE

Everything changes one night for Meredith, a young backpackerdesperate to find meaning in her life, when she meets a mysteriousstranger in a dingy British service station…claiming to know her.

ABOUT

REST STOP is directed by award-winning filmmaker Kate Herron, written by Herron with Canadian comedy writer Monica Heisey (debut novel I Can't Believe It's Not Better featured by The New Yorker) and was made on the LONDON COMEDY FILM FESTIVAL mentor scheme with SKY COMEDY, supported by CREATIVE SKILLSET. It follows Meredith, a young backpacker, who finds everything changed when she meets a man claiming to be her Guardian Angel in a dingy British service station. At it's World Premiere at the OSCAR and BAFTA-qualifying RHODE ISLAND FILM FESTIVAL Rest Stop won the GRAND PRIZE for BEST COMEDY SHORT. Selected from over 5,700 entries from over 73 countries, REST STOP played the festivals opening night slot, “FLICKERS, ROAD TO THE OSCARS”, a signature theme for the festival where some of the best short films that the 2015 festival has to offer are showcased.

“ A CLEVER LITTLE FILM THAT TOYS WITH THENOTION THAT ALL IS NOT AS IT SEEMS TO BE"

- TAKE ONE

“EXCELLENT" - DIRECTORS NOTES

DIRECTORS STATEMENT

I’d been kicking around the idea of Rest Stop for a few years. It was bornpartly out of me wanting to exorcise a period in my early twenties when Iwent backpacking around in the USA in the hope of finding myself. I was3000 miles from home and events that would normally be mundane, like abus breaking down or buying a coffee, suddenly transformed into these wildand magical experiences. I was a free spirit, a Jack Kerouac of the tumblrage! I was mainly a naive idiot with a blocked bankcard, carrying uselessitems like water purification tablets.

But reading my diaries at a safe distance of a few years I felt there was a lotof comedy to be found in this. I also had been reading Mary Roach’s Stiff:The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, which gave me the amused thoughtthat what if our biggest achievement was after we died? The most we wouldbe known for would be being part of an museum exhibit on the dangers offlat-pack furniture building or maybe the knee, that we donated to medicalscience would help a surgeon pass a medical exam.

I took all these ideas to my co-writer on Rest Stop, Canadian comedianMonica Heisey, who was currently over in the UK. We had wanted a projectto work on together and threw around these ideas and Rest Stop was born.The main change we had was moving the idea from the USA to set it in theUK. As a filmmaker I have always leaned towards making films that aredialogue-heavy (my last short Valentine is a monologue) as I find a lot ofcomedy in language and enjoy building up characters this way, so me andMonica set ourselves the challenge of writing a story that would be aconversation, in real-time, at one location.

We both felt there is nowhere more miserable or unromantic in the UK that abackpacker might end up in than a British service station, fluorescent hellishplaces that you only stop at when you’re so tired you think you might crashyour car or so hungry so you are worried you might eat one of yourpassengers. They are a far cry from the romantic stop-offs seen in the roadmovies of American cinema.

As comedian Richard Hall puts it:

“You know why there’s never been a decent British road film? I’ll tell youwhy because there’s nothing remotely exhilarating about having to eat arancid chicken salad sandwich from a BP station at the services on the M61.There’s nothing romantic about having a Eddie Stobart truck with some mail-order bride’s name stencilled onto the front grill trying to ram it’s self upyour ass at 80 miles per hour. Nothing! You ever been to a happy eater? Noone is happy. They should make a British road film, it’ll be two guys stuck inan 8-mile tailback waiting for road-works to end, you won’t even needdialogue” (Richard Hall, Continental Drifters, BBC4).

AWARDS

(WINNER) GRAND PRIZE FOR BEST SHORT COMEDY FILM

19th FLICKERS: RHODE ISLAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

(NOMINATED) BEST DIRECTOR - TBAUNDERWIRE FILM FESTIVAL

(NOMINATED) BEST COMEDY - TBAAESTHETICA SHORT FILM FESTIVAL

OFFICIAL SELECTION

FLICKERS: RHODE ISLAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL World Premiere

CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL European/UK Premiere

UNDERWIRE FILM FESTIVAL London Premiere

AESTHETICA SHORT FILM FESTIVAL

NAPLES INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL Florida Premiere

CULCAROUS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL North Carolina Premiere

LONDON SHORT FILM FESTIVAL

PRODUCTION NOTES

Rest Stop was made on the LOCO London Comedy Film Festival with Sky Comedy mentor scheme. The scheme is aimed at developing the next generation of comedy filmmakers and giving close access to industry experts and mentoring from Sky’s comedy commissioning team on a short film project.

Whilst on the scheme Genia Krassnig (producer), Kate Herron (writer-director) and Monica Heisey (writer) all received mentoring from Sky Comedy Commissioning Editor, Saskia Schuster and LOCO founder Jonathan Wakeham. As a team they met industry experts including multi-award winning comedy producer and writer Robert Popper, (co-creator of the mock BBC documentary LOOK AROUND YOU), and award-winning comedian Isy Suttie (Peep Show).

SASKIA SCHUSTER (SKY)

Saskia Schuster is currently the COMEDY COMMISSIONER at ITV and used to work as the COMMISSIONING EDITOR at SKY COMEDY. As a commissioning editor at Sky she has worked as executive producer onthe following shows: LITTLE CRACKERS Series 2&3 (Sky 1), YONDERLAND (Sky 1), THE KUMARS (Sky 1), A YOUNG DOCTORS NOTEBOOK (Sky Arts), PSCYHO BITCHES(Sky Arts), WALKING THE DOGS (Sky Arts), CITY HALL (Sky Arts), NELLIE & MELBA (Sky Arts), NIXON'S THE ONE (Sky Arts), TRYING AGAIN (Sky Living), GIVE-OUTGIRLS (Sky Living), "LOVE MATTERS" SEASON (Sky Living), THE SPA (Sky Living), GATES (Sky Living) and RONNA & BEVERLY (Sky

Atlantic). Before joining Sky, Saskia was a development executive at TOFF MEDIA , where she executive produced THE ARMSTRONG AND MILLER SHOWfor BBC 1 amongst other projects. She has worked at TALKBACK THAMES and OBJECTIVE PRODUCTIONS on a range of shows from BBC Radio 4 comedy drama BUMPS AND BRUISES through to PEEP SHOW for Channel 4.

JONATHAN WAKEHAM (LOCO)

Jonathan Wakeham is the co-founder and programmer of LOCO andthe LOCO London Comedy Film Festival. LOCO is a not-for-profitfoundation whose mission is to discover, develop and screen theworld’s most distinctive comedy film-makers. It champions the craftof comedy film-making with training, screenings and the LOCOLondon Comedy Film Festival, which returns to the BFI Southbankand selected cinemas for a week every January, lightening upLondon in the most miserable month of the year. Jonathan haswritten two award-winning short films and the upcoming featurefilms The Nile, Between Weathers and The Arbitrator (with Fred Hogge). He is represented by Independent. He is also a Trustee of Camden People's Theatre and Arts Emergency, a charity that supports arts education and mentors young arts and humanities students through its Alternative Old Boys Network.

PRESS "Fantastic" – DirectorsNotes

"REST STOP is a clever little film that toys with the notion that all is not as it seems to be" -TAKE ONE

Short Fusion: Space and Oddity Cambridge Film Festival programme review in TAKE ONE

Rest Stop wins GRAND PRIZE of BEST COMEDY SHORT at Oscar-qualifying RHODE ISLANDFILM FESTIVAL

Rest Stop Space & Oddity programme tickets page at CAMBRIDGE FILM FESTIVAL

Rest Stop UK-Premiere in the Space and Oddity programme at BAFTA-qualifying CAMBRIDGEFILM FESTIVAL

Tickets on Sale for Rest Stop's Premiere in the Opening Night Screening at RHODE ISLANDFILM FESTIVAL

Filmmaker Spotlight: Kate Herron Director of "Rest Stop" in RHODE ISLAND FILM FESTIVALBLOG

Rest Stop trailer launched via FILM SHORTAGE "BEST SCRIPTED SHORTS ONLINE"

BAFTA-winning actor Ben Willbond cast in Rest Stop at LOCO

Filmmakers Announced for the LOCO and SKY Comedy Mentor Programme at LOCO

CAST

BEN WILLBOND (GUARDIAN ANGEL)

Ben first came to prominence as one half of ‘Ben andArn’, winning the PERRIER BEST NEWCOMER AWARDfor THE BEN ‘N’ ARN SHOW at the Edinburgh Festival in1998.

He has appeared in all five series of HORRIBLEHISTORIES for CBBC/BBC1, and also performed in theHorrible Histories BBC Proms live at The Royal AlbertHall in 2011. The show’s long list of awards includesfive BAFTAs, a 2011 BROADCAST AWARD and BESTSKETCH SHOW in both 2010 and 2011 at THE BRITISHCOMEDY AWARDS. With the team from HorribleHistories, Ben then went on to co-write and star infamily adventure fantasy YONDERLAND for SKY 1.

Ben co-wrote, co-produced and co-starred in the shortfilm TOOTY’S WEDDING, which in 2011 won the LASHORTS FILM FESTIVAL Award for BEST SHORT, theGRAND JURY PRIZE for BEST COMEDY at the RHODEISLAND FILM FESTIVAL and the BEST FOREIGN FILMand BEST DIRECTOR awards at the LA COMEDYFESTIVAL. In 2012 it screened at the SUNDANCE FILMFESTIVAL in Utah and the inaugural SUNDANCELONDON, and was nominated for the SUNDANCESHORTS AWARD. Most recently he has co-written andco-stars in the feature film BILL, with BBC FILMS, inwhich he will star alongside the cast from HORRIBLEHISTORIES and YONDERLAND. The film is due to bereleased in 2015.

After appearing as ‘Adam Kenyon’ in a one-off episodein Series 2 of THE THICK OF IT (BBC2), Ben returned asthe same character in a main role in Series 4. 2008 sawBen star alongside co-writers Laura Solon and MarekLarwod in LAURA, BEN and HIM, their acclaimedmulticharacter sketch show for ITV2. Other TVappearances include series one and two of REV (BBC2),EXTRAS (BBC1), INSIDE NO.9 (BBC2), The CATHERINETATE SHOW (BBC2) and BLACK BOOKS (Channel 4).

"The man is faultless: he is a brilliant writer with apositively forensic ear for dialogue a charismaticperformer who combines serious acting talent with killercomedy delivery" - THE SCOTSMAN

@benwillbond // www.benwillbond.com

CARI LESLIE (MEREDITH)

ABIGAIL BLACKMORE (CASHIER)

Cari Leslie is an actor and improvisorcurrently based out of Amsterdam.Originally from Ottawa, Canada, Carihosted three seasons of the children’seducational television series, A WORLD OFWONDERS, taking her to 28 differentcountries, and which was nominated forBEST CHILDREN’S OR YOUTH TV PROGRAMOR SERIES at the Gemini Awards (now theCANADIAN SCREEN AWARDS) in 2010. In2011, Cari moved to Amsterdam to join thecast of BOOM CHICAGO, performing improvand sketch comedy nightly to internationalaudiences. Previous alumni includes SethMyers (LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MYERS,SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE) and Jason Sudeikis(HORRIBLE BOSSES). Before the move,Cari was active in the Canadian improvscene, co-founding CRUSH IMPROV, anOttawa-based longform improv troupe, aswell as performing in various festivalsaround the country and volunteering withthe Canadian Improv Games, a nationalhigh school improv tournament.

@caricalamari

Abigail is a television and film writer,director, and occasional actor, working incomedy, horror and drama. Her shorthorror-comedy, VINTAGE BLOOD, justpremiered at this years FrightFest. Abi isdeveloping her first feature aswriter/director, TALES FROM THE LODGE, ahorror-comedy portmanteau set in anisolated holiday cabin. Mackenzie Crook andIndira Varma are attached to play leadroles. Abi's short film, BLIND DATE, wonAudience Awards at the 2010 AUSTIN FILMFESTIVAL and the 2011 LOS ANGELES FILMFESTIVAL and she went on to make asitcom pilot based on the film, calledREGULARS, for Ch4 which co-starred CavanClerkin, Michael Smiley and Dolly Wells.

She occasionally works as an actor. Recentroles include the female lead in CavanClerkin’s feature, NICE GUY, and as Diannein Sharon Horgan’s BBC sitcom, PULLING.

@snaxhanso

CREW

KATE HERRON (writer/director)

Kate Herron is a writer-director of comedy anddrama short films, with a focus on female-ledcomedy. She is passionate about makingcharacter-driven films that are as cinematic asthey are funny. Needless to say, she's a bigBilly Wilder fan.

Her films have competed internationally atfestivals including Flickerfest, Palm SpringsShortsfest, Cambridge Film Festival and LondonShort Film Festival. Her work has also beenfeatured by Hunger Magazine, DigitalFilmmaker, Marie Claire and Film4. It has beendescribed as,“Fantastic” (Directors Notes)“Moving”(The British Comedy Guide)and“Great” (Aint It Cool News).

Kate is passionate about encouraging female-led comedy work and has spoken on panels atmultiple festivals about comedy filmmakingincluding London Short Film Festival and is amember of female directing collective Film Fatales (founded by Leah Meyerhoff in NYC2013, “A movement is forming, and it's a goodone” Filmmaker Magazine).

She is currently has another short, FAN GIRL,that is in post-production, starring Steve Oram(Sightseers) and written by ScreenInternational Stars Jessica & HenriettaAshworth. She is also writing her debut feature,James is Dead which won her a place on the2015 Edinburgh International Film FestivalTalent Lab and the London Film Festival Think-Shoot-Distribute feature development scheme.

@iamkateherron // kateherron.com

MONICA HEISEY (writer)

GENIA KRASSNIG (producer)

Monica Heisey is a writer and comedian fromToronto. Her written work has appeared in theNEW YORKER, VICE, THE GUARDIAN,COSMOPOLITAN, HELLO GIGGLES, and manyother print and online publications. She has performed improv, sketch, andstandup at venues across Canada, Europe andthe US, including THE UPRIGHT CITIZEN'SBRIGADE THEATRE in New York and theEdinburgh Fringe Festival.

Monica is currently Editor-at-Large ofBROADLY, VICE'S sister site for women. Herfirst book I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S NOT BETTER,is out now Canada and the US, and wasdescribed by LENA DUNHAM (GIRLS) as "theonly humour book I ever want to own."

@monicaheisey

Genia Sophie Krassnig is a freelanceProducer and Production Manager who hasworked with an array of award-winningfi lmmakers including BIFA-WINNINGdirector Rob Savage. Starting in the filmindustry in Vienna with artist MaraMattuschka, Genia relocated to London andworked for CITY SLANG RECORDS, ESPN,the BFI, among others. In 2011, her shortDOGME STRIDE premiered at the BAFTASHORTFUSE 5 event.

REST STOP is Genia’s second collaborationwith filmmaker Kate Herron, their previousshort VALENTINE screened at numerousfestivals worldwide, including a nominationfor Genia at UNDERWIRE FILM FESTIVALwhere she was nominated for BESTPRODUCER.

Genia is currently working at award-winningproduction company X FILME CREATIVEPOOL in Berlin as the Assistant to theproducer Stefan Arndt, who has producedfilms like AMOUR, which won the AcademyAward for Best Foreign Language Film in2012 and WHITE RIBBON which won thePalme d'Or in 2009.

http://cargocollective.com/geniaskrassnig

KARL CLARKE (director of photography)

RICCARDO SERVINI (editor)

Karl Clarke has been workingprofessionally in the camera departmentfor 8 years. Beginning as a cameraassistant on various Feature films and TVshows such as POLDARK, MISFITS andTHE QUIET ONES. Commercial creditsinclude projects for STRICTLY COMEDANCING, 40D, BARCADI, TURKISHAIRLINES and more.

Now a Director of Photography, Karl hasbeen shooting a variety of work. Fromshort films such as the award winningREST STOP to the recent feature film THECARRIER starring Edmund Kingsley, JoeDixon and Jack Gordon.Karl is currently in pre-production for newBritish feature film JUST CHARLIE, a newcoming of age story dealing with thesubject of Gender Dysphoria.

@clarkekarl //karlclarkedop.com

Riccardo Servini is a London based editorworking in films, commercials, andpromos. Working with award-winningdirectors including BIFA-winning RobSavage, the shorts Ric has cut havecompeted internationally at festivalsincluding the London Film Festival,Raindance, Palm Springs Shortsfest,Flickerfest and Frightfest. In the world ofcommercials Riccardo has cut for brandsincluding Reebok, Groupon, and hadpromos featured as Vimeo Staff Picks, byBUG and Promo News.The music video hecut for Dear Reader won Best Music Videoat the London Short Film festival. RestStop is Ric's second collaboration withdirector Kate Herron, their first Kill List -The Musical was a Film4 Scene StealersFinalist.

When not editing Ric is a prolific filmmakerin his own right. His super hero comedyEarths Last Hope won the TOP RATEDFILMINUTE Prize and he just directed amusic video for the band Them & Us thatwill be launched across MTV in the USAover this summer.

@RicBebop // WEBSITE

SAMANTHA SHELDRAKE (production designer)

TOM WHETMORE (sound designer)

Samantha is a London based ProductionDesigner/Art Director who studied ‘Arts &Media’ at UCA in Farnham.

Sam has worked on a variety of differentprojects including short films, interactivetheatre, corporate events, commercials,television and music videos. Artists shehas worked producing sets for include;Laura Marling, Zemmy, Fabien Hollandand Dear Reader for which the musicvideo ‘Took them Away’ received ‘BestMusic Short’ at London’s Short FilmFestival in 2013. She regularly works forSecret Cinema and has assisted onbuilding sets for Brazil, ShawshankRedemption and Casablanca amongmany others.

@sammi_shel

Tom Whetmore has been working in thesound department for six years. Helearned his trade on indie films whereworked as a Sound Mixer and SoundDesigner on a number of award-winningfeature films and shorts, including theBIFA-winning STRINGS. He now works asa Sound Trainee or 2nd Assistant Soundon Drama's with recent credits includingLEGEND, MACBETH, JUNGLE BOOKORIGINS and FLORENCE FOSTERJENKINS.

Rest Stop is Tom's third collaboration withdirector Kate Herron, working with her onone of her first shorts, Shooting People'sFILM OF THE MONTH Open House andVALENTINE.

@Sounddevicestom

ERLINE O'DONOVAN (digital colourist)

ROBIN SCHLOCHTERMEIER (composer)

Erline is a freelance editor who alsogrades shorts, music videos andcommercials. She graduated from theESEC (Paris) in the editing department,then moved to the UK.She has assisted on films such as KICK-ASS 2, EX MACHINA and TARZANUNTAMED, where she learned fromestablished editors like Oscar nomineeJon Harris and Bafta winner Mark Day.She has edited numerous shorts andseveral music videos including WHEN WEFALL for Alex Garland (director of EXMACHINA). She was additional editor on afew features such as BIG GAME and she’sabout to cut her first feature.

@erline_odonovan erlineodonovan.co.uk

Robin is a composer and conductor withan Anglo-German background working inLondon. He has written the music foracclaimed BLACK PEARL award-winningfeature documentary QUEENS OF SYRIA,for German feature comedy OH NO, NOTRUDY AGAIN (CANNES 2015, theatricalrelease 2015) and for part of the BRITISHINDEPENDENT FILM AWARD-WINNINGfeature STRINGS.Robin has scoredseveral broadcast documentaries,including THE VIRGIN QUEEN'S FATALAFFAIR (ROYAL TELEVISION SOCIETYAWARD - BEST SPECIALIST FACTUAL),THE SPY WHO BROUGHT MARY QUEEN OFSCOTS and THE KINGS WAR ONWITCHES (all C5/NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC).He's written the music fornumerous short films including AULDLANG SYNE (starring AislingLoftus),ABSENCE (starring Paul McGann)and cult horror series BLOODY CUTS.

He also composes for commercials andconducts a chamber ensemble as part ofmulti-media live shows with crossoverartist CHOZEN.

robinschlochtermeier.com@robinschlochter

FULL CAST AND CREW LIST

DIRECTOR: Kate Herron WRITERS: Kate Herron & Monica Heisey

PRODUCER: Genia Krassnig

CASTMEREDITH: Cari Leslie

GUARDIAN ANGEL: Ben WillbondCASHIER: Abigail Blackmore

SLEEPING MAN: Dattani PraveshCOUPLE: Wesley Lloyd & Helen Road

CAR CRASH MAN: Andrew BridgeMAN EATING BURGER: Matt Waterhouse

SUIDICE PACT LADIES: Lou Sanders & Leanne Davis

EXTRAS: Jesmond M, Stella Mannion, Oliver Malam, Simon Gavin & Peter YKyei

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Karl ClarkeEDITOR: Riccardo Servini

PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Samantha SheldrakeART DIRECTOR: Katie Cobley

COMPOSER: Robin SchlochtermeierFIRST ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Charlotte Hill

VFX: Marc Twinam-CauchiDIGITAL COLOURIST: Erline O'Donovan

GAFFER: Kit Mackenzie, Alexander SmithSPARKS: Tomas Brice, Elinor Williams

CAMERA ASSISTANT: Ollie Craig

SOUND EDITOR: Tom Whetmore SOUND RECORDISTS: Tom Whetmore, Vicki Whitehead

PRODCUTION MANAGER: Alex Segley PRODUCTION ASSISTANT: Manca Gale SCRIPT SUPERVISOR: Rebecca BabageeLOCATION ASSISTANT: Benham Taheri CASTING ASSISTANT: Riley Madincea

THIRD ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Ash Cooke

DRIVERS: Riley Madincea, Benham Taheri

STILLS PHOTOGRAPHER: Zoe MidfordMEREDITH'S BLOG DESIGN: Chris Macfarlane

TITLE DESIGN: Donna Pearmine CREDITS DESIGN: Rebecca Brand POSTER DESIGN: Andrew Visser

FESTIVAL CONSULTANT: Katie McCullough at Festival Formula

WITH SPECIAL THANKS TOMichael Beddoes, Rob Savage, Eben Bolter, Sophia del Pizzo, Sally Paffett,

Briony Redman, Paul Foxcroft, Cariad Lloyd, Michael Orton-Toliver, John HenryFalle, David Shore, Anne Zander, Peter Hort, Danielle Haywood, CharlotteRegan, Jan Herron, David Herron, Benham Taheri, Craig Harvey, Andrew

Visser, Hassan Matar, Tomas Brice, Adam Etherington, Jamie Childs at CanaryFilm Rental, James Burden, Louisa Burden, Louisa Fielden, Ellie Johnson at

Speade

Developed on the LOCO Mentoring Programme, which is supported by CreativeSkillset Skills Investment funds.

With thanks to Sky

MENTORSSaskia Schuster, Jonathan Wakeham, Harriet Fleuriot, Hannah Patterson

CONTACT

EMAILreststopmovieuk@gmail.com

WEBSITEwww.reststopfilm.com

High-resolution stills and video material available upon request.