King Wray

King Wray

A crippled cult musician and his illegitimate son attempt to fake an epic comeback, but as the son is seduced by the narcissistic and debauched life of an electropunk icon, he realises he must choose between fame or the chance to finally have a father.

In a neon-noir world, we tell the story of Nate, an insecure 21-year-old who performs a mediocre cover act show for a living. When he is contacted by his suspected father Ike, a legendary masked musician called ‘King Wray’, star-struck Nate thinks fate has come knocking. But Ike’s acceptance of Nate is conditional. Together with a ruthless record label owner called Meg, they make an outlandish proposal. Nate must wear Ike's iconic mask and perform as King Wray onstage, while a crippled Ike sings from behind the scenes – together faking an epic comeback. Craving validation on all plans, Nate agrees, and they set off on tour. He rises to the challenge but soon realises Ike’s dominating presence is crippling his potential. Egged on by Dawn, a troubled and rebellious band member, Nate begins to take over. Ike pushes back, considering his son a direct threat to his identity, and refuses to yield control. Surrounded by depravity and hedonism, the electropunk tour slowly descends into mayhem.

Director’s statement
The themes we address in this film spawn from our own personal experience as brothers growing up with an over-controlling parent. We ask - how hard can it be to break away from parental influence if your father is an icon adored by millions? With Anton drumming in a garage punk band, this has surrounded us with the perfect anarchic backdrop to our film, which we’ll bring to life by using a one-of-a-kind hybrid technique. We’ll combine live-action filming (character relatability) with 2D/3D animation (music and emotional personification), blending both into a captivating and original style.

Director and Scriptwriter

Anton Groves


antongroves@gmail.com
Director and Scriptwriter

Damian Groves


damianjgroves@gmail.com
Producer

Ana Maria Pirvan


anamaria@anchorfilms.ro

Country of production

Romania

Target audience

18+

Animation Technique

2D / 3D hybrid

Production company

Studioset

Looking for

Co-producer, Financing

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CEE Animation is supported by the Creative Europe – MEDIA Programme of the European Union and co-funded by state funds and foundations and professional organisations from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.

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