Andrew Cumming might just be inventing a new genre with his debut feature The Origin, which he labels “a paleolithic horror film”.

“It’s about a ragtag tribe of six early humans who follow their leader to a new land to create a future for themselves,” he explains. “They encounter something ancient and evil that starts to run amok. It’s a film inspired by anger and how people can turn on each other.”

It is not the first time Cumming has worked in genre: his ambitious 2013 NFTS graduation short Radiance is a supernatural thriller about a young woman with a dangerous condition. “I enjoy the worldbuilding aspect of filmmaking,” he says. “Doing something that’s high concept allows you as a filmmaker to get more creative with reality.”

Click here for the complete list of 2021 Screen Stars of Tomorrow

After the NFTS, Cumming worked in TV, including directing BBC iPlayer short Oakwood and working on Cold Feet and Clique. He also directed the short film Kai in 2015, which was funded by i-D and Vice, and has been viewed more than a million times on social media.

The Origin was an idea he first discussed with rising producer Oliver Kassman back in 2015, and the pair engaged London-based Ruth Greenberg to write the screenplay. Kassman’s Escape Plan, which has credits including Saint Maud, produces the feature with New York’s Animal Kingdom as executive producers; financing comes from Screen Scotland and the BFI.

Scotland-born and based Cumming shot in the Highlands for five weeks in autumn 2020, with the added challenge of pandemic safety. As if recreating a world several millennia ago was not enough of a stretch, the ensemble cast speak in a fictional prehistoric language, Tola, which is subtitled in English.

Cumming instructed his cast (including Chuku Modu, Kit Young, Iola Evans, newcomer Safia Oakley-Green, Arno Lüning and Luna Mwezi) not to watch any other movies set in similar epochs. “I didn’t want them to pick up mannerisms of Neanderthalic cavemen… it was important there was nothing that felt primitive about these people.”

The director — who does not aspire to write his own screenplays — has two projects he is considering next: a historical love story that “is also incredibly violent”, and a sci-fi set in a post-apocalyptic world. Meanwhile, he might have his own real-life horror stories of shooting The Origin during a pandemic, by firelight and drenched in Scottish rain and mud, but you won’t catch Cumming complaining. “I’m so grateful as I was able to do something ambitious and also something that reflects my sensibilities.”

Contact: Sarah Williams, Independent Talent Group

Topics