A video archivist in the late 90s who unearths a series of sinister pirate broadcasts and becomes obsessed with uncovering the dark conspiracy behind them…
A film written 
by Xaverian Film Department Curriculum Lead, Philip Drinkwater and former member of college staff Tim Woodall, starring Harry Shum Jr (Crazy Rich Asians, Glee), Chris Sullivan (This is Us) and Kelley Mack (The Walking Dead).
Phil and Tim started working at Xaverian back in 2009, both writing independently when they decided to collaborate. The duo wrote and directed three award-winning short films together; Rain on Film (starring Josie Long); How to Disappear Completely; and Broadcast Signal Intrusion. They travelled to New York to take part in the New York Television Festival, and developed show ideas with the BBC, Working Title, and NBC Universal. The film, Broadcast Signal Intrusion was written a few years ago and was bought by an American company, Queensbury Pictures. After being shot in Chicago last year, the film premiere will be at SXSW this March.
Film Director, Phil Drinkwater said:
“Broadcast Signal Intrusion is something we’ve been working on for years now. It started as a weird little idea we had which we wrote in a shed somewhere. Then we directed a short film based on it, which was filmed here at Xaverian and with film students as Production Assistants! Then, after we wrote the feature script, it was optioned by Hollywood and we developed it over endless phone calls between ourselves (often walking home in the rain through Levenshulme) and the producers (definitely not in the rain, somewhere in Los Angeles).
We’re so proud of the Film Department here at Xaverian, and of the fact that we are a bunch of dedicated film specialists who not only write about film and have studied it, but who are also actively involved in the industry itself. This unique access and perspective places Xaverian in its own league when it comes to this subject and this industry, a fact backed up by the fact that we are the number one destination for A-Level Film Studies in the North West and by our academic results which are consistently amongst the best in the country.”
We are proud of Phil from the Film Department for such a big achievement and are very excited for the premiere!
To find out more about the Film Department at Xaverian, click here.
For more information about open days and how to apply, click here.
