Introduction:
Welcome to Paradise is a live-action dark fantasy feature film set within a surreal, colourful and deeply strange world. At its heart, however, is something far more familiar: a story about belonging, identity, and the lengths we go to in search of somewhere we feel accepted, thus prompting the question… is it a good thing to find that comfort when accepting our desires?
The film uses a, quite frankly, bizarre and unusual fantasy world, eccentric characters and a dark sense of humour to explore a message that I hope feels incredibly relatable beneath all the madness.
Inspiration:
I wanted to make Welcome to Paradise because I wanted to create something uniquely strange.
I’ve always loved fantasy that isn’t afraid to be weird, theatrical and occasionally unsettling; the kind of world that feels as though it could only belong to that particular story. With Welcome to Paradise, I wanted to take that feeling and create our own distinctive universe rather than simply imitate fantasy films that had come before us. This is exactly what caught the attention of both Bill Nighy and Mathew Horne!
It’s important for me to state, though, that the strangeness was never there just for the sake of being strange. Underneath the heightened characters and surreal imagery is a very human story. That contrast became incredibly important to me: using an extraordinary world to communicate something ordinary and recognisable. However bizarre ‘Paradise’ becomes, the emotions driving the people within it are intended to feel completely and painfully real.
The Process:
Bringing Welcome to Paradise to life was an enormous undertaking for an independent production. We filmed across Bedfordshire and Llandudno in Wales, creating a fantasy world through real locations, practical production design, costumes, performance and an incredibly committed cast and crew.
One of the biggest challenges was simply the ambition of the film. Fantasy demands scale, and creating something that feels like its own world within the realities of an independent budget meant constantly finding creative solutions. In many ways, though, those limitations helped define the personality of the film. Rather than trying to replicate the enormous fantasy productions audiences are accustomed to, we embraced theatricality, eccentricity and the handmade quality of the world.
I also made sure that the people we meet and follow come from all over the world. We have Japanese, Indonesian, Indian, American, British and Caribbean characters, among others, offering a range of different cultures and upbringings that have all led to the same result: Paradise.
We were also incredibly fortunate to assemble names such as Mathew Horne, Jordynne Grace and the voice of Bill Nighy. Seeing something that began as a strange idea gradually become a tangible world filled with sets, costumes and characters was one of the most rewarding parts of the entire process.
What It Means to Be a Finalist:
Being selected as a finalist at Worcester Film Festival doesn’t just mean a huge amount to me; in many ways, it is the point of this film.
Independent filmmaking requires an almost unreasonable amount of belief in an idea before anybody else has the opportunity to see it, particularly when you’re trying to create something deliberately unusual. My first film, Drive Me to the End, was made knowing that, due to the nature of its story, it would in general be universally liked and appreciated. This film is different. This film is a risk — and it is a risk I know has paid off.
So, to receive that recognition from a prestigious festival such as Worcester makes me feel that I really have succeeded in what I set out to do.
Where to Watch / Follow:
Follow me on Instagram @richardscalvert — rest assured, I’ll be gushing about the reviews with pride over the next few months!
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