THE SMALLEST (& SHORTEST) THEATRICAL RELEASE IN UK CINEMA HISTORY! LANDING DECEMBER 15th, 2022

A UK indy film, setting to uncover a decades-long mystery, is going head-to-head with the Hollywood blockbuster Avatar 2.

Against the bombast and blitz of Avatar 2’s launch, Lion vs The Little People will be shown once, on one single screen, at one site.

Only a handful of tickets are available to the press and general public for the limited edition “big screen, little screen” showing in a cinema in London.

The film’s producer hopes the movie release will be a commercial ‘disaster’, enabling it to take the record as the ‘smallest box office release’ since UK records began.

WATCH THE OFFICIAL TEASER AND DOWNLOAD IMAGES FROM: https://mediaselect.pa.media/press_releases_lion_vs_the_little_people

Produced and Directed by: Raphael Warner

Size Matters: Lion vs The Little People goes head to head with Avatar 2 at the UK Box Office - to surpass Avatar 2’s records through recognition as the smallest release ever.

The Headline. A new UK feature film, starring a group of short statured actors, and about the biggest internet hoax of all time, looks set to become a cult hit this Christmas. The story begins with its first and only screening, on one screen, in one cinema, for one show, in London later this month.

Overview. The plight of independent film makers is getting harder and harder. With independent producers in the UK struggling to compete with well financed, studio backed projects, and with blockbuster films continuing to pull in the crowds and monopolise screen-space, it’s never been harder for UK independent producers to get films made for cinematic release.

Opportunity. These challenges prompted one entrepreneurial producer to think out of the box for his forthcoming film release - by doing everything he can to ensure his debut feature becomes the UK’s biggest “smallest” box office launch in history, smashing records for how small it is, in a celebration of function over form and content over cash.

The film. Lion vs The Little People (LVTLP), a micro-financed UK produced feature film deconstructing one of the greatest internet phenomena of all time, will premier at a ‘small but beautifully formed’ official UK theatrical release at an intimate forty-seat auditorium at the Genesis Cinema, London. It will be released on digital TVOD platforms in 2023.

Motives. Director, Raphael Warner explains “Sure, everyone wants their movie to be a box-office blockbuster, but as time goes by most of the world’s worst performing cinematic launches become legends – such as Final Fantasy (2001), Cutthroat Island (1995) or Heaven’s Gate (1980). LVTLP will take its place in the history books as the smallest true cinematic launch of all time, with less than twenty tickets made available for purchase”.

Issue. This ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ release hopes to draw attention to the existential threat faced to the independent sector in this country and the battle UK indy films face when they try to take on well-funded blockbusters for domestic screen space.

Limited Screens. Warner notes; ‘Cinema chains need to reach out beyond their traditional customer-base if they are going to survive. They need to test out new models, try a new content mix. The independent sector can play a big part in this period of experimentation - but only if all parties share a vision and collaborate to do better”.

Casting. As well as shining a light on the difficulties facing UK independent film, LVTLP also hopes to start a debate about the lack of acting opportunities for ‘little people’, the term preferred by those who used to be called dwarfs or even by the ‘m word’.

Warner adds ‘While attitudes to LP roles are improving, they are still a drastically under-represented group on screen. The industry is improving slowly, but LP actors are almost never cast in lead roles and fail to be represented in anything outside the fantasy genre’.

Concluding. Warner concludes ‘While the UK production industry is booming in segments, the UK cinema business is on the brink of collapse. There are opportunities to resuscitate it and our creative approach to a genuinely innovative type of content and launch hopes to be a small step for what can be a huge leap forward”

Release. Lion vs the Little People will be screened on the 15th December 2022 at the Genesis Cinema, Whitechapel @ 4pm.

Tickets available on the day on a first come first served basis.

LVTLP will ALSO be released on all major digital platforms this year in the UK and US, starting with a TVOD release on Amazon Prime Video on December 16th 2022.

*** If you want to attend this special ‘small big screen’ showing as a press observer with opportunities to interview lucky ticket purchasers, please contact Anna Smith at press@lionvsdwarfs.com ***

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Anna Smith | The Mall PR / press@lionvsdwarfs.com

FOR FULL RELEASE IMAGES AND VIDEO GO TO: https://mediaselect.pa.media/press_releases_lion_vs_the_little_people

NOTES TO EDITORS

Lion vs The Little People

Based on the Internet Hoax; ‘Lion Mutilates 42 Midgets in Cambodian Ring Right’ see - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambodian_Midget_Fighting_League

Directed by Raphael Warner

Executive Producers; Anders Erden, Raimund Berens, Raphael Warner, David Boynes

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Biography

Raphael Warner (Director / Producer) is a British filmmaker. After an earlier career in finance he attended the National Film & Television School and co-wrote and produced cult stop-motion animation, ‘For the Love of God’, featuring the voices of Ian McKellen and Steve Coogan, which was subsequently selected in official competition at Cannes 2007.

He later co-wrote and developed a number of feature scripts for the BBC, FilmFour and the BFI and spent many years working in media and advertising.

Lion vs The Little People is Raphael Warner’s first feature film as a director.

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