Students launch Kickstarter campaign to make a new Harry Potter film
The team behind Mudblood and the Book of Spells are seeking £40,000 to make a film about a muggle-born wizard expelled from Hogwarts
There are plans a-foot for a new Harry Potter film. No, we're not talking Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (although we are rather excited about that one). The latest project to explore JK Rowling's magical world is the work of a group of fans who have launched a campaign to raise their £40,000 budget.
Mudblood and the Book of Spells will be the first UK-made fan film based on the material found in the author's series of seven novels.
Set 17 years after the defeat of He Who Must Not Be Named, the new film sees the wizarding world continue to repair the damage inflicted at the end of Rowling's concluding book, The Deathly Hallows.
Mudblood and the Book of Spells will follow Charlie, a young muggle-born wizard who is expelled from Hogwarts and unfairly condemned and imprisoned by the Ministry for crimes he did not commit. On the run, he is befriended by a band of unseemly wizards who need his help to locate an artefact "so ancient and powerful it will bring the wizarding world to its knees".
The project is being headed up by Cameron Cairnduff, a Manchester student who aims to begin filming in the New Year with Game of Thrones actor Bretton Lord playing Charlie in the 30-minute film.
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"Having grown up with the Harry Potter series it's only natural we would want to keep the magic alive," says the Kickstarter page. "However, we're not looking to make something low budget and run of the mill – the fans deserve more!"
The script has been written with help from Harry Potter fan sites such as Pottermore and Mugglesnet and will utilise locations including the Yorkshire moors, the Peak District and the Lakes. The score has been composed and recorded by students from the Royal Northern College of Music with an online teaser already available for potential bidders to watch.
Cairnduff – who told BBC News he had sent a "piece of parchment" about the project to Rowling – added: "we want to make something people will want to watch and we want to create our own [job] opportunities. There are no good Harry Potter fan films - they're all American and have low production values."
So far, the project's 77 backers have raised £2,801 with just 18 days to go to reach the £40,000 target by 1st December.
