Studio and development house Nihil Declarandum and storied animation company Mackinnon & Saunders have announced a new stop-motion animated feature film, Heads, now in development in Greater Manchester.
The original 80-minute feature is set in a retro-futuristic world where severed human heads can live independent from their bodies. A Corporation has convinced the poor to sell their heads to enrich the wealthy creating a grotesque society built on inequality and self-sacrifice. Fantasy adventure horror drama Heads follows two disparate women bound by their uncanny connection as they fight to reclaim their bodily autonomy.
Heads marks the first animated feature co-production between Nihil Declarandum and stop motion specialists Mackinnon & Saunders. Blending gothic fantasy, social satire, and emotionally driven storytelling, the world of Heads has been crafted for teen and adult audiences and will be brought to life through handcrafted animation and practical effects.
The film’s aesthetic draws heavily on “Manchester’s industrial heritage and rich history of innovation”. Created and written in the North West, Heads is projected to generate approximately 120 jobs, with more than half expected to be filled by local talent.
All stages of production will be based in Greater Manchester, engaging regional studios, suppliers, craftspeople, and freelance creatives throughout the process.
Currently in development with a projected delivery date of 2029, Heads is expected to become one of the largest stop-motion feature productions ever developed in the Greater Manchester region and represents Mackinnon & Saunders’ first animated feature film. Reflecting the film’s fictional Manchester setting, the filmmakers are seeking regionally authentic voices to cast for the lead roles.
The award-winning creative team behind includes Tiffany Kimmel, founder of Nihil Declarandum who is writer-director; Chris Alsop is writer-illustrator; Simon Quinn, Mackinnon & Saunders’ Chris Bowden and Martina Silcock are producers; Tristan Oliver is cinematographer; Francesco Corvino is storyworld designer; Charles Pieper is co-writer, and Greg Ansin is executive producer.
Tiffany Kimmel, writer-director of Heads, says: “Dark fantasy has always given us a way to explore and understand the world by imagining it as something stranger. With Heads, we are building a stop-motion universe that is gothic, satirical, absurd yet emotionally grounded. This is a story for teens and adults that explores bodily autonomy and inequality through a lens that is as unsettling as it is wondrous. We are creating the kind of animated feature film that audiences carry with them for years: visually distinctive, evocative, and unapologetically original.”
Ian Mackinnon, Founder and Managing Director of Mackinnon and Saunders, adds: “Collaboration with creators sits at the heart of everything we do, and we are thrilled to be partnering with the team at Nihil Declarandum to bring the unsettling yet darkly beautiful world of Heads to life.”
Jon Creamer
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