WINNER: ITV Local/Film London Best of Boroughs' Viewers' Choice Award in 2008. Divided by the stunning and vast expanse of water that is London’s River Thames, a young pair of shy beachcombers are united by their fixation with metal detecting in search of rare antiquities. They soon strike up a sweet and unique connection across the water and build up a language of signs and signals with which they are able communicate daily. But when one of the pair stumbles across a chance discovery, it gives them the ideal opportunity to finally cross over the river. The Beachcombers is a quirky, heart-warming tale of friendship and love, set against the backdrop of modern day London. Currently under distribution with Shorts International. DIRECTORS: Chris Croucher & Mark Beynon Chris & Mark have been writing together from a very early age and their fascination in story telling led them both to study Film at University. Since graduating in 2003, Chris has balanced his personal projects with a successful career as an assistant director. He has worked on films and shows such as Wimbledon, Sense & Sensibility, Brick Lane, The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, Magicians and 28 Weeks Later. Mark has balanced his screenwriting with a successful career writing literature. His first novel The Devils Plague was published in December 2007 and he is currently editing a set of WWI war diaries for Anova books due out at the end of the year. The pair’s first screenplay I Am Tyler Marks was given a development grant from Screen South and the UK Film Council. More recently the pair completed a television drama/comedy, We're Merely Players, and a Christmas family screenplay, Black Peter. Combining this with their calling card script, a comedy entitled Bitter Sweet, Mark and Chris now have an impressive catalogue of writing that spans several genres. The Beachcombers is the pair’s first project as a writer / director combo. PRODUCER: Michael Berliner Michael graduated from Oxford University in 2007. Since then Michael has produced two short films The Beachcombers with Chris and Mark and Finding Marilyn directed by Anna Valdez Hanks. Finding Marilyn was shot as part of the Straight 8 competition. It was named in the top four and subsequently went on to be screened on Channel four and at the Cannes Film Festival. Michael is currently producing another short film as well as working again with Chris and Mark to develop their future projects. FUNDED BY: Southern Exposure Film Fund
