Future Soldier: Lincoln filmmaker’s sci-fi epic set for UK digital release

A science-fiction film shot around Lincolnshire for under £5,000 will be released on UK streaming services soon.

University of Lincoln graduate Ed Kirk, 28, self-funded his debut feature film, Future Soldier, which took four years to complete.

The film is described as a “love letter to cyberpunk films of the late 80s and early 90s” which sees a retired bounty hunter come out of retirement to defeat a looming conspiracy.

It was shot at Lincolnshire locations including The Drill, County Assembly Rooms in Lincoln, and industrial buildings, barns and woodlands near Scunthorpe and Woodhall Spa.

Writer, director and producer Ed, who runs production company Acamas Video, is delighted with the end product.

Ed Kirk is the writer, director and producer of Future Soldier. | Photo: Josh Brown

“Making a full length, 80 minute film on such a small budget was a real challenge and it was such an adventure to make it, considering the Midlands locations were standing in for a sci-fi setting,” he said.

“I am just so proud of the time, work and craft that the cast and crew have brought to the project. They have been so dedicated to the film throughout the production and have given 110% every step of the way.”

Future Soldier was based on a short film Ed made at university.

“I really felt there was another story to tell with the same characters, in the same world and with the same cast and crew,” he said.

“It was really fun to collaborate with the same and new creatives in a different way, building and expanding upon what we’d done before and telling something really ambitious in scope, but part of it was that we wanted to see if we could do it.

“It’s really humbling and getting this sort of release is really exciting for our film. I just can’t wait for people to watch it and see the hard work, and love for the genre, that’s gone into it.”

Lincoln-based Ellie Pickering plays the role of Sarah Dagger and is pictured with Hale and his clones who are played by Nathan Haymer-Bates. | Photo: Acamas Video/Reel2Reel Films

Ed studied Film and Television between 2013 and 2016 before doing a post-grad which allowed him to contiue with his filming passion.

It will be released on several digital platforms in the UK on May 1, 2023 courtesy of Reel2Reel Films. It will be released in the US sooner on April 25, 2023.

Filming also took place at Newark Air Museum in some of the aircraft, as well as some exterior scenes at a paintball course in Bawtry which doubled as a sci-fi battlefield.

Sean Earl McPherson plays the lead bounty hunter Mo Harrington. | Photo: Acamas Video/Reel2Reel Films

The cast is made up of professional actors including Sean Earl McPherson, who plays the lead bounty hunter Mo Harrington.

Yasmine Alice plays Xoey Cass, a tough ex cop who teams up with Mo, while Sarah Whitehouse is the main villain in the film called The Matriarch.

Many of the cast are also local to Lincoln, including Ian Curd and Ellie Pickering who play General Luke Dagger and Sarah Dagger.

Lincoln-based Ian Curd plays the role of General Luke Dagger. | Photo: Acamas Video/Reel2Reel Films

Nathan Haymer-Bates plays the role of Hale. Adam Fielding, who has appeared in various pantomimes in Lincoln, plays a character called Decks.

Lincoln graduate Ed worked behind the scenes with his fellow producers Hannah Darby and Jack Shelbourn, as well as director of photography Ben Collin.

The cast and crew from Future Soldier. | Photo: Acamas Video

Future Soldier has also been nominated at the upcoming Midlands Movie Awards, including for best costume and visual effects.

Ed has worked as a videographer for the University of Lincoln before moving into a similar position at the University of Bradford where he still works.

He is also continuing preparations for his next film after receiving funding for a short which will be shot in Yorkshire. Ed says it’s a shift in genre and will be a folklore ghost story/drama.

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