THE latest project by award-winning local filmmaker Riagáin Grainger is set to be his most ambitious yet.

Entitled, ‘Mr. Baker’s Wonderful World’, the production is set to mark the culmination of Riagáin’s filmmaking journey through his university studies, with the filmmaker seeking public support via a GoFundMe page to help realise his ambitious project.

“This production will define my artistic vision and act as a platform and stepping stone into the professional industry. This is the project that I have been building towards,” said Riagáin, who has experienced multiple successes in 2020 with his production company, ASTRL Pictures.

“This project is ultimately a culmination of all the skills and abilities I have as a creative practitioner, highlighting my desire to explore escapism and expressionism through the film medium,” he added.

Explaining that the story is something that he has been working on passionately for “a very long time”, Riagáin now finally feels confident to create and produce it.

“Paralleling with the onscreen narrative, this is my creative expression of overcoming grief and the loss of a very close family member,” he said.

So, what is ‘Mr. Baker’s Wonderful World’? The filmmaker explained: “In simple terms, it’s a musical dramedy, or in my terms ‘A love letter to Jim Henson’ [legendary puppeteer and creator of The Muppets]. It deals with the simple concept of overcoming grief and irreversibility of death, expressed in a surreal musical escapade and through Jim’s phantasmagorical journey.”

The production will be targeted at a large and varied demographic, acting as a fun adventure for kids and a layered and poetic voyage for adults.

“In the words of Jim Henson, ‘I’ve always tried to present a positive view of the world in my work. It’s so much easier to be negative and cynical and predict doom for the world than it is to try and figure out how to make things better. We have an obligation to do the latter’,” added Riagáin.

Storyline

‘Mr. Baker’s Wonderful World’ tells the story of Jim Baker, a children’s television presenter who gets dragged into the world of his own show after learning that the studio is cancelling the programme due to declining ratings, as kids these days “don’t connect with puppets”.

Jim, trying to process this information, is thrown into a musical adventure with his onscreen gang trying to come to terms with the fact that this may be the end of ‘Mr. Baker’s Wonderful World’.

“Music will be a key component to making this work. The style and genre of music will be mostly inspired by early Glam Rrock, Disco, and Funk.

“Some major inspirations include ABBA, David Bowie, and Fleetwood Mac,” explained Riagáin, adding that the music will emulate the characters’ feelings and motivations, moving the story forward.

“You could say the lyrics act as a form of dialogue, but I can also guarantee it will be stuck in your head for days! ANNA’S Number will be creating original music for our musical set pieces – if you haven’t checked them out already, they are absolutely incredible,” he said.

In the production, Riagáin will be paying homage to the golden age of Hollywood, that will include “painted backgrounds, studio-lit sets, and most importantly, puppeteering – yes, you read that right, puppeteering!”

He added: “Our main group of characters will be original characters, small and large who will be helping Jim along his way.

“Our puppets will be very much like the familiar favourites we all know from ‘The Muppets’ (1979), ‘Sesame Street’ (1969), ‘Labyrinth’ (1982), and ‘The Dark Crystal’ (1986).”

To make this happen, funding will be essential, and Riagáin has set up a GoFundMe page, at gf.me/u/zbjh3s.

“We can guarantee you, with your help, this project will be created with the utmost care and highest quality,” he said.