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APPEALING

APPEALING
By Nate Rymer

GENRE: Drama, Comedy
LOGLINE:

A sardonic exoneree battling post-prison trauma in Northern England starts a vlog about his wrongful conviction, drawing admiration and ire from family, friends and corrupt police as his story spreads nationwide. TIME meets YOU DON'T KNOW ME. 

SYNOPSIS:

CALLUM BRIDGE (30) has just been exonerated from prison. Released five years after a wrongful conviction for burglary and GBH, the once optimistic Liverpudlian is a sorely different man than before. He’s lost his house. His career. His confidence. His independence. His trust. His image.

Not that he’ll stand for it.

Left with only a vague apology from the broken justice system he once believed in, Callum sets out to prosecute those responsible, gain compensation, and heal his stolen livelihood. His #1 target: DCI MICHAEL COSTER (50), the apathetic leading officer of his botched case.

Seeking self-therapy through his own unique lens, Callum vlogs the story of his wrongful conviction across Merseyside haunts and homesteads, culminating with HMP Liverpool: the location of his traumatic near-death experience, just one night before acquittal. Interspersed with his damning commentary, Callum reminisces on the volatile, soulless and spirit-breaking nature of prison. Flashbacks to weary guards, psycho inmates and the torturous appeals process weave through his story, while enthusiastic followers, Council Karens, and a mixed bag of benevolent and bitter cops stir no lack of commotion in the present.

As the series progresses and his efforts gain popularity, Callum’s motives ebb and flow from sardonic cynicism to righteous one-upmanship, humanistic forgiveness to crushing revenge. PTSD, NHS waiting lists, dodgy solicitors and ‘manhood crisis’ all threaten to take their toll.

If that weren’t enough, Callum faces a grim truth: he can’t fix everything by himself -- the fractures between invulnerable mother JANE (50s) and misguided father STEVEN (50s); accepting his own latent asexuality; seeking fulfilling work with the Citizens Advice Bureau; even forgiving his supposed victim, previously in doubt of his innocence.

DCI Coster likewise juggles family woes, public outrage, and surprising guilt at his own corruption, all while deploying a horde of bent officers to stalk, harass and threaten Callum into silence.

But as evidence mounts, the walls close in, and Coster’s true motives unravel, Callum must reckon with not only how little he knew, but whether absolute justice can ever be fully achieved…

Melding traditional filming with gritty found-footage, APPEALING is a crime serial for the modern viewer, blending blistering dark humour with visceral social commentary on auditing vlogs, toxic masculinity and institutional corruption to craft a timely, relevant and emotionally resonant story about recompense, forgiveness, and the tireless pursuit of justice for the everyman.

Jessica B

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Alicia Renee Norman

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Alicia Renee Norman

Very cool concept :-)

Carol Frome

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Nate Rymer

Thank you Daniel! :)

Kaitlyn Lynch

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Nate Rymer

Thanks Kaitlyn! :)

Arthur Charpentier

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Nate Rymer

Thank you so much Arthur! :D

Leke Adebayo

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Nate Rymer

Thank you Leke! :)

John Snell

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Nate Rymer

Thank you John! :)

Michael Dzurak

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Nate Rymer

Thank you Michael! :)

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