Film centres on a civil war in the future based around gender.

Alpha Omega

Pinewood Studios has backed a short film for the first time as part of its film financing initiative. 

Alpha: Omega centres on a century-long civil war where the battle-line is gender and the resource at stake is reproduction.

Production company Gobby and Specs are behind the project that producer, director and co-writer Chanya Button and writer Sian Robins-Grace are developing into a feature.

Pinewood chief executive Ivan Dunleavy and head of Apollo Productions Steve Norris at Pinewood Studios singled out the project for support.

Norris said: “Pinewood has been steadily building its involvement in British, independent film in the last couple of years and has already backed some really exciting projects with some of the best new talent working in the UK.

Alpha: Omega is the first short film Pinewood has put money into and we’re excited about the results. Chanya has worked hard to assemble some great partners and has produced a fantastic short sci-fi film that will certainly get people talking. We wish the team every success with their plans to turn this into a full length feature.”

Others supporting the project include Technicolour, Panavision and DNeg as well as Oscar-winning special effects supervisor Neil Corbould (Gravity, War Horse) and stunt co-ordinator Greg Powell (Harry Potter, Children of Men, Skyfall).

The feature, currently in development, serves as a prequel to the short.

The cast includes Avaigail Tlailim, who recently played the lead in ITV drama The Town, Amanda Hadingue, Maggie Steed, Michael Thomson and Sebastian Armesto.