Sweet Dreams
Artist Statement
Sweet Dreams emerged from a fascination with the weirdness of food culture, with the dualities and hypocrisies and little self-justifying sweeteners we apply when it comes to food. As a species, we’ve never been more conscious of our connection to the natural world and the moral entanglement of our eating habits. At the same time, we live in a golden age of consumerism: never has so much been available to so many. Food is a status symbol, a social signifier, a reflection of our identities. Deeper down, it’s something that speaks to our lizard brains, to that pleasure principle always humming in each of us, our debt to desire.
Over the years, food companies and consumers have found ways to bridge these conflicting positions, perhaps the strangest of which is the food mascot, the smiling cartoon chicken between us and the plate of chicken which implies it approves of our eating it. It’s ridiculous. It’s grotesque. It works like a charm.
In the show, we join the Real Good Chicken company and its mascot, Chicky Ricky, at a time when tastes are changing. The company’s future, and Ricky’s, hangs in the balance. Ricky is forced to engage with the strange modern world of food and try to find a new place within it. To some extent, we’re all on the same path as Ricky, trying to navigate an increasingly loud and extreme landscape where food is becoming more processed and more expensive, and food habits more excessive. Where the margins of socially acceptable consumption have widened. (Twenty years ago, the UK had no food banks and no restaurants selling gold steaks.)
How we feel about food today speaks to a wider sense – and a deepening suspicion – that modern life is artificial, unsustainable, and not necessarily giving us what we need. There are no easy answers. Whatever choice some of us might have is complicated, and many have no choice at all. When it comes to food, large-scale co-operatives and multinationals shape not only our realities but our desires. We've been consuming other people's dreams so long it's hard to know what our own wishes are. Like our feathered friend Ricky, there's much we can't control. We’re all on the conveyor belt, but we might yet take back our dreams. The question is: what do we want? What do our sweet dreams look like?
– Marshmallow Laser Feast, July 2024
Credits
Chicky Ricky Munya Chawawa
Penny Peckish Morgana Robinson
The Boss Reggie Watts
Directed by
Marshmallow Laser Feast
Robin McNicholas, Ersin Han Ersin, Barnaby Steel
Written by Simon Wroe
Executive Producers
Eleanor (Nell) Whitley
Mike Jones
John McGrath
Gabrielle Jenks
Ulrich Schrauth
The Guru Verity Henry
Ortolan Morgana Robinson
Derelict Mascot 1 Loose Baker
Derelict Mascot 2 Danielle Meehan
Voice of the Factory David Holmes
Art Director mcbess
2nd Unit Director Stephen Henderson
Original Music Finn McNicholas
Sound Design and Spatialisation Carolyn Downing
Lighting Design Sarah Readman
Production Designer David O'Neill
Casting Director Zita Zutic Konak
Producers
Tricia Coleman
Martin Jowers
Louis Mustill
Roxie Oliveira
Anya Tye
Technical Director Louis Mustill
Post Production Lead Chris Vincze
UE Content Lead Chris Mullany
UE Character Technical Lead Ollie Lindsey
UE Factory Lead Sam Twidale
UE Technical Artist Will Young
UE Animator Neal Coghlan
2D Artist Nicolas Macia
Character Sculptor Rie Ito
Character Rigger David Cowles-Brooks
Generative AI Tooling & Production Nilor Corp; Lucas Moskun, Stephen Henderson, MK (Matt Klisz), Sebastian Monroy, Dean White
Houdini Artists Nicolas Le Dren, Christoph Ott
Storyboard Artist Rob Pybus
Infrastructure Lead Andrew Robinson
Tools and Infrastructure Engineer Maria Astakhova
Puppeteers Loose Baker, Danielle Meehan
Audience Testing Lead Matthew Blake
Dialogue Editor & Mastering Engineer David Holmes
Sound Designer Associates Sam Clarkson, Helen Atinkson
Lighting Programmer Akshay Khubchandani
Carpenter Martin Rooney
Scenic Painter Emma Gazzard
Electronics Engineering Arron Smith
Previsualisation Artist Nils Johannesson, Josef McGrath
Spatial Designer Amy Johnson
Captioner Grant Archer
Puppetry R&D Phoebe Hyder
Production Assistant Alex McRobbie
Sweet Dreams Development Emma Hamilton, Stephen Patry Makin, Mike Orwell, Oriana Neidecker, Lydia Entwistle, Mike McKellar, Derek Rae, Paul Mumford
Production Babies Ada River, Jasper Rowse-Martin
Directors Barnaby Steel, Ersin Han Ersin, Robin McNicholas
Managing Director Eleanor (Nell) Whitley
Director of Production Mike Jones
Executive Producers Alex Rowse, Carolina Vallejo
Head of Studio Sarah Gamper Marconi
Head of Marketing & Communications Erin Wolson
Director of Finance Katie Bent
Senior Producer Martin Jowers
Producers Emma Hamilton, Roxie Oliveira, Anya Tye, Emmanuel Adanlawo
Infrastructure Lead Andrew Robinson
Tools and Infrastructure Engineer Maria Astakhova
Technical VFX Artist Nicolas Le Dren
Prompt Jockey/AI developer Alejandro Diaz
Studio Assistant / Administrator Alexandra McRobbie
Financial Controller Georgia Hines
Bookkeeper Zoe Barber
PR Margaret
Artistic Director & Chief Executive John McGrath
Digital Director Gabrielle Jenks
Executive Producer Fiona Pride
Senior Producer Tricia Coleman
Production Administrator Hester Cox
Digital Production Coordinator Callum Kirkwood
Access Consultant Ash Cox
Audio Describer Anne Hornsby
BSL Performer Alexandra James
BSL Director Matthew Blake
BSL Translator Lisa Kelly
BSL Interpreters Luke Holdsworth, Siobhán Rocks
Production Manager Adam Gent
Video System Design Andrew Crofts
Video Technician Andy Featherstone
Head of Lighting & Video David Wimpenny
Deputy Head of Lighting Dash Wong, Kevin Williams
Lighting Programmer Akshay Khubchandani
Production Electrician Mark Eastwood
Lighting Technician James Greenwood
Head of Sound Sorcha Steele
Deputy Head of Sound Jay Smith
Sound Engineers Emma Lambert, Dan Steele
Sound Technicians James Kenyon, Callum Stelfox, Max Schule
Head of Rigging Tom French
Deputy Head of Rigging Matt Williams
Rigging Technicians Shkiesha Pryce, Phil Thackray, Joel Pendleton
Head of Scenic & Gallery Installation Alex Adamson
Deputy Head of Stage Dean Fenton
Production Carpenter Chris Tonini
Stage Technicians Bella Casson, Ellis Robison, Simon Beech, Mark Ellidge, Ollie Troupe
Stage Management Jade Fearnley, Sophie Taylor-Hall
Real Good Ambassadors Factory International Hosts
Artist Liaison Söuren Srabonian, Matty Taylor
Factory Fellow Flematu Sessay
Director of Filmmaking Fund Mia Bays
Production and Development Executive Phoebe Sutherland
Senior Production Executive Anna Hintzen
Production Manager Charley Fox
Head of Production Finance Ian Kirk
Director of Legal and Business Affairs Clare Coulter
Legal & Business Affairs Manager Tracey McCarrick
Made with the support of the BFI Filmmaking Fund
Special thanks to Mary Burke, Bessie, Eddie & Xander McNicholas and all the family and friends who supported the crew through production.
This production is an Epic Mega Grant recipient
© 2024 Luscious Delicious Limited and The British Film Institute
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