Wigan producer appealing for extras to appear in his film about mental illness

Watching Goldfish Suffocate charts David Degiorgio’s path from successfully forging a career in acting to ending up in hospital and being diagnosed with psychosis.

It started as a one-man show before being turned into a play and was previously staged at The Old Courts, as well as in Manchester.

It won two awards at the Greater Manchester Fringe festival, which included David scooping the prestigious prize for best actor.

He is now busy producing the film version of Watching Goldfish Suffocate, with most of it being filmed in locations across Wigan.

David, from Worsley Mesnes, was approached with the idea of turning the play into a film during its run at The Old Courts.

When a possible source of funding was lost, he decided to carry on regardless and took out a loan to pay for the film himself.

He says it will not shy away from looking in detail at various forms of mental illness and what he went through.

With the project in full swing, David is now looking for people without plans on Valentine’s Day who would be willing to act as extras during filming.

He said: “I’m doing a heavy metal scene at The Old Courts. I’m needing extras to be in a mosh pit this Monday, February 14.

“All people need to do is be over the age of 18 and probably under 50. They just need to turn up on the night at 7.30pm wearing a black hoody or very dark hoody and take quick direction. It will only be one-and-a-half to two hours maximum.”

David, who was born and bred in Wigan and works at Total Fitness, hopes at least 40 people will go along to the filming to ensure the scene is a success.

He is on a tight budget, so is not able to pay the extras for their time.

However, he has promised to donate £2 to mental health charity Young Minds for every person who turns up, as well as include their name in the film’s credits and on website IMDB if they wish.

Everyone who gets involved will, of course, also have the opportunity to see themselves on the big screen once the film is released.

To find out more about the film, go to www.facebook.com/watchinggoldfishsuffocate

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