LA's Hudson Theatre to screen Bradford man's film, Room 20

Anthony Riach’s Room 20 is a short animated film following a man’s journey through different realms in search of self discovery.

The soundtrack - featuring the award-winning Budapest Symphony Scoring Orchestra - has been orchestrated by Hollywood veteran Allan Wilson.

Allan Wilson is the conductor behind Men in Black, Avengers: Age of Ultron, The Mummy, The Nice Guys, Now You See Me, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part I and many more popular films.

The mystical tale was also brought to life by former Disney and Pixar animator Aaron Mark Brown and Bradford-based music producer Szymon Zmudzki.

Room 20 was animated by former Disney and Pixar artist Aaron Mark Brown (Image: Room 20)

Room 20 will be shown at The Hudson Theatre, Santa Monica Blvd, in Los Angeles on Sunday, March 31.

As Room 20 is scaled up for the big screen, it will be a poignant moment for Anthony, who grew up watching classic films in his childhood bedroom.

Anthony, who grew up in East Bowling, said: “I really come from nothing. I had a big old box TV on the bottom of a bunk bed and mattress. I would sit up and watch movies all night when I wasn’t supposed to. It was definitely an escape. 

“I only had one to five channels, it was movies that would come on at 1am.

“When I got into my teens I watched all the films from the 50s onwards.

Anthony Riach, pictured (Image: Kim Hardy)

“I was acting since I was around 12 or 13. My interest was escapism but, because I was acting, I was studying a lot of actors.”

Anthony decided to move to London where he started auditioning for different roles.

But as a mixed race actor, he felt limited by the characters he was being selected for.

“I wasn’t getting a lot of roles,” said Anthony. 

This inspired him to pick up a pen and write his own play at 20 years old. He started working on a film alongside a director who was poached by a well known celebrity at a critical stage.

“That was tough to deal with,” said Anthony.

He returned to his mum’s house and slept on her sofa with little left in his bank account.

“I basically decided I was going to make a film and nobody’s going to stop me,” said Anthony. 

A still from Anthony Riach's Room 20 (Image: Room 20)

“It’s a mix of confidence and naivety. I literally had a pen and pad.

“The naivety came in the fact I was going to ring the London Philharmonic, they said it costs £10,000 just to print off the sheets. They did say, I have a guy and I’m going to put you through to him, Allan Wilson.

“I’m not really going about things in the normal way. The people I revered in the 80s, 90s, they were very much go out and get it filmmakers.

“It’s a profound feeling, I’m not sure how I could put it into words. This is just the start.”