The Russian submarine The Black Widow, which has been moored on the River Medway since 2003. Picture: John Sutton

by Kelly Pike

A production company hopes its bid to film on an old Russian submarine on the River Medway won't sink without a trace.

Dresden Pictures has set up the ambitious project to shoot black comedy The Fitzroy on board the Black Widow submarine moored off Strood.

The movie tells the story of The Fitzroy Hotel – a leaky submarine – where a murderer is on the loose.

The company needs to raise £60,000 to fund the movie and it is hoped a crowd funding site called Kickstarter will raise the cash.

Producer Liam Garvo said: “We have raised £14,970 so far. We want to raise more awareness and get people to pledge some of their hard-earned cash.”

The production company is setting up a number of fundraising opportunities, including a live performance from the film’s soundtrack producers The Green Rock River Band, who are also set to star in the movie, on London’s South Bank on Sunday, December 16.

Liam said: “We aim to get out there and reach as many people as possible.
“If they are willing to add us on Facebook or Twitter too it means even more people get to hear about what we’re doing.”

If the £60,000 is raised it is hoped pre-production will begin in January or February, with shooting starting at the end of March and the movie is scheduled to be released by September next year.

It’s not the first time The Black Widow submarine has been turned into a movie set.

It was used by Andrew Harmer, director of The Fitzroy, to shoot a short film a couple of years ago.

It was built in 1967 and was used to train Libyan, Cuban and Indian submariners until it was retired in 1994.

n To find out more visit www.thefitzroy.com/ks or the film’s Facebook and Twitter pages @the_fitzroy