Lowestoft filmmaker's zero-budget solo film to screen in hometown after festival wins
Matthew Simpson wrote, directed, filmed and starred in an award-winning psychological thriller, 'Disremember' entirely on his own
A Suffolk-born filmmaker who created an entire feature film with no cast, crew or budget is bringing it back to his hometown after it picked up a string of awards.
Matthew "Matt" Simpson wrote, directed and starred in the psychological thriller Disremember, while also taking on the technical work needed to complete the film.
It will be shown at Lowestoft's Marina Theatre today (Thursday 20 August 2026) as part of the Sunrise Film Festival.
The screening marks a return to a venue where Simpson says he performed with an amateur dramatics company around 20 years ago.
"It's a real full circle moment," he said.
"Probably it's the most challenging audience because they'd see you as who you were, right, and not who you are."
He added that family and friends would be among those seeing him in what he described as a "very intense, quite gruesome and dramatic psychological thriller".
From 'crazy idea' to award-winning film
Disremember has already won Best Narrative Feature at the BAFTA and BIFA-qualifying Aesthetica Film Festival, Best Feature at the London Breeze Film Festival, and Best Feature and Best Actor at the Unrestricted View Film Festival, according to information supplied by the film's representatives.
Simpson said the project began as a "crazy idea" and developed over several years, without him initially intending to make the film entirely alone.
"I made the film completely on my own with zero crew, zero cast, and on zero budget," he said.
"Not at any point really did I think I was ever going to finish it."
Simpson said his experiences as an actor, coupled with learning skills behind the camera, eventually led him to take on the challenge.
Over the course of the project, he taught himself elements of sound, editing and colour grading, alongside writing, acting and directing.
He said: "It definitely expanded my skill set because my skill set was zero for a lot of it.
"I had to definitely learn, especially things like sound. I felt like going back to school, literally."
'If you stop, everything stops'
Making a feature film alone also meant there was nobody else to keep production moving when Simpson stopped.
He said extensive preparation became particularly important because of the physical and creative demands of taking responsibility for every part of the production.
The entire film was storyboarded in advance, allowing him to work through the shots he needed even when he was tired during filming.
"Solo filmmaking is all about the preparation," he said.
There were still mishaps.
Simpson recalled forgetting to press record, filming without switching on his microphone and completing a dramatic scene before realising he had forgotten his character's necklace.
He also said he set off a building's fire alarm, broke a lens and dropped his camera several times.
But he believes the preparation meant he made fewer mistakes than he had expected.
"When everything relies on you, there's an element of things take time," he said.
"If you stop, everything stops."
Frustrations helped inspire independent approach
Simpson trained as an actor at the Italia Conti Academy and said setbacks during his subsequent career contributed to his decision to take greater control of his work.
He described appearing in independent projects which were never released and securing a part in the film Annihilation, only for most of his contribution to be cut from the finished film.
"All of these setbacks, all of these kinds of struggles that actors and filmmakers face in the industry was what drove me to kind of like, okay, I want to have control over my career," he said.
"I want to kind of have something that I can see through to the completion."
Simpson stressed that he remains positive about the wider film industry and believes collaboration is capable of producing "amazing films".
But he wanted Disremember to demonstrate what could be achieved without following the traditional route of securing finance and assembling a production team.
He said: "I wanted to completely break free of that and show that without any help whatsoever, with limited resources and zero budget, you're still able to bring a story to life."
For Simpson, the reaction to the finished film has become more important than the unusual circumstances in which it was made.
"It really doesn't matter how you made a film, it matters who watches it and do they enjoy it?" he said.
Lowestoft homecoming
The Sunrise Film Festival screening is particularly significant for Simpson because of his connections to Lowestoft.
He said the festival champions local filmmakers, while the Marina Theatre itself forms part of his own history as a performer.
The screening of Disremember is scheduled for 8pm on Thursday 20 August.
Simpson is already developing his next feature, which will also bring him back to Lowestoft.
This time, however, he will not be working alone.
The planned gritty sports drama will have a full crew and is expected to be filmed over the course of a year, with Simpson planning to undergo a physical transformation as part of the story.
He also hopes to involve the local community and develop a real-world fitness event connected to the film.
Reflecting on what Disremember has taught him, Simpson said the one thing he would change would be to have started sooner.
"We're always waiting around for an opportunity and I just wish I'd just done it sooner and got it out sooner," he said.
"Stay motivated, have a goal and do it quicker