What is the etiquette of ruin?
Help us bring a story of fantasy perfection, and ruin to life.
The Etiquette of Ruin is a student-made short film that explores love, control, and perception through two cinematic worlds: a haunting fantasy realm and a polished 1950s reality.
Our film uses two contrasting genres to explore differing perspectives on the problematic relationship between the protagonists, Ethan and Marianne. From Marianne’s perspective, the family dinner takes on the dark fairytale aesthetics of ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ (2006) with the emotional intensity of Robert Eggars ‘Nosferatu’ (2025). From Ethan’s viewpoint, his world mimics the highly polished world of classic 1950s cinema, rooted in the ideals of the 50s nuclear family (e.g. Wandavision Ep.1).
This film offers both a challenge and an opportunity to create two distinct aesthetics that create two opposing tones. From two sets of costume, two differing locations/sets, editing styles and colour grades. But for all of this to happen we need your help!
Who are we?
We are a group of third year students at the University of York, creating our final year project and combining our creative outputs making it our best piece yet! This film will allow us to use all of the collated knowledge over the last three years of university to give us the best chance at starting our film-making careers off right, and having fun at the same time. We are so enthusiastic to get started but we need your help to get us off our feet, so even the smallest donations could help our journey begin.
Where will the money go?
£800 - Production Design is the largest part of our budget, spent on all our original props, handpicked costumes, and specialist production equipment.
£400 - Travel/ Accommodation will enable us to secure the perfect locations and attract the best actors to bring our characters to life.
£500 - Locations will allow us to visit, hire, or build the best world for our film and ensure everything looks stunning on camera.
£400 - Catering will ensure our cast and crew are fed and full of energy to deliver their best work over the shoot.
£400 - Contingency will allow us to adapt to unforeseen changes and last minute costs.
Find us here!
Instagram - @etiquette_of_ruin
Email - theetiquetteofruin@gmail.com
Help us succeed!
You don’t have to donate to support our success! Visit our social platforms to stay in the loop and discover other ways to get involved. Spreading the word, sharing our posts, and chatting with your friends about the project all make a huge difference and help us create the best film we can!
Thank you.
