Last month, Official Cosplay Ambassador, Kate Sykes celebrated a new milestone, the release of her first film, "Athena", which she hopes will "help change perceptions of how those with disabilities are portrayed on screen."
Kate has been involved in a number of "Tomb Raider" projects over the years. She was selected to be the Official Cosplay Ambassador at EGX for the release of "Rise of the Tomb Raider", and spotlighted in Prima Games' "Twenty Years of Tomb Raider" book. She has also used her writing talents on the fan film, "Hunted" which have received over 120,000 views worldwide, along with a festive mini "Tomb Raider" fanfilm. In her spare time, she runs the official Tomb Raider fansite, The Digger's Daughter. And on top of all of that, she's also an actress, starring in projects such as "The Kindness of Strangers" and a 2013 comedy remake of "Dawn of the Dead". Despite all of these projects, Kate refers to Athena as her "first film", a standalone title which she had full creative control over and saw from start to finish.
As an Official Cosplay Ambassador, Kate is no stranger to stepping in the role of Lara Croft, and has done so numerous times over the years, for events, for photo shoots, and even for fan films. But for "Athena", she would be doing something quite different. While the topic of Lara's daughter has been discussed multiple times over the years, having someone with the believably and strength to pull of such a role would be a difficult task, and a challenge not lost on Kate. It was only when she saw Alicia Vikander's performance in the recent film that she was inspired to return to the project and see it to the end.
The synopsis of the fan film is inspired by the same film and the recent trilogy: having disappeared years earlier, the Croft estate now falls onto Athena who has recently turned eighteen. Back at Croft Manor, Lara's daughter who goes in search for the reason for her mother's disappearance and comes into the possession of the relic which her mother sought to protect. As a result, Athena now becomes hunted by those who want to use it for nefarious purposes.
"Athena" began production back in January 2018 following positive reception to the fan film's concept on Kate's social media. Soon after, she began talks to fellow actor and friend, Kate Davies-Speak, who later joined the cast to play Lara Croft, and help with some of the creative decisions. Despite no budget, the project soon found a slew of breathtaking locations and a cast with prior acting skills. The indoors scenes at Croft Manor was shot at Sykes' and Davis-Speak's family homes in the UK, with a nearby school used for the exterior shots. Within a few months, Stephen Quinn (VO enemy), Ben Park (on screen enemy), Jason Rhodes (Judas Iscariot), and Terry Sykes (Winston) had joined the cast.
Similar to Alicia Vikander, Kate decided to start an exercise routine ahead of filming. Although she wouldn't play Lara herself, Athena would be very much her mother's daughter. As Kate was born with Quadriplegic Spastic Cerebral Palsy, she experiences tightness in her tendons in her arms and legs, so before exercise could start, she first needed to look into exercise routines and tools best suited to her. Soon after she began posting exercise videos on the fan film's Facebook page, documenting her progress first with stretches, then introducing weighs which could be fitted to her arms. It's clear in these videos the level of determination she had to pursue her dream project and to get into character. In a recent blog post on her site, The Digger's Daughter, she expanded on how these exercise routines has changed her stating that she had noticed more muscle definition in her biceps since.
In addition to getting into character, another reason why improving her strength and muscle definition was important to her was because she had scheduled a fight scene involving Athena outside Croft Manor. While the distance between the two actors in those roles (Kate and Ben) kept them from rehearsing in person, Kate studied self defense for people in wheelchairs to recreate effective and realistic attacks on screen. This was later partially choreographed by Ben on set who had previously worked as a boxer.
After twelve months, in December 2018, Kate celebrated with a bottle of Croft sherry the completion of filming.
With no budget, filming was done using using iPhones and a Nikon D90, and edited together using a 2009 edition of iMovie. In the final few months, the project was plagued by technical issues including footage and music being wiped without warning. Last minute help was given by fellow cosplayer, Sara Croft, owner of the Tomb Raider Cosplay website, who helped salvage some of the previously-believed lost footage from recording, in time for its desired release date.
"Athena" was published online via YouTube and Vimeo on 14th February 2019, to celebrate Lara's birthday. To date it has received over one thousand views from Tomb Raider fans across the globe, as well as support and positive feedback from actors, including Lara Croft model and actor, Alison Carroll. It has also received attention and been celebrated in Le Patelin des Passions' Fanfilmensuel - Février 2019 video. For Kate, she writes in her article that the project has already helped "make a difference for disable people in films and TV" before teasing that a potential sequel may be in the works in the future.
I've known Kate for a number of years, so hearing that a new project was on the books was no surprise; she's an exceptional lady with a knack for multi-tasking and seeing projects through, and she's always been determined to push herself that little further with each new piece. She had come into "Athena" with a background of fan films, each one showing in her performance or approach at different times. "Athena" celebrates everything that "Tomb Raider" should be; Kate is driven, with a thirst of adventure which has limitless bounds. The film celebrates passion, determination, and a good deal of British stubbornness.
Kate has been involved in a number of "Tomb Raider" projects over the years. She was selected to be the Official Cosplay Ambassador at EGX for the release of "Rise of the Tomb Raider", and spotlighted in Prima Games' "Twenty Years of Tomb Raider" book. She has also used her writing talents on the fan film, "Hunted" which have received over 120,000 views worldwide, along with a festive mini "Tomb Raider" fanfilm. In her spare time, she runs the official Tomb Raider fansite, The Digger's Daughter. And on top of all of that, she's also an actress, starring in projects such as "The Kindness of Strangers" and a 2013 comedy remake of "Dawn of the Dead". Despite all of these projects, Kate refers to Athena as her "first film", a standalone title which she had full creative control over and saw from start to finish.
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| Photo from the "Athena" Facebook page. |
As an Official Cosplay Ambassador, Kate is no stranger to stepping in the role of Lara Croft, and has done so numerous times over the years, for events, for photo shoots, and even for fan films. But for "Athena", she would be doing something quite different. While the topic of Lara's daughter has been discussed multiple times over the years, having someone with the believably and strength to pull of such a role would be a difficult task, and a challenge not lost on Kate. It was only when she saw Alicia Vikander's performance in the recent film that she was inspired to return to the project and see it to the end.
The synopsis of the fan film is inspired by the same film and the recent trilogy: having disappeared years earlier, the Croft estate now falls onto Athena who has recently turned eighteen. Back at Croft Manor, Lara's daughter who goes in search for the reason for her mother's disappearance and comes into the possession of the relic which her mother sought to protect. As a result, Athena now becomes hunted by those who want to use it for nefarious purposes.
"Athena" began production back in January 2018 following positive reception to the fan film's concept on Kate's social media. Soon after, she began talks to fellow actor and friend, Kate Davies-Speak, who later joined the cast to play Lara Croft, and help with some of the creative decisions. Despite no budget, the project soon found a slew of breathtaking locations and a cast with prior acting skills. The indoors scenes at Croft Manor was shot at Sykes' and Davis-Speak's family homes in the UK, with a nearby school used for the exterior shots. Within a few months, Stephen Quinn (VO enemy), Ben Park (on screen enemy), Jason Rhodes (Judas Iscariot), and Terry Sykes (Winston) had joined the cast.
 |
| Photo of Kate and Ben, from the "Athena" Facebook page. |
Similar to Alicia Vikander, Kate decided to start an exercise routine ahead of filming. Although she wouldn't play Lara herself, Athena would be very much her mother's daughter. As Kate was born with Quadriplegic Spastic Cerebral Palsy, she experiences tightness in her tendons in her arms and legs, so before exercise could start, she first needed to look into exercise routines and tools best suited to her. Soon after she began posting exercise videos on the fan film's Facebook page, documenting her progress first with stretches, then introducing weighs which could be fitted to her arms. It's clear in these videos the level of determination she had to pursue her dream project and to get into character. In a recent blog post on her site, The Digger's Daughter, she expanded on how these exercise routines has changed her stating that she had noticed more muscle definition in her biceps since.
In addition to getting into character, another reason why improving her strength and muscle definition was important to her was because she had scheduled a fight scene involving Athena outside Croft Manor. While the distance between the two actors in those roles (Kate and Ben) kept them from rehearsing in person, Kate studied self defense for people in wheelchairs to recreate effective and realistic attacks on screen. This was later partially choreographed by Ben on set who had previously worked as a boxer.
After twelve months, in December 2018, Kate celebrated with a bottle of Croft sherry the completion of filming.
With no budget, filming was done using using iPhones and a Nikon D90, and edited together using a 2009 edition of iMovie. In the final few months, the project was plagued by technical issues including footage and music being wiped without warning. Last minute help was given by fellow cosplayer, Sara Croft, owner of the Tomb Raider Cosplay website, who helped salvage some of the previously-believed lost footage from recording, in time for its desired release date.
"Athena" was published online via YouTube and Vimeo on 14th February 2019, to celebrate Lara's birthday. To date it has received over one thousand views from Tomb Raider fans across the globe, as well as support and positive feedback from actors, including Lara Croft model and actor, Alison Carroll. It has also received attention and been celebrated in Le Patelin des Passions' Fanfilmensuel - Février 2019 video. For Kate, she writes in her article that the project has already helped "make a difference for disable people in films and TV" before teasing that a potential sequel may be in the works in the future.
I've known Kate for a number of years, so hearing that a new project was on the books was no surprise; she's an exceptional lady with a knack for multi-tasking and seeing projects through, and she's always been determined to push herself that little further with each new piece. She had come into "Athena" with a background of fan films, each one showing in her performance or approach at different times. "Athena" celebrates everything that "Tomb Raider" should be; Kate is driven, with a thirst of adventure which has limitless bounds. The film celebrates passion, determination, and a good deal of British stubbornness.
If you haven't already, make sure to check out "Athena", HERE!
And follow Kate on Facebook (HERE!) for more upcoming projects!
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