A Visionary Feature Film · Investor Presentation

LIGHT DANKO

“They made love illegal. She made it immortal.”

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About the Film

The Opportunity

A poetic dystopian drama about resistance, memory, and the right to feel — by an award-winning director whose proof-of-concept has already conquered the festival circuit.

Dystopian
Drama
Genre · Absurdist Coming-of-Age
0Minutes · Feature
EnglishLanguage
UKFilmed Entirely in the United Kingdom
2027Principal Photography
0Festivals — Director's Track Record
0Countries Screened
WinnerStockholm Film & TV Festival — “Dankova”
RaindanceOfficial Selection 2025 · UK Premiere
In a near future where gas masks are mandatory and love is classified as a disease, 16-year-old Light Danko is suffocating. When her estranged grandmother — a defiant survivor of state-mandated death — appears, Danko finds a spark of resistance. Will she light the way for others, or be extinguished by the system?
— The Logline

Synopsis

Her silence becomes revolution

Society is governed by a strict emotional rating system. Love is an addiction. Emotions are medicalised. Everyone wears protective gas masks to survive.

Light Danko, 16, is collapsing. Drugged, bullied, and voiceless, she records a final goodbye — but her body refuses to die. From her failure is born transformation: not as a victim, but as a prophet. Her silence becomes revolution. Her tenderness becomes defiance.

LIGHT DANKO is a visionary coming-of-age myth about the sacred power of girlhood and the right to feel.

Resistance & Inherited Rebellion Rewriting Mythology Dystopia · Control · Desire Intimacy vs. Surveillance
Dankova — proof of concept

“I don't just make films.
I rewrite myths.”

Svetlana Sigalaeva — London-based, Russian-born filmmaker shaped under political censorship, endorsed by the UK Global Talent Visa and supported by Arts Council England and PACT. 70+ international festivals. Awards for Best Director, Grand Prix and Audience Choice.

The Craft

Visual Mood & Language

Visual World

Surreal, stylised, theatrical — inspired by Yorgos Lanthimos, Roy Andersson and early Terry Gilliam. Clinical minimalism collides with raw emotional chaos; stylised gas masks and grotesque rituals expose a society obsessed with control.

Camera

The camera lingers — sometimes still, sometimes trembling — echoing the protagonist's internal rhythm.

Sound

Intimate and tactile sound design, with live violin and physical body sounds as recurring motifs.

Key Locations

Danko's school · Danko's apartment · the garages near the school · Adam & Eve's flat · the road by the Poisoned Sea.

Attached Talent

The Creative Team

Svetlana Sigalaeva

Writer · Director

Award-winning filmmaker. Winner — Stockholm Film & TV Festival; Official Selection — Raindance 2025. UK Global Talent Visa, Arts Council England & PACT supported.

Tamás A. Méder

Director of Photography

London Film School graduate screened at Cannes, Locarno, Camerimage and BFI London Film Festival. Best Cinematography — Linz IFF. 2024 Berlinale Talent; European Film Academy & BAFTA Connect.

Anastasiya Mykhaylova

Production Designer

Credits include Praeis (Cannes 2024) and Sparare Alle Anguire (Berlinale, Venice, BAFTA Student shortlist). BAFTA Connect member with a bold style rooted in dark fantasy and folklore.

Reece Bagrowski

1st Assistant Director

Australian AD and filmmaker (Subject 36, The Day the Moon Fell) bringing precision and on-set leadership to every project.

Casting

Characters & Attachments

Light Danko

16 · The Spark

A defiant girl raised under surveillance and sedation. What begins as a silent cry for help becomes a radiant act of rebellion. “She was told to disappear. Instead, she became a revolution.”

Maja Bons — Confirmed

Svetlana — Grandmother

101 · A Rebel in Pearls

Escaping state-sanctioned euthanasia, she fights not only for her right to live — but for Light's right to feel. They tried to silence her with death. She answered with life.

Jenny Agutter — In talksTilda Swinton — Dream cast

Mark

17 · Golden Boy, Secret Coward

Light's ex-boyfriend, master of the emotional flatline the New World demands — terrified of feelings, especially the ones he caused.

Louis Partridge — LOIKit ConnorArchie Madekwe

Coach — Mark's Dad

40s–50s · Secret Revolutionary

He trains juvenile offenders for exile with brutal precision — until Light's defiance reignites the rebellion in him.

Hugh BonnevilleJohn Altman — LOI

Khromina — The Teacher

55 · Loyal Enforcer

Discipline equals care; feelings are dangerous. When Light hands in a forbidden video, control slips — and a loyal servant of the system begins to crack.

Imelda Staunton — Dream cast

Aletyeva

16 · Class Queen, Secretly in Love

Beautiful, cruel — and trapped too. When Light is exiled, Aletyeva is the only one who stands beside her. Not out of pity — out of love.

Emily BennetJosie ArchivesElla-Rae Smith

Yan & Sonechka

The Model Citizen & the Child of the New World

Natalya's algorithm-matched fiancé — compliance he calls peace — and his “perfect” daughter, already learning to rebrand survival as pride.

Logan Dean — LOIGuy Siner — LOI

Adam & Eve

The Blueprint of Obedience

The ideal New World couple — domestic harmony by state design. She has everything she's supposed to want, and yet something aches.

James Viller — LOIAnna Viller — LOISofya Gershevich — LOI

The Nurses

Workers of the Society

Cold, disciplined instruments of the emotional rating system.

Hugo Hamlet — In talksLiam M. Edwards — LOI
 Confirmed  In talks  Letter of Intent  Casting comp / Dream cast
“God is a hidden camera and love is a black hole that can break even the hidden camera.”
— Light Danko

Marketing the Film

Audience & Positioning

Youth and young adults (15–40) who seek bold, thought-provoking stories about identity, emotion, rebellion and healing in dystopian or surreal worlds.

Fans of dark coming-of-age stories with cyberpunk, absurdist or mythic elements

Viewers drawn to stories of memory, trauma and survival

Sci-fi and futurism enthusiasts interested in systems, freedom and emotional resistance

Feminist, queer and art-driven audiences looking for raw, emotionally intelligent cinema

Positioning — Festival Premiere → Boutique Theatrical → Curated VOD

MUBIBFI PlayerHBO Europe

Positioned for audiences who feel too much — and refuse to disappear.

Impact campaign

Influencer & Impact Campaign

A poetic rebellion with viral potential

Transforming the film into a movement through emotional resonance and message-driven reach.

Collaborators: mental-health advocates, feminist voices, Gen Z poets & creators — alongside NGOs Mind UK, YoungMinds, Women for Women Int'l and Refuge.

Content: reels, quote graphics, behind-the-scenes monologues and “Light Tests”.

Campaign slogan: “When her light dims, her child walks in the dark.”

Road to the Screen

The Timeline

Summer 2026

Packaging

Final cast attachments, HoDs and sales strategy locked.

Autumn 2026

Financing Finalised

Investment closed alongside UK incentives and partner funds.

Spring 2027

Principal Photography

Shot entirely in the United Kingdom.

Summer 2027

Post-Production

Edit, score with live violin motifs, sound design and finishing.

Winter 2027–28

World Premiere

Major festival launch — targeting Raindance, Venice and Cannes — followed by theatrical and curated VOD release.

Project Goals

What your investment builds

Create an international author's film with a deep philosophical message about human rebirth and the search for light within darkness.

Complete pre-production in the UK and start principal photography.

Present the film at major international festivals — Raindance, Venice, Cannes.

Secure theatrical and online distribution in the UK and abroad.

Why Invest

A tax-efficient British film

LIGHT DANKO is a UK-shot feature written and directed by a UK-based, Global-Talent-endorsed filmmaker — positioning it for Britain’s screen incentives, which can materially de-risk the raise.

Up to 53%UK Independent Film Tax Credit · qualifying features under £15m
SEIS / EISPotential investor tax relief · subject to eligibility
BFI · Film4
BBC Film
UK co-financing ecosystem
100% UKBritish production & spend

Where Investment Goes

Use of Funds

Development & Packaging
Final cast attachments, script polish, heads of department and legal structuring.

Principal Photography
The UK shoot — cast, crew, locations and production.

Post-Production
Edit, original score with live violin, sound design and finishing.

Festival Launch & Marketing
Premiere strategy, deliverables and the impact campaign.

Full budget, finance plan, recoupment terms and projections are set out in the investor deck — available to qualified investors on request.

Light42Danko Ltd · United Kingdom

Request the Investor Deck

The full investor deck — budget, finance plan, tax-relief structure, recoupment terms and comparables — is shared privately with investors who qualify as high-net-worth or sophisticated investors. Register your interest and we’ll arrange access and, if you wish, a private screening of the award-winning proof-of-concept, Dankova.

Available to qualified investors on request · Accounting & investor administration: TaxDigit — Parallel House, 32 London Road, Guildford GU1 2AB · info@taxdigit.co.uk · +44 1483 230 777

Important Investor Notice

This page is provided for general information only. It is not an offer or invitation to invest, nor a financial promotion under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, and nothing here should be relied upon as the basis for any investment decision. Investing in film is high-risk: your capital is at risk and you may lose the entire amount invested. Detailed investment materials are made available only to persons who qualify as high-net-worth or sophisticated investors. The availability of the UK Independent Film Tax Credit, SEIS, EIS or any other relief depends on individual and company circumstances, may change, and is not guaranteed. Any figures or projections provided are estimates only and are not a forecast or promise of returns. Please seek independent financial, tax and legal advice before investing.