Let's talk 
A Fifty Years film, co-produced with Just Be Nice Studios, in association with YCT Productions.
Inside the Fifty Years caseA young scientist weighs his working life against easier, better-paid offers. The first film in Fifty Years’ developing scripted series puts the choice in front of its audience and leaves the answer open.
Nathan Forge is trying to make a solid-state battery cell work. His relationship with his partner Grace and younger brother Marcus gives that ambition an immediate setting. Written and directed by Souvid, the film keeps returning to a toy rocket Marcus gives Nathan - something small enough to carry into a long night at the workshop.
The film begins with a satirical sequence of startup announcements. Live performance on an LED-wall stage, generated environments and VFX make room for worlds that would have been difficult to build practically. The change into the main narrative is abrupt: locations, vintage lenses and a quieter attention to the cast. Generative imagery is confined to the opening.
Sychelle-Kristina Yanda produced the film, with Theo Tennant as director of photography. Principal photography took place over four days in London, with selected pickups in the US. The production moved between the studio and locations, carrying two distinct visual approaches within the same short. The photographs below show the people and setups behind those changes.
Yujie Li and Souvid edited the film. Jamal Green composed the original score, Alfie Marcantonio designed the sound, and Gabriel Xavier at Priory Post graded the images. Archive and footage of founders from Astranis, Molten Industries and General Control Bio widen the fictional story into the world beyond Nathan’s workshop.
Fifty Years and JBN co-produced Indispensable, in association with YCT Productions. Delivery included the full short and a three-minute version. The film was shortlisted in Branded Content at the 2026 Young Director Award in Cannes. The player here shows the full film; the wider Fifty Years case study places it alongside the documentary series and programme work.
