A funding campaign has been launched to make a post-apocalyptic thriller filmed in Macclesfield Forest.

The team behind Anathema have launched a Kickstarter campaign – an online resource where members of the public can pledge financial support for new projects – to raise £30,000 to help make the film.

It’s currently at the stage of having a script and storyboards and writer and director Thomas Houston and producer Dane Jones are working on the finance.

Anathema is a dark, post-apocalyptic thriller that follows Addison and his younger sister Kate as they journey across the country, seeking out rumours of salvation. Addison must learn that all he used to know is gone and his life depends on adapting to the hostile new world. The survivors are immune to the virus that caused the devastation but face the real dangers to come from mankind.

Two thirds of it will be filmed in Macclesfield Forest.

Thomas, who has worked for many years as a freelance corporate and music video director, said: “While there are several accessible forests in the north west of England, Macclesfield Forest has a wonderful variation of flora. With such variation it’s easier for the film to be shot in one location yet giving the illusion that the characters have journeyed on to another part of the country. You can literally walk for five minutes and be surrounded by a completely different forest.”

It is the debut feature film for the pair of friends.

Thomas said: “If we’re successful with the Kickstarter campaign, we’ll use the funds to produce the movie and help bring this dark and brooding story to screen.

“Anathema explores the depth of human behaviour and survival in the most extreme situations. With dark overtones and insurmountable pressures, the film tells a tense story about growing up and the choices we are forced to make.”

Visit kickstarter.com to help the fundraising campaign which runs until Tuesday, March 31.