The Hungry

A “Fleet Street Productions” FILM
WRITTEN BY Roko Antonio Babich

Society has been brought to it's knees by the new great depression.
Fresh water and food are scarce, and there are no signs of the situation changing.
The population is desperate, and has turned to religion to save them.

In their inner city convenience store, Pete Moheru and two kids Ellie (13) and Jackson (7) have created a safe haven.
A small amount of tinned food and fresh water remains in the store, and Pete will do anything to protect it and his family.
Pete is on the verge of a breakdown. His wife, whom he still regularly converses with, has very recently passed away; a fact which he has kept from his children.
The constant task of keeping up this deception is taking it's toll on their already strained relationship.

On the day our story begins, Jackson is caught by Gabriel (a local self-appointed religious and tribal leader) while dropping off food supplies to their elderly neighbours.
Gabriel forces Jackson to take him to the source of the supplies, where they are met by Pete and Ellie.
Gabriel offers Pete and his kids the chance to go with him and his tribe out of the city, to a place that is rumored to have enough food and clean water for everyone. All they need to do is share their supplies with them.
Pete senses duplicity and turns him down, forcing Gabriel to demand that Pete hand over the supplies in exchange for his son. A struggle ensues and Pete is forced to badly wound Gabriel in protection of his family.
Gabriel flees vowing to return with his own people to take everything Pete and his family has.

Pete knows it is time to get his children out of the city.
In the basement store room is an old motorbike once used for deliveries. Pete decides to begin construction of a sidecar for the motorbike so he can get his family out.

As night time looms, Gabriel rallies together his group of followers. Outside the store a stirring haka is performed before Gabriel delivers his final terms to the family "Give us your supplies and you can live".
Pete turns down the terms knowing that having no supplies means death.
The group begin attacking the store desperately trying to get in, Pete, Ellie and Jackson frantically do what they can to keep the hoard out.
At the last moment a truck is heard rumbling towards the store accompanied by gun fire. The siege stops.

The owners of the truck are two army privates, remnants of the city patrol from before things turned desperate.
Pete lets the two men in and thanks them with food and a place to sleep.
The next day Jackson finds some of the belongings of their elderly neighbours in the packs of the army men.
He tells his father who realizes the two men are not there to help, but to take all the family have and leave them for dead.

A confrontation begins between the family and the two privates, leaving Pete seriously injured and the two men dead.
Pete finishes the sidecar, loads it up with supplies, then creates a plan for their escape.

Night time falls and Gabriel returns with his people, this time the family are ready for them.
As the group attack the store, the family fight back as best they can until Pete tells Ellie and Jackson to get to the motorbike.
Jackson and Ellie resist, wanting to help their father, Jackson refuses to go without his mother.
Ellie steps forward and convinces Jackson to leave with her, subtly revealing to Pete that she knows her mother has actually been dead for a while. She leaves with Jackson, saying to her father "Tell mum I love her".
In order to ensure the kid's successful escape, Pete lets in the attackers, sacrificing his own life.
The children leave their father behind and flee into the night.