Short Films Premiere
(By Invitation Only)
Tower Hamlets & Hackney Production Scheme''

All films were produced with the financial support of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Hackney Council, Film London East and The European Regional Development Agency.

Title: The Preacher
Runtime: 13 mins
Written & Directed by: Peter Blach
Produced by: Derek Laviniere
Synopsis: John is a man of God. His faith is put to the test when a man from his past turns up and asks questions.
After preaching that God forgives for all you have done and it is looking to the future that is of importance, it's quite amusing to then run from the past as this stranger shows up and reminds him of it. The jumping around making a scene was a bit much, but if drama is what they were after, you do get people like that out there. Naturally the climax is to fix his ways and face his past and am towards the future, just as he preaches.

Title: Hinterland
Runtime: 9 mins 40 secs
Written & Directed by: Suzi Ewing
Produced by:
Synopsis: Alek has built a new life for himself in London where he works illegally. He witnesses an offence and his newfound stability is put under threat. Dare he come forward and risk losing everything?
That eternal question of whether witnessing a crime and doing nothing about it is just as good as participating, but above this, I think it's a reflection of the weakness of the whole damned system, if you want to report a crime, you just can't do it anonymously, they first want to know who you are, where you live, where your grandma buys her bread from & who your father's gym membership is with. Grrrr. Okay, so I got a little ranty.

Title: Tree
Runtime: 12 mins
Written & Directed by: Phil Dale
Produced by: Liz Chan
Synopsis: A man and woman wander a wood, each unaware of the other until their paths cross by an ancient tree.
This one was pretty cool. The overall feel I got in the end was that it was about people, and how we sometimes mark our territory, etching things into walls & trees. Each etching could have a story of it's own & sometimes it's these stories colliding that bring people together.

Title: Broken
Runtime: 15 mins
Written & Directed by: Vicki Psarias
Produced by: Adam Partridge
Synopsis: It is 1968 and 14 year old Chrystalla arrives in England from Cyprus with her mother and brother to meet her father Solomon after 4 years apart, to find he is not the man he seems to be.
Firstly I thought they went all out promoting this. There were posters and postcards put up, it's the only film in the entire festival where I felt the team behind it were putting in full efforts to get it noticed & for good reason. It's a great little film.

How the family come to learn of his concerns and his comforts in an outsider & how they do cope with it all is what tugs at your heartstrings. Brilliant execution, a balance of emotion, drama & light moments to keep it at equilibrium. Definitely the best of the lot.

Title: The Old Old Very Old Man
Runtime: 7 mins
Written & Directed by: Elizabeth Hobbs
Produced by: Kathrein Guenther
Synopsis: In 1635, the 152 year old Thomas Parr was taken on a journey to meet King Charles I, who ordered an immediate celebration of his longevity, with fatal consequences.
Pretty cool animation short explaining how there did exists back in the day an old old very old man. The King screws the old man over by summoning him thus breaking up his habitat of a routine which causes him to die. Sad but true, he should have been left in peace.

Title: Home
Runtime: 7 mins 10 secs
Written & Directed by: Pier van Tijn and Johnny Burns
Produced by: Igor Degtiarev
Synopsis: Returning to his childhood home, Stewart surprises his mother in a moment of total despair. Awkwardly he tries to find a way to comfort her despite less than ideal circumstances.
Having to break into his own home as his mother is away, young Stewart looks nostalgically through his old toys until he hears a break-in. As he decided to take this matter into his own hands, bearing his baseball bat at the ready he realises, nope it''s not a break-in, it''s his mother who has arrived in a bit of a state. What follows is a little disturbing, yet sweet & certainly amusing. An entertaining little short.

Title: Still Life
Runtime: 8 mins
Written & Directed by: Ninna Bohn Pederson
Produced by: Maeve Lewtas
Synopsis: A woman on the edge of reason encounters a bizarre incident at the end of the road.
I missed this, due to a technical issue at the time..

I'd like to thank Alison who ensured I got a chance to see these even though it was an invite only event.
Thoughts Overall: As a set of shorts, I can see why they got the funding, it was good stuff all round.