Ashes and Sand
Synopsis
Hayley's gang of fourteen year-old girls are on the rampage, mugging young male tourists on Brighton's sea-front. Hayley is half-adolescent and half-woman, as raw and violent as any male counterpart, and just as calculating. She is determined that they will escape their poverty, their crumbling families and dead end prospects by stealing enough money to leave Brighton. The gang thinks she wants to go to London. However, secretly Hayley has almost saved up enough money to take them to Bali, a tropical paradise full, she imagines, of beautiful, androgynous young men. Here she and the gang will find the happiness they crave.
When Hayley sees Daniel, a young detective, arresting a robbery suspect she is transfixed. Charismatic, handsome, tough but also strangely vulnerable, he personifies her desires. She falls in love and lust. She must have him at any cost.
Details
- Year
- 2004
- Type of project
- Features
- Running time
- 108 mins
- Format
- 35mm
- Director
-
Bob Blagden
- Producer
- Andrew Holmes, Peter Watson
- Editor
- Luke Dunkley
- Screenwriter
- Judy Upton
- Director of Photography
- Chris Seager
- Sound
- John Cochrane
- Composer
- Michael Price
- Principal cast
- Nick Moran, Lara Belmont
Genre
Categories
Production Status
Production Company
Open Road Films
The Studio37 Redington Road
London NW3 7QY
UK
Sales Company
Lighting Entertainment
301 Arizona AvenueFourth Floor, Santa Monica
CA 90401, USA
T+1 310 255 7999
liza@lightning-ent.com
Page updates
This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.
See also
You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.
Longhaul
Director: Bob Blagden
Year: 2000
A drama about a long distance lorry driver who gives a woman a lift. She is harbouring some deep psychological wounds and fate has thrown them together.
Diary of a Bandit (Diario di un brigante)
Director: Henry Worsley
Year: 2027
Italy, 1866. Michele Di Gè, a young shepherd, leads a monotonous life, but dreams of the bandit-filled mountains on the horizon. When he helps his friend flee conscription, Michele sees an opportunity to leave home and prove himself as a man, joining a band of brutal outlaws. But this is not the adventure Michele bargained for – and behind every myth, there hides a stranger and more terrible truth. Shot by an international crew of young independent filmmakers, this film transports you to Italy's own Wild West -- a world never seen before on screen.
Your Sweet Home
Director: Nataša Cordeaux
Year: 2026
Bill, a timid and overworked Brit, impulsively books a beach escape in the hope of unwinding. On arrival, he's greeted by a mysterious Balkan baba and follows her into the flat of her daughter, Sunny - an eccentric former travel agent. “Welcome to paradise, my darling,” Sunny beams, rebranding their small home into a VIP holiday experience. Out of his depth, Bill is soon commandeered by Sunny’s persuasive upselling and is roped into a unique beach excursion - pay per hour. Each day brings another increasingly absurd encounter: a coffee-cup fortune becomes a massage sales pitch, while an innocent nap takes a strange turn. Yet amidst the oddness, Sunny and Baka’s boundless hospitality and growing fondness for having a man around the house begin to make Bill feel at home. On his final morning, Bill discovers that his bed is actually Baka's bed. Sitting together on the balcony, he confesses his deep dark secret: he’s never been on holiday before and worries he’s doing it wrong. “What a silly thing to worry about,” Sunny says. Bill decides it’s a great day for the beach. Business is back on as Sunny and Baka bicker about how many sandwiches they can sell.