Projects with status: Complete

Synopsis

Two men meet on a deserted beach for a sixth form reunion, but vicious Cat turns up to open old wounds.

Synopsis

John Salt is the kind of boy we all knew at school. Shy and awkward, he was the boy that no one talked to, the one picked on by the bullies and the one that, during science lessons, invariably set fire to his shirtsleeve with the Bunsen burner. Now grown up, nothing much has changed --- he's still alone and friendless, he still gets picked on by the much larger bullies in the street and he's still as accident-prone as ever. But, surprisingly in the face of so much adversity, he carries on.



"The film is optimistic, despite the terrible things that happen to the protagonist," says Adam Bell of his micro-budget debut, set in Liverpool. "John Salt won't quit. He feels ground down, he's got nothing to live for, everything goes wrong for him even though he's always desperately trying to fit in and impress people and yet he still gets out of bed in the morning. At first, he's someone you laugh at because he's such a loser but as the film goes on, you realise the struggle he goes through and you start to feel guilty about laughing."



Bell, whose short film credits include Last Of The Windswept Kids, shot the film over two weeks, with a tiny budget donated by family and friends. "We used the Robert Bresson approach, shooting on the hop with real people off the street and friends. It's got a documentary feel, which makes it much more authentic. But it was a nightmare shoot -- we didn't have the money to eat!" he says.



Budget constraints meant the film spent almost a year in post-production but it was completed in November last year and has had a handful of screenings in Liverpool, where it was warmly received by local critics.

Synopsis

We've Lived Here All Our Lives is a three minute film taking a quick look at Indians living in the UK. The film brings up issue that most Indians (Hindus) in the UK turn a blind eye to. It is a very bitter yet funny three-minute rant with visuals.

Synopsis

Lighthearted Andrew and Jennifer leave London on a sunny summer day for a weekend trip to the seaside. Their old car breaks down and they have to stay overnight in a little corny hotel. They try to make the best of the spoilt trip. But when Andrew learns the next morning that they will become parents soon, he gets into an argument with Jennifer and they set off back to London.

Synopsis

Two friends from the wrong end of Notting Hill contend with family problems and a life of crime.

Synopsis

A short film trilogy about prison life. Based on real events in a British prison, its themes are the sense of collusion and community between the inmates and the savage reminder that violence always lies beneath the surface of the fragile community.

Synopsis

Set in the frenetic urban environment of a modern British city, we follow Harry on a journey that isn't quite what it seems. Who is Harry, and what does he do all day?

Synopsis

A hilarious comedy . . . It's 1977 and our love-struck young hero drops his sequins for safety pins.. and deserts disco for Punk.





Vince Smith is eighteen, shy and maybe in love . . . with Joanna, who works in the same office. By day he's a lawyer's clerk, but by night he's an aspiring disco dancer . . .





Joanna Robinson is also eighteen, not shy and really likes Vince, especially teasing him. By day, she's also a lawyer's clerk, but by night, she's a punk . . .





Harold Smith is Vince's dad. He's retired, likes his pipe, his telly and sitting quietly in a corner being ignored by his glamorous wife Irene and the rest of the Smith family. Until one Christmas day he does an amazing magic trick . . . which catapults a reluctant Harold into the limelight of the North of England.





Whilst Harold's previously peaceful world is thrown upside down by his new-found magical powers, Vince has fallen head over heels for a spiky punk girl.





Father and son are in turmoil but together they discover it's not what you are, it's who you are that makes for true happiness.

Synopsis

With three of his novels already adapted into successful films, When Brendan Met Trudy marks Roddy Doyle's first original screenplay. Exhausted by the research that went into his latest novel, A Star Called Henry, Doyle decided to stick to what he knew well and write a script that would not require long hours in libraries or in-depth interviews with historians. The result is a light-hearted romantic drama that pays homage to some of the great classics of the silver screen.

Peter McDonald stars as Brendan, a teacher and film buff who escapes the boredom of his job by day-dreaming about the films he adores and singing in the local choir. He meets bohemian eccentric Trudy (Flora Montgomery), a nursery teacher, who introduces him to a new and invigorating way of life. When he discovers that she is really a thief, it adds an extra frisson to their whirlwind relationship but things go awry when Trudy meets Brendan's sister (Pauline McLynne). Trudy dumps Brendan, forcing him to move to get her back.

As with his previous films, Doyle set the action in Dublin but was keen that his director, Kieran J Walsh (with whom he had made the short Hell For Leather), and production team showed a different side of the town, one that would reflect the romanticism of the narrative.

"I dropped hints in the script on how it should be different from the Barrytown films, The Commitments, The Snapper and The Van. Dublin is a different place than when we did The Commitments. I decided to go for a more middle-class setting because I think that reflects Dublin more now."

Synopsis

When Brendan Met Trudy is a romantic comedy, set in present-day Dublin.


Night: Brendan Moore (32), a teacher and movie buff, tenor and loner, lies on a Dublin street, face-down in a puddle. Paraphrasing William Holden at the start of Sunset Boulevard, he invites us to go back with him to 'the day it all started'. Brendan meets Trudy Fortune (28), a Montessori teacher, in a pub. They agree to meet again, for a movie, but Trudy doesn't show up. Brendan goes looking, and finds her. They try again. The relationship brings Brendan to places he's never known - parties, the supermarket, friendship with a Nigerian refugee call Edgar - and the sex is glorious. For the first time in his adult live Brendan is having fun.


Then Brendan, fearing that Trudy is a serial castrator doing the rounds of Dublin, finds out that she is actually a burglar. He begins to enjoy her life of crime - and the sex is even better . . .

Synopsis

Two detectives find themselves on the frontline of the war against food crimes in this mock documentary.

Synopsis

Hugh, a young would-be-filmmaker, sets out to record the insignificant lives of his slacker friends with a camcorder. When one of them has an idea for a get rich quick scheme, an epic journey begins into the world of London's sex industry.





In Hugh's own words:





'It all began as a bit of fun, videotaping a couple of friends wandering aimlessly through their lives. When Tom (out of work actor Tom Foxton) had the idea for his male escort business, no one took him seriously except me. I knew it would be a disaster, but I also knew it might prove hilarious watching him fail'





'I think the presence of the camera spurred everyone on. Once I had persuaded Tom and his friends to get involved they soon became prostitutes for their few minutes of fame. Each in turn tried to take control of the agency and put themselves in the spotlight as the business spiralled out of control.'





'I borrowed a hidden camera and a radio mike to record intimate moments in restaurants, cabs and hotel bedrooms. We got shouted at, thrown out and even chased out of a brothel.'





'Poor Tom had no idea what he was getting us all into. I still can't believe what happened to him.'