For February Film of the Month, we were extremely lucky to welcome legendary producer, distributor and exhibitor Stephen Woolley, a man behind some of the most exciting and important independent British films of the last thirty years. He was pleased to view the films, but found ranking them a difficult demand. We present his insightful comments in full, which will surely be of benefit to our winning filmmakers.

Stephen, commenting on the selection said that he “found it very difficult to judge these films in competition with each other because they were all attempting to achieve different things from stylistically different angles.”

Shades of Living by Aurora Fearnley

The first short, “Shades of Living deals with the loss of a child and the effect of this on a relationship. It’s quite moving and although the trick of the ghost child is quite apparent, it has a very traditional mode of filming and some very persuasive performances by the three main actors (including the child). My only quibble with the film is that it is blatantly obvious that the child is a figment of her imagination and as such, it’s a little over-sentimental and as I said, predictable. On technical level however, it is extremely accomplished.”

The Truants by Aaron Dunleavy

The Truants “owes much to the host of filmmakers that like to use handheld camera movements and a more freeform approach to the depiction of children and reality based action. The film is, again, a bit sign-posted in its drift towards a nasty crime which I was desperately hoping wouldn’t happen. So in once sense it really achieved it’s goal which was to keep me on the edge of my seat. I also wasn’t sure if it was scripted or if there was a certain amount of ad-libbing and improv going on which again is a compliment to the filmmakers. So I think it perfectly achieved it’s aims and it genuinely made me feel very sad.”

Flushed by Grace June

Flushed was “definitely light relief although again like the other two films, was based on the main protagonist’s anxiety. It had a strong element of an everyday nightmare situation which could happen to any one of us. Dangers of mistexting in a dire situation are always a possibility especially when, like the main character, you are in a rather exposed position! This is probably the least directionally assured short but it is also one that needs, by the nature of its comedic tone, to be formally and accessibly directed. Whilst it made me smile however it didn’t make me openly guffaw. Perhaps with a stronger performance and a slightly more amusing script it could have done.”

Stephen Woolley’s most recent release as producer is the brilliant Their Finest, currently in UK cinemas. Other projects in the pipeline