Short films for Channel 4
Various/ UK 2009/ 215 min/ tbc
It’s a curious beast, the 30 minute film. There’s something about the proportions of it- too short for a feature, too long for a short. Handled badly, it feels like the ending has come up and hit you in the face just as you were settling in for set up. Luckily Channel 4’s Coming Up program, a talent scheme for new and emerging writers, manages to bypass the limitations of the form and bring us seven diverse, innovative and entertaining films which will be aired on Channel 4 later this year.
Coming Up has been praised in the past for taking risks with subject matter, and this year’s entries are no exception. They include a teenager thinking his brother is a suicide bomber (Half Term), a near shoot out on a bus (Dip), and a dying wife setting up dates for her husband (Would Like to Meet). Where Coming Up has been less strong in the past, is in doling out the funnies; who said that making a serious film means it has to be so, well, serious? This year’s collection goes some way to redressing the balance thanks to some superb scripts and talented actors. There are still some problems- unsatisfying endings (Future WAGs of Great Britain), unconvincing set ups (Dip) and credibility stretching (Eclipse), but there are also some stand out triumphs like Would Like to Meet – moving and poignant. The sheer quality and scope of the project is a remarkable achievement, and you can only admire Channel 4 for running a scheme at a time when opportunities for new writers and filmmakers are so depressingly scarce.
Coming Up will be aired on Channel 4 this year.