14 minutes. 35mm/Super 35
WRITER & DIRECTOR: Chris Shepherd PRODUCER: Maria Manton
An imaginative boy and his mum try to stay sane, despite the fact their "special needs" neighbour behaves in such an unorthodox way...This short film by Chris Shepherd is the winning entry of the Turner Classic Movies Short Film Competition 2006, and it's easy to see why the judges decided to award it the top prize.
Silence Is Golden is an imaginative and inventive story based on a very simple premise. It's essentially about a young boy called Billy, imagination and how he projects day-dreams onto his oddball next-door neighbour, Dennis.
As with all the best short films, the simple premise gives the filmmakers plenty of room to let their visual side take flight. The piece is directed very well, with no scene wasted, and includes some brilliant uses of special-effects (most notably some child drawings that come to life, stop-motion animation when some mantelpiece figurines comes to life, and a surreal moment when Dennis is transformed into a giant robot, or breathes fire on some Bible bashers).
Chris Shepherd displays a sure hand with all the technicalities, and makes the real-life moments (essentially focusing on just three actors in two suburban houses) just as entertaining as the effects.
Conor Morris plays Billy, a believable child character thanks to his everyday features and plain-speaking dialogue. Too often children are treated as tiny adults in film, but Morris certainly brings a down-to-earth charm that's easy to buy into.
Kate McLoughlin is excellent as Billy's mum, getting to show some tension and emotion throughout the film, mostly as the situation with her strange neighbour and her son reaches a climax.
Dennis is played by Andrew Dunford, who manages to make a potentially stereotyped character more rounded and likeable despite his incessant banging on walls and quirky mannerisms.
The film is set in the 70s, with beautifully realized scenery (dark browns and yellows) and some excellent costumes. The production design is so spot-on that the film actually does resemble something from that time period (with only the CGI-assisted effects saying otherwise).
The budget was certainly quite large considering the number of effects and professionalism with the camerawork, which was also nice to see. The only criticism with the film is that once the premise is realized, the story doesn't really evolve into much and the ending is a little disappointing, but the 14 minutes certainly flew past and left me mostly satisfied.
Shepherd is certainly a filmmaker I hope gets the chance to spread his wings into a feature-length film, as it's this level of talent and visual imagination sorely missing from British television and film. Short films prove we have the necessary ambition and skills to match our American cousins, and Silence Is Golden is testament to that.
"Wonderfully surreal"
-- Imelda Staunton
"Technically extremely impressive, full of wit and imagination"
-- Stephen Poliakoff
"A wonderful combination of mixed media, strong
storytelling and talented actors"
-- Matthew Modine
"Terrific, strong, non-sentimental kid’s story"
-- Terry Gilliam
-- Imelda Staunton
"Technically extremely impressive, full of wit and imagination"
-- Stephen Poliakoff
"A wonderful combination of mixed media, strong
storytelling and talented actors"
-- Matthew Modine
"Terrific, strong, non-sentimental kid’s story"
-- Terry Gilliam
What are you waiting for? Download the film from the BBC Film Network
Also, visit Slinky Pictures, co-founded by Shepherd.
