Last year we premiered a short film by an up-and-coming filmmaker named Charlotte Regan, as part of Random Acts’ 2018 programme. Starring Neil Maskell, Little Monster is a poignant miniature about a newly incarcerated father who uses his one phone call to connect with his young daughter back at home.
Since then Regan has been busy shooting a number of micro-budget narrative dramas including the deeply affecting My Boy, which we’re thrilled to be able to share below. The film features another seasoned British character actor, Sam Spruell, and once again explores themes fatherhood and separation in a deeply humanist manner.
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“Daniel is a father desperately looking for his son,” Regan explains, “as he contacts a scattered group of family and friends, telling stories and jokes where he possibly can, we realise that a heartbreaking reality lies at the root of his search.
“I’ve always been interested in the aftermath of life changing moments. The moments themselves have never interested me – I like writing about how characters differ in their coping mechanisms. My Boy came from that. It was at a time when I’d witnessed loss around me and had seen how differently we all responded to that. Maybe I’m just obsessed with sad dad stories…”
“I’d always wanted to work with Sam Spruell. The character had to be someone who was obviously in denial and had been driven to that through desperation, which I think Sam is amazing at. The DP, Olan Collardy, was someone I’d always wanted to work with as well. And it was the first time I worked with my producer Theo Barrowclough, who I bloody love and who I’ll hopefully be working with forever.
“Right now I’m writing my first feature for the BFI and BBC with producer Theo Barrowclough – who also produced My Boy. It’s about a 12-year-old girl on a half-empty, half-rehoused council estate that’s about to be knocked down to make space for fancy flats. Her dad comes out of prison and it’s the first time they’ve meet. I’m also terrible at summarising things. I’m also doing some TV stuff and regularly annoying mates with short films I’m trying to rope them into doing.”
