Short film starring Julia Davis published online
A short film featuring Gavin & Stacey and Hunderby star Julia Davis has been published online today.
The Bird, the second short film directed by comedians Ben Target and Joe Parham, has been produced by the award-winning Turtle Canyon Films.
Starring Alastair Roberts, a comedian from sketch group Sheeps, and BAFTA-winning Julia Davis, The Bird is a disturbing, surreal dark comedy which tells the story of a young man who spends his days desperately trying to garner the attention of his emotionally absent mother, a woman who appears to be only interested in caring for a visiting starling.
Filmed in 2013 following a successful crowdfunding drive, the 15 minute film has been published on YouTube and Vimeo today by Turtle Canyon Films following screenings at festivals around the world.
The production team explain: "The film was produced after a successful collaboration between the directors and Turtle Canyon Films on a previous short film, Frank. The team were eager to take a step forward and produce an even more ambitious film.
"Joe Parham, who also wrote the film, had a dream cast that he wanted for the film and confirmation that Julia Davis and Alastair Roberts were keen to appear in the short signalled the high potential of the project.
"The two day shoot was scheduled for April 2013 and the cast and crew were joined on one day by a talented acting duo: Ernie and Arnie, the starlings, professionally handled by Rose and Lloyd Buck.
"On completion The Bird has premiered in Shoreditch to cast, crew and crowdfunding contributors. It has also played to film festivals around the world, including the Richmond Film Festival and Seattle True Independent Film Festival."
Talking to BCG, Turtle Canyon founders Stuart Laws and Alastair Clayton say: "From the position of Turtle Canyon, The Bird was a huge step forward for a variety of reasons. Dealing with crowd funding, working with animals and having the chance to work with actors as talented as Julia Davis and Alastair Roberts was a tremendous honour.
"Most of all, the chance to work with Joe, Ben and all of the team on The Bird was a remarkable and wonderful experience, crafting this truly unique and bizarre story was an honour and proved once again what true collaboration and unbridled passion can produce."
The creative team behind the short are now developing a feature film that exists in the same world as The Bird. Separately Ben Target is developing a new show for the Edinburgh Festival and Joe Parham has been working on scripts for new BBC Three sitcom Siblings.
Here is The Bird: