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The Bell Never Rings Again
A man on a date imagines the worst.
The third short from independent British film company One of Nine Ltd. Following a stellar run on the festival circuit, this award-winning film has earned an impressive 16 official selections and semi-finalist nominations at prestigious BIFA, BAFTA, and Oscar-qualifying festivals worldwide.
Created in partnership with leading 'in real life' dating organizations Pearº and Thursday, the short film offers a fresh take on the modern dating landscape. Seamlessly weaving through genres including action, sci-fi, and even featuring an epic musical number, the comedic short film stands out with its bold, original concept and truly unique voice.
Creators' statement
Mike is waiting for his first date with Lara at a restaurant, seated at the table already. As time passes and Lara still hasn't shown up, his imagination runs wild, dreaming up many scenarios in which the date could go wrong. The longer he waits, the crazier his imagination becomes, as he envisions all kinds of mishaps and rejections - each one spiralling into unexpected directions that reflect his growing anxiety.
Directed and written by Matthias Fuchez, this funny, energetic short combines romantic comedy, action and musical genres, taking their core dynamism, optimism and cheerfulness but giving it a contemporary twist. Through an increasingly baroque and elaborate set of scenarios, in which Mike imagines different flavours of romantic disaster with every minute that passes, the film knowingly captures the bevy of anxieties that undergird modern courtship and dating, often to heightened but still relatable effect.
The set-up - of a man lost in his imagination as he waits - allows for an elasticity of tone and emotion that the storytelling fully takes advantage of. At first, Mike's visions are fairly grounded, as he imagines Lara arriving and then rejecting him with a hostile line of questioning, or flirting with the waiter instead of him, and the sharp writing captures the minefield of manners, mores and ideologies that make dating so complicated. With each pass of imagination, Mike works himself up into an increasingly bigger knot of insecurities, enflaming his mental movies to often outlandish lengths.
Shot with grounded but gently aspirational cinematography, the film's visuals also become increasingly elaborate and accomplished, adapting and expanding as each scenario becomes bigger, louder and more expressive of Mike's growing fear and doubt about the date. The film traipses between action, comedy and even a boisterous musical interlude, but it never loses sight of Mike's emotional baseline, thanks to actor Tom Byrne's steadfast performance. Along with actor Ella Augustin as Lara, the performers meet the comic, musical and dramatic demands of the storytelling with fluidity, keeping their emotional tenors relatable.
Entertaining, sharply funny and wittily observant, The Bell Never Rings Again gets at a fundamental truth about dating: it's as much about managing your expectations and mental landscape as it is about meeting and mingling with prospective dates and partners. Mike's anxiety keeps him from being present, and when he spirals, it keeps him in his head instead of the real world. But the film's stylistic joie de vivre offers a counter-argument: you're more likely to find connection when you loosen up and enjoy the process. Dates are supposed to be enjoyable, not a referendum on one's value or worth. But the film helps find the humour in it all, and as a dating app's tagline says: "Dating. Has Never Been. This Fun."
| Tom Byrne | Mike |
| Ella Augustin | Lara |
| Alan Rodriguez | Brad / Chef |
| Cristian Moreno | Spanish Waiter |
| Paul Higginson | French Waiter |
| Paloma Van Tol | Restaurant Host |
| William Parker | Bartender |
| Jo Bakhurst | Female Dance Lead |
| Tidus Ngan | Male Dance Lead |
| Jill Organ | Mum |
| Matthias Fuchez | Writer |
| Matthias Fuchez | Director |
| Katie Organ | Producer |
| Katie Organ | Executive Producer |
| Matthias Fuchez | Executive Producer |
| Galipette Cidre | Executive Producer |
| Jeff Turner | Executive Producer |
| Remi Fuchez | Executive Producer |
| Marie Fuchez | Executive Producer |
| Alan Rodriguez | Executive Producer |
| Alan Organ | Executive Producer |
| Dheeraj Agnihotri | Executive Producer |
| Ennis Alhashimi | Executive Producer |
| Sam Hiorns | Executive Producer |
| Gregoire Gaffie | Executive Producer |
| Breanna Lael | Co-producer |
| Aimee Pandya | Associate Producer |
| Matthias Fuchez | Editor |
| Rosie May | Production Designer |
| Zyrenka Cox | Casting Director |
| Sam Kinsella | Director of Photography |
| Ilaria Mosca | Costume Designer |
| Jess Richardson | Make-up Designer |
| Matthias Fuchez | Composer |
| Jo Bakhurst | Choreographer |
| Alan Rodriguez | 1st Assistant Director |
| Breanna Lael | 1st Assistant Director |