Jim Archer

Brian And Charles wins Sundance London audience award

Jim Archer's comedy Brian And Charles won the audience award at Sundance Film Festival: London.

Brian And Charles director Jim Archer interview

Jim Archer on why he hopes the UK is poised for a comedy film revival.

Brian And Charles: The secrets behind the year's most uplifting comedy

Director Jim Archer on how to make a new kind of robot movie.

Big Boys is a new six-part semi-autobiographical Channel 4 comedy, written and created by comedian Jack Rooke (Happy Man). Directed by Jim Archer, it stars Dylan Llewellyn (James in Derry Girls) as Jack, who is gay, unconfident and floundering in loving co-dependency with his mum (Camille Coduri) after the death of his father.

Finally making it to Brent University, Jack, who has the fashion sense of a particularly outlandish Build-A-Bear creation, befriends the outwardly laddish but mentally fragile Danny (Jon Pointing). The opening double episode rips through fresher campus life ("You can't call yourself working class unless you've burned the roof of your mouth on a Greggs"), and Jack's inaugural LGBTQ+ night out: "You drank poppers?" Big Boys can be a rough, scruffy ride (think Fresh Meat after downing a couple of cut-price wine boxes), but I enjoyed its Tiggerish spirit and full-hearted embrace of difficult themes. Here's a comedy that isn't afraid to bounce into darkness.

Bankside boards 'Brian And Charles' ahead of Cannes

Bankside Films has taken worldwide sales rights to Jim Archer's UK comedy Brian And Charles, which was developed and co-funded by Film4 and the BFI.