Amelia and Michael
Encyclopedia
Amelia and Michael is a 2007 British drama short film directed by Daniel Cormack, starring Anthony Head
and Natasha Powell and executive produced by Richard Johns
.
In 2010, Amelia and Michael was selected for preservation by the British Film Institute's National Archive
and was archived by the British Universities Film and Video Council as part of their Television and Radio Index for Learning and Teaching (TRILT).
), a smartly dressed middle aged couple, sit in silence in the back of a chauffeur-driven sedan as it pulls up at the lights
beside a motorcycle. Arriving outside a restaurant, Amelia kisses Michael goodbye and walks towards the entrance. When the sedan is out of sight, Amelia removes her wedding ring and hails a cab to an alternative destination. Back in his office, Michael is interrupted by his colleague Francis (Julian Lee) in the middle of booking an anniversary meal and hotel room for Friday. On Friday morning, Michael leaves for a business trip to Milan
, giving Amelia some flowers before he departs. Once he has gone, Amelia travels to the hospital bedside of an incapacitated young man on whose table is a photo of Amelia and the man astride a motorcycle. Meeting with a consultant afterwards she signs consent forms for his care. Meanwhile, Michael is not in Milan, but at the restaurant he booked the previous day where he meets a call-girl who he later sleeps with in his hotel room. Restlessly trying to sleep after she leaves, he is interrupted by a phone call from Francis, who has discovered his whereabouts in order to urgently discuss 'the Thompson case'. Michael returns home the next morning and exchanges pleasantries with Amelia whilst opening his post, before taking a bath. While tidying away the opened mail, Amelia discovers Michael's unused passport in a kitchen drawer, but before she can confront him, she receives a phone call from the hospital. Dashing to the bedside of the incapacitated man, she arrives too late; discovering the man has died and the nurses are changing the sheets in preparation for the next patient. Returning home that evening, she bursts into tears. Michael - who has discovered his passport out on the kitchen table and believes he has been caught out - assumes she is upset at his infidelity. He apologises and embraces Amelia, who does not reveal the true cause of her upset. In the final scene, Amelia and Michael sit in silence in the sedan as a motorcycle pulls up beside them at the lights.
Otherwise Engaged
at the Criterion Theatre
in London's West End with Head commenting that "[Amelia and Michael] was incredibly professionally put together, they were a really good crew and they got me in and out as quickly as they could, which was perfect."
and was receiving hardship funding from the Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund
. Having received an initial allocation of funds from Hammersmith and Fulham's media support agency Focus West, Daniel Cormack went on to gain funding from his boss at the Electric Cinema, and Soho House
founder, Nick Jones
among others.
The film was shot on a relatively low budget and saved money by making extensive use of product placement
, securing free goods and services from Jaguar Cars, BUPA
, the Royal Park Hotel, Margaret Howell
and the West Cornwall Pasty Company. As a result, it was the subject of a case study at the Encounters Film Festival during the panel discussion Brands and Filmmakers: "in essence [Daniel Cormack] just smiled sweetly, asked for favors as he went along, and got them" although using genuine expensive brands ran into problems "when he found himself pondering the use of real diamonds rather than fakes" before realising that the "hundreds of thousands of pounds worth" of jewellery would have to be insured and that costume jewellery would easily suffice. Nonetheless, as Anthony Head noted: "Amelia and Michael was a learning curve for director and producers and by the time we finished they had made reall}y good use of the facilities they managed to blag. I love it when something feels that vibrant and that close to the root of things, when it hasn't got a lot of money thrown at it, and it's edgy."
Both Anthony Head and Daniel Cormack remarked on how supportive the crew were of their debut director during filming. Head commented: "once he got into the groove and realised how supportive his crew were, he got into it and he was great, really good." Cormack later told the BECTU journal Stage, Screen and Radio: "I made the film as a total novice whose only experience of film production was from reading books and whose only qualification to be a director was a love of film. Luckily I had a very talented and experienced crew around me and Amelia and Michael was a great success".
Though shot in 2005, post-production was not completed until 2007. An unfinished version was shortlisted for the Akira Kurosawa Memorial Short Film Competition
in 2006.
, Amelia and Michael screened on the festival circuit
from its world premiere at the A-list Montréal World Film Festival
in 2007 through to 2010.
}
|| 14:30
21:20
11:10
|| Canada
|| World
|-
| 11th
|| LA Shorts Fest
|| Programme 67
|| AMC
Burbank
Town Center 6,
Theater 2
||
|| 15:00
|| US
|| US
|-
| 15th
| Raindance Film Festival
|| The Romantics
|| Cineworld
Shaftesbury Avenue
,
Screen 4
||
|| 16:30
|| UK
|| UK
|-
| 8th
| X'08 International Disability Film Festival
|| Director's Showcase: Daniel Cormack
|| BFI Southbank
,
Studio
||
|| 15:50
|| UK
||
|-
| 2nd
| Shooting People
Split Focus at the British Film Institute
|| Split Focus: Daniel Cormack / Kara Miller
|| BFI Southbank
,
Studio
||
|| 18:00
|| UK
||
|-
| 14th
| Bradford Film Festival
|| Prior to the feature presentation of Sleuth
|| National Media Museum,
Pictureville Cinema
||
|| 10:30
|| UK
||
|-
| 6th
| Wood Green International Short Film Festival
|| Drama Session Two
|| Cineworld
Wood Green
,
Screen 3
||
|| 18:45
|| UK
||
|-
| 5th
| The End of the Pier International Film Festival
|| Short Drama Competition: Director's Nominations
|| Regis Centre,
Alexandra Theatre
||
|| 19:30
|| UK
||
|-
| 8th
| Nickel Independent Film Festival
|| Film Screening
|| LSPU Hall
,
Theatre
||
|| 19:30
|| Canada
||
|-
| 6th
| Super Shorts International Film Festival
|| Short Film Screenings: Official Selection
|| Odeon
Covent Garden
,
Screen 2
||
|| 17:00
|| UK
||
|-
| 13th
| One Reel Film Festival
|| Love and Marriage
|| SIFF Cinema, Nesholm Family Lecture Hall, Marion Oliver McCaw Hall, Seattle Center
||
|| 16:30
|| US
||
|-
| 13th
| Portobello Film Festival
|| London Filmmakers Convention - Day 2
|| Paradise Bar,
Private Dining Room
||
|| 18:00
|| UK
||
|-
| 4th
| Berwick Film and Media Arts Festival
|| International Shorts
|| The Maltings Theatre & Cinema
||
|| 17:00
|| UK
||
|-
| 7th
| Notting Hill
Film Festival
|| Shorts Seven / Shorts Ten
|| Odeon
Kensington
,
Screen 2
||
|| 19:30
20:00
20:30
20:00
12:30
14:00
|| UK
||
|-
| 3rd
| Limelight Film & Arts Awards
|| Best Visual category
|| Troxy
,
Main Auditorium
||
|| 18:30
|| UK
||
|}
as part of "a series of short original films produced by a variety of talented writers and directors"; the first time in over 8 years that Channel 4 had acquired and broadcast independent short films.
remarked that "this short is beautifully shot, gently taking its time to unfold, and the presence of actors like stage and screen veteran Head
really raises the bar a notch", concluding that "despite the sombre subject matter, there's a strange comfort to be found in the final minute of the film" and that "on this evidence, Cormack is a young director to watch." Paul Strange called the film "a delight" and "intriguing" and made it a drama 'Pick of the Day' on DigiGuide
stating: "Nicely observed by director Daniel Cormack, both Powell and Head are super here, and the drama leaves you wanting a lot more, which is terrific. Highly recommended." Expanding on the theme of ambiguity and the indeterminate ending, Abigail Lelliot of Time Out London observed that "Anthony Head packs an emotional punch in this pacey drama" and that in spite of "some slightly cliched compositions...the direction succinctly navigates the twists of the plot to a gratifyingly ambiguous conclusion." In addition to noting the "great performances", "beautiful photography" and "real sense of cinema", Shooting People
's Ben Blaine picked up on the film's European
sensibility, reflecting that "it felt very European, like one of those films in which Daniel Auteuil
and Juliette Binoche
fall in love and break up, one of those films that somehow, as a rule, we can’t do in this country. With this well cast, well acted, well made film Daniel Cormack seems therefore to be breaking all the rules without breaking sweat or showing off."
Judi Dench
, who supported the production of the film, described it as "beautiful" and said that its director was "destined for great things."
Anthony Head
Anthony Stewart Head , usually credited as Anthony Head, is an English actor and musician. He rose to fame in the UK following his role in television advertisements for Nescafé Gold Blend , and is known for his roles as Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and as Uther Pendragon in...
and Natasha Powell and executive produced by Richard Johns
Richard L. Johns
Richard L. Johns is a British film producer. He has produced a string of independent British feature films including Downtime, Killing Time, Shadow of the Vampire, Like Minds, The Calcium Kid, and most recently Dangerous Parking....
.
In 2010, Amelia and Michael was selected for preservation by the British Film Institute's National Archive
BFI National Archive
The BFI National Archive is a department of the British Film Institute, and one of the largest film archives in the world. It was originally set up as the National Film Library in 1935; its first curator was Ernest Lindgren. In 1955 its name became the National Film Archive, and in 1992, the...
and was archived by the British Universities Film and Video Council as part of their Television and Radio Index for Learning and Teaching (TRILT).
Plot
Amelia (Natasha Powell) and Michael (Anthony HeadAnthony Head
Anthony Stewart Head , usually credited as Anthony Head, is an English actor and musician. He rose to fame in the UK following his role in television advertisements for Nescafé Gold Blend , and is known for his roles as Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and as Uther Pendragon in...
), a smartly dressed middle aged couple, sit in silence in the back of a chauffeur-driven sedan as it pulls up at the lights
Traffic light
Traffic lights, which may also be known as stoplights, traffic lamps, traffic signals, signal lights, robots or semaphore, are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings and other locations to control competing flows of traffic...
beside a motorcycle. Arriving outside a restaurant, Amelia kisses Michael goodbye and walks towards the entrance. When the sedan is out of sight, Amelia removes her wedding ring and hails a cab to an alternative destination. Back in his office, Michael is interrupted by his colleague Francis (Julian Lee) in the middle of booking an anniversary meal and hotel room for Friday. On Friday morning, Michael leaves for a business trip to Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, giving Amelia some flowers before he departs. Once he has gone, Amelia travels to the hospital bedside of an incapacitated young man on whose table is a photo of Amelia and the man astride a motorcycle. Meeting with a consultant afterwards she signs consent forms for his care. Meanwhile, Michael is not in Milan, but at the restaurant he booked the previous day where he meets a call-girl who he later sleeps with in his hotel room. Restlessly trying to sleep after she leaves, he is interrupted by a phone call from Francis, who has discovered his whereabouts in order to urgently discuss 'the Thompson case'. Michael returns home the next morning and exchanges pleasantries with Amelia whilst opening his post, before taking a bath. While tidying away the opened mail, Amelia discovers Michael's unused passport in a kitchen drawer, but before she can confront him, she receives a phone call from the hospital. Dashing to the bedside of the incapacitated man, she arrives too late; discovering the man has died and the nurses are changing the sheets in preparation for the next patient. Returning home that evening, she bursts into tears. Michael - who has discovered his passport out on the kitchen table and believes he has been caught out - assumes she is upset at his infidelity. He apologises and embraces Amelia, who does not reveal the true cause of her upset. In the final scene, Amelia and Michael sit in silence in the sedan as a motorcycle pulls up beside them at the lights.
Cast
Anthony Head agreed to appear in the film despite the fact that he "didn't know [the producers] from Adam" and even waived his fee, telling Hotdog that "the script was really nice and basically it was one of those deals where you can do something helpful for somebody...if I can help somebody - and usually the problem is time - then why not?...So you know if I can give them my time I'm going learn as much from them as they are from me." The film was shot concurrently with Head's appearance as Jeff Golding in Simon Gray'sSimon Gray
Simon James Holliday Gray, CBE , was an English playwright and memoirist who also had a career as a university lecturer in English literature at Queen Mary, University of London, for 20 years...
Otherwise Engaged
Otherwise Engaged
Otherwise Engaged is a bleakly comic play by English playwright Simon Gray. The play previewed at the Oxford Playhouse and the Richmond Theatre, and then opened at the Queen's Theatre in London on 10 July 1975, with Alan Bates as the star and Harold Pinter as director, produced by Michael Codron....
at the Criterion Theatre
Criterion Theatre
The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. It has an official capacity of 588.-Building the theatre:...
in London's West End with Head commenting that "[Amelia and Michael] was incredibly professionally put together, they were a really good crew and they got me in and out as quickly as they could, which was perfect."
Production
The film went into production while its director Daniel Cormack was working at the box office of the Electric CinemaElectric Cinema (Notting Hill)
The Electric Cinema is a movie theatre in Notting Hill, London, and one of the oldest working cinemas in the country.-History:The Electric Cinema first opened in London's Portobello Road on 24 February 1910 and was one of the first buildings in Britain to be designed specifically for motion picture...
and was receiving hardship funding from the Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund
Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund
The Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund is a charity associated with the United Kingdom film, cinema and commercial television sectors. Its chief executive is Brian Robertson....
. Having received an initial allocation of funds from Hammersmith and Fulham's media support agency Focus West, Daniel Cormack went on to gain funding from his boss at the Electric Cinema, and Soho House
Soho House (club)
Soho House is a well-known private members club patronized by those in the arts and media. The original location is at Greek Street, Soho, London, England . There are now nine 'houses' worldwide, found in Babington, Notting Hill, Chiswick, Shoreditch, Manhattan’s Meatpacking District, West...
founder, Nick Jones
Nick Jones (entrepreneur)
Nicholas Keith Arthur Jones is an English entrepreneur. He is the owner of the Babington House hotel and health club and founder and chief executive of Soho House UK Ltd, which specialises in luxury private members’ club venues with restaurants, cinemas, health spas and bedrooms, with some aspects...
among others.
The film was shot on a relatively low budget and saved money by making extensive use of product placement
Product placement
Product placement, or embedded marketing, is a form of advertisement, where branded goods or services are placed in a context usually devoid of ads, such as movies, music videos, the story line of television shows, or news programs. The product placement is often not disclosed at the time that the...
, securing free goods and services from Jaguar Cars, BUPA
Bupa
Bupa is a large British healthcare organisation, with bases on three continents and more than ten million customers in over 200 countries. It is a private healthcare company, in direct contrast to the UK's National Health Services, which are tax-funded healthcare systems and do not require private...
, the Royal Park Hotel, Margaret Howell
Margaret Howell
Margaret Howell is a contemporary British clothes designer who has worked successfully in both men’s and women’s wear....
and the West Cornwall Pasty Company. As a result, it was the subject of a case study at the Encounters Film Festival during the panel discussion Brands and Filmmakers: "in essence [Daniel Cormack] just smiled sweetly, asked for favors as he went along, and got them" although using genuine expensive brands ran into problems "when he found himself pondering the use of real diamonds rather than fakes" before realising that the "hundreds of thousands of pounds worth" of jewellery would have to be insured and that costume jewellery would easily suffice. Nonetheless, as Anthony Head noted: "Amelia and Michael was a learning curve for director and producers and by the time we finished they had made reall}y good use of the facilities they managed to blag. I love it when something feels that vibrant and that close to the root of things, when it hasn't got a lot of money thrown at it, and it's edgy."
Both Anthony Head and Daniel Cormack remarked on how supportive the crew were of their debut director during filming. Head commented: "once he got into the groove and realised how supportive his crew were, he got into it and he was great, really good." Cormack later told the BECTU journal Stage, Screen and Radio: "I made the film as a total novice whose only experience of film production was from reading books and whose only qualification to be a director was a love of film. Luckily I had a very talented and experienced crew around me and Amelia and Michael was a great success".
Though shot in 2005, post-production was not completed until 2007. An unfinished version was shortlisted for the Akira Kurosawa Memorial Short Film Competition
Akira Kurosawa Memorial Short Film Competition
The Akira Kurosawa Memorial Short Film Competition is a major international short film awards ceremony, run by the Akira Kurosawa Foundation. Since the inaugural 2004-2005 competition, the Grand Prix and numerous other prizes have been awarded on an annual basis.- 2007 :The Akira Kurosawa Memorial...
in 2006.
Festivals
In addition to a short theatrical run before the feature presentations at the Broadway TheatreBroadway Theatre, Catford
The Broadway Theatre, Catford is a theatre on Rushey Green, Catford in the London Borough of Lewisham. A grade II* listed building, the theatre was built in 1932 and is an outstanding example of Art Deco design...
, Amelia and Michael screened on the festival circuit
Film festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
from its world premiere at the A-list Montréal World Film Festival
Montreal World Film Festival
The Montreal World Film Festival , founded in 1977, is one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF...
in 2007 through to 2010.
| Edition | Festival | Programme Title | Venue | Date | Time | Country | Première Status Premiere A premiere is generally "a first performance". This can refer to plays, films, television programs, operas, symphonies, ballets and so on. Premieres for theatrical, musical and other cultural presentations can become extravagant affairs, attracting large numbers of socialites and much media... |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31st | Montréal World Film Festival Montreal World Film Festival The Montreal World Film Festival , founded in 1977, is one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF... |
Focus on World Cinema | Quartier Latin Cineplex Cineplex Entertainment Cineplex Entertainment LP , is the largest film exhibitor in Canada and owns, leases or has a joint-venture interest in 130 theatres with 1,351 screens. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Cineplex operates theatres from British Columbia to Quebec... , Theater 14 |
|| 14:30
21:20
11:10
|| Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
|| World
World
World is a common name for the whole of human civilization, specifically human experience, history, or the human condition in general, worldwide, i.e. anywhere on Earth....
|-
| 11th
|| LA Shorts Fest
LA Shorts Fest
Robert Arentz founded the Los Angeles International Short Film Festival AKA LA Shorts Fest in 1997. LA Shorts Fest is among the largest short film festivals in the world with more 250 film screenings per annual festival...
|| Programme 67
|| AMC
AMC Theatres
AMC Theatres , officially known as AMC Entertainment, Inc., is the second largest movie theater chain in North America with 5,325 screens, second only to Regal Entertainment Group, and one of the United States's four national cinema chains AMC Theatres (American Multi-Cinema), officially known as...
Burbank
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
Town Center 6,
Theater 2
||
|| 15:00
|| US
|| US
|-
| 15th
| Raindance Film Festival
Raindance Film Festival
Raindance is an independent film festival and film school that operates from various cities including: London, New York, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Budapest, Berlin and Brussels...
|| The Romantics
|| Cineworld
Cineworld
Cineworld Group plc is a cinema chain operating in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Jersey. The chain consists of 78 cinemas; 76 of which are located in the UK and one each in Ireland and Jersey. It is the second-largest cinema operator in the UK with 801 screens, and the owner of...
Shaftesbury Avenue
Shaftesbury Avenue
Shaftesbury Avenue is a major street in central London, England, named after Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, that runs in a north-easterly direction from Piccadilly Circus to New Oxford Street, crossing Charing Cross Road at Cambridge Circus....
,
Screen 4
||
|| 16:30
|| UK
|| UK
|-
| 8th
| X'08 International Disability Film Festival
|| Director's Showcase: Daniel Cormack
|| BFI Southbank
BFI Southbank
BFI Southbank is the leading repertory cinema in the UK specialising in seasons of classic, independent and non-English language films and is operated by the British Film Institute.-History:...
,
Studio
||
|| 15:50
|| UK
||
|-
| 2nd
| Shooting People
Shooting People
Shooting People is an international social network for independent filmmakers that was founded in 1998 by Cath Le Couteur and Jess Search. With over 35,000 subscribers in the UK and NY, members share resources and knowledge to get their films made and seen....
Split Focus at the British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
|| Split Focus: Daniel Cormack / Kara Miller
|| BFI Southbank
BFI Southbank
BFI Southbank is the leading repertory cinema in the UK specialising in seasons of classic, independent and non-English language films and is operated by the British Film Institute.-History:...
,
Studio
||
|| 18:00
|| UK
||
|-
| 14th
| Bradford Film Festival
|| Prior to the feature presentation of Sleuth
Sleuth (2007 film)
Sleuth is a 2007 thriller film directed by Kenneth Branagh and starring Jude Law and Michael Caine. The screenplay by Harold Pinter is an adaption of Anthony Shaffer's Tony Award-winning play Sleuth...
|| National Media Museum,
Pictureville Cinema
Pictureville Cinema
Pictureville Cinema is a cinema auditorium located within the National Media Museum in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England.Pictureville is one of the best equipped cinemas in the world. It is equipped for 35 mm, 70 mm, 2K resolution and Cinerama projection. The cinema features Dolby Digital EX, DTS...
||
|| 10:30
|| UK
||
|-
| 6th
| Wood Green International Short Film Festival
|| Drama Session Two
|| Cineworld
Cineworld
Cineworld Group plc is a cinema chain operating in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Jersey. The chain consists of 78 cinemas; 76 of which are located in the UK and one each in Ireland and Jersey. It is the second-largest cinema operator in the UK with 801 screens, and the owner of...
Wood Green
Wood Green
Wood Green is a district in north London, England, located in the London Borough of Haringey. It is situated north of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of the metropolitan centres in Greater London.-History:...
,
Screen 3
||
|| 18:45
|| UK
||
|-
| 5th
| The End of the Pier International Film Festival
The End of the Pier International Film Festival
The End of the Pier International Film Festival is a not-for profit independent film festival based in West Sussex, England. The festival began in 2002 and showed work by local film makers, but it has since grown to showcase shorts and features from all over the world...
|| Short Drama Competition: Director's Nominations
|| Regis Centre,
Alexandra Theatre
Alexandra Theatre, Bognor Regis
The Alexandra Theatre is a 364 seat auditorium in the British town of Bognor Regis showing a variety of entertainment from comedy to drama to pantomime....
||
|| 19:30
|| UK
||
|-
| 8th
| Nickel Independent Film Festival
Nickel Film Festival
The Nickel Independent Film Festival is an annual film festival held in St. John's, Canada. The Festival was conceived in 2001 by filmmaker Roger Maunder to allow local filmmakers to exhibit their works of filmography...
|| Film Screening
|| LSPU Hall
LSPU Hall
The LSPU Hall is a large wooden structure in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Located on 3 Victoria Street it is currently the home of the Resource Centre for the Arts '. The name comes from a previous owner, the Longshoremen's Protective Union.- History of the location :Like many other...
,
Theatre
||
|| 19:30
|| Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
||
|-
| 6th
| Super Shorts International Film Festival
|| Short Film Screenings: Official Selection
|| Odeon
Odeon Cinemas
Odeon Cinemas is a British chain of cinemas, one of the largest in Europe. It is owned by Odeon & UCI Cinemas Group whose ultimate parent is Terra Firma Capital Partners.-History:Odeon Cinemas was created in 1928 by Oscar Deutsch...
Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
,
Screen 2
||
|| 17:00
|| UK
||
|-
| 13th
| One Reel Film Festival
Seattle International Film Festival
The Seattle International Film Festival , held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees...
|| Love and Marriage
|| SIFF Cinema, Nesholm Family Lecture Hall, Marion Oliver McCaw Hall, Seattle Center
Seattle Center
Seattle Center is a park and arts and entertainment center in Seattle, Washington. The campus is the site used in 1962 by the Century 21 Exposition. It is located just north of Belltown in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood.-Attractions:...
||
|| 16:30
|| US
||
|-
| 13th
| Portobello Film Festival
Portobello Film Festival
The Portobello Film Festival is an independent international film festival based in London, which annually premiers over 700 new films, including features, shorts, documentaries, music films and animation. Additionally, workshops and talks with top film directors are also featured. Admission to...
|| London Filmmakers Convention - Day 2
|| Paradise Bar,
Private Dining Room
||
|| 18:00
|| UK
||
|-
| 4th
| Berwick Film and Media Arts Festival
Berwick Film and Media Arts Festival
Berwick Film and Media Arts Festival is an annual celebration of the art of film, set in the historic border town of Berwick-upon-Tweed.The festival established in 2005 takes place across the town, with films screening at The Maltings Theatre & Arts Centre, and artists’ video installations running...
|| International Shorts
|| The Maltings Theatre & Cinema
||
|| 17:00
|| UK
||
|-
| 7th
| Notting Hill
Notting Hill
Notting Hill is an area in London, England, close to the north-western corner of Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
Film Festival
|| Shorts Seven / Shorts Ten
|| Odeon
Odeon Cinemas
Odeon Cinemas is a British chain of cinemas, one of the largest in Europe. It is owned by Odeon & UCI Cinemas Group whose ultimate parent is Terra Firma Capital Partners.-History:Odeon Cinemas was created in 1928 by Oscar Deutsch...
Kensington
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
,
Screen 2
||
|| 19:30
20:00
20:30
20:00
12:30
14:00
|| UK
||
|-
| 3rd
| Limelight Film & Arts Awards
|| Best Visual category
|| Troxy
Troxy
The Troxy is an art deco theatre and concert venue at 490 Commercial Road in Stepney, in the East End borough of Tower Hamlets, London, UK.-History:...
,
Main Auditorium
||
|| 18:30
|| UK
||
|}
Broadcast
In 2010, Amelia and Michael was broadcast on Channel 4Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
as part of "a series of short original films produced by a variety of talented writers and directors"; the first time in over 8 years that Channel 4 had acquired and broadcast independent short films.
Critical response
Reviews focused on the acting, production values and pacing of the film, as well as its ambiguous ending. Jeff Shannon of The Seattle Times commented on the "fine acting and first rate production values." HotdogHotdog Magazine
Hotdog Magazine was a film magazine first published in the United Kingdom in 2000. Its publisher, Highbury Entertainment, claimed an average circulation of 17,132 between July and December 2003....
remarked that "this short is beautifully shot, gently taking its time to unfold, and the presence of actors like stage and screen veteran Head
Anthony Head
Anthony Stewart Head , usually credited as Anthony Head, is an English actor and musician. He rose to fame in the UK following his role in television advertisements for Nescafé Gold Blend , and is known for his roles as Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and as Uther Pendragon in...
really raises the bar a notch", concluding that "despite the sombre subject matter, there's a strange comfort to be found in the final minute of the film" and that "on this evidence, Cormack is a young director to watch." Paul Strange called the film "a delight" and "intriguing" and made it a drama 'Pick of the Day' on DigiGuide
DigiGuide
DigiGuide is a digital TV guide in the UK.Digiguide creates TV guides which cut through the clutter and which are customised to your tastes and needs....
stating: "Nicely observed by director Daniel Cormack, both Powell and Head are super here, and the drama leaves you wanting a lot more, which is terrific. Highly recommended." Expanding on the theme of ambiguity and the indeterminate ending, Abigail Lelliot of Time Out London observed that "Anthony Head packs an emotional punch in this pacey drama" and that in spite of "some slightly cliched compositions...the direction succinctly navigates the twists of the plot to a gratifyingly ambiguous conclusion." In addition to noting the "great performances", "beautiful photography" and "real sense of cinema", Shooting People
Shooting People
Shooting People is an international social network for independent filmmakers that was founded in 1998 by Cath Le Couteur and Jess Search. With over 35,000 subscribers in the UK and NY, members share resources and knowledge to get their films made and seen....
's Ben Blaine picked up on the film's European
Cinema of Europe
Cinema of Europe refers to the film industries and films produced in the continent of Europe. Some notable European film movements include German Expressionism, French Impressionist Cinema, Poetic realism, Italian neorealism, French New Wave, Polish Film School, New German Cinema, Portuguese Cinema...
sensibility, reflecting that "it felt very European, like one of those films in which Daniel Auteuil
Daniel Auteuil
Daniel Auteuil is a French film, television and theatre actor.-Early life and education:He was born in Algiers, French Algeria.-Career:...
and Juliette Binoche
Juliette Binoche
Juliette Binoche is a French actress, artist and dancer. She has appeared in more than 40 feature films, been recipient of numerous international accolades, is a published author and has appeared on stage across the world. Coming from an artistic background, she began taking acting lessons during...
fall in love and break up, one of those films that somehow, as a rule, we can’t do in this country. With this well cast, well acted, well made film Daniel Cormack seems therefore to be breaking all the rules without breaking sweat or showing off."
Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
, who supported the production of the film, described it as "beautiful" and said that its director was "destined for great things."
Accolades
| Rank | Award | Awarding Body | Nominee | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Tiscali Short Film Award Tiscali Short Film Award The Tiscali Short Film Award is a major short film award, sponsored by Tiscali and presented at the Raindance Film Festival each year since 2005 to the "best UK short under 10 minutes by a debut filmmaker".... |
Raindance Film Festival Raindance Film Festival Raindance is an independent film festival and film school that operates from various cities including: London, New York, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Budapest, Berlin and Brussels... |
Daniel Cormack | 2007 |
| Winner | Emerging Filmmaker Award | Nickel Independent Film Festival Nickel Film Festival The Nickel Independent Film Festival is an annual film festival held in St. John's, Canada. The Festival was conceived in 2001 by filmmaker Roger Maunder to allow local filmmakers to exhibit their works of filmography... |
Daniel Cormack | 2008 |
| Winner | Wessex Heartbeat Award for Best Screenplay | The End of the Pier International Film Festival The End of the Pier International Film Festival The End of the Pier International Film Festival is a not-for profit independent film festival based in West Sussex, England. The festival began in 2002 and showed work by local film makers, but it has since grown to showcase shorts and features from all over the world... |
Stephen Betts | 2008 |
| Nominated | Best Visual Award | Limelight Film & Arts Awards | Daniel Cormack | 2010 |
| Shortlisted | Akira Kurosawa Memorial Short Film Competition Akira Kurosawa Memorial Short Film Competition The Akira Kurosawa Memorial Short Film Competition is a major international short film awards ceremony, run by the Akira Kurosawa Foundation. Since the inaugural 2004-2005 competition, the Grand Prix and numerous other prizes have been awarded on an annual basis.- 2007 :The Akira Kurosawa Memorial... |
Akira Kurosawa Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;... Foundation |
Daniel Cormack | 2006 |
| Shortlisted | Best British Short Film | British Independent Film Awards British Independent Film Awards The Moët British Independent Film Awards is an annual award ceremony celebrating achievement in independently funded British film and cinema. Nominations and jury are announced at the beginning of November with the award ceremony taking place in late November or early December.-History:The British... |
Daniel Cormack | 2007 |
External links
- Actaeon Films Official Production Company website
- Network Ireland Television Official Distributor website
- Fortune Films Official Production Company website
- Soho Films Official Production Company website
- Amelia and Michael Official Anthony Head website
- Amelia and Michael at the BBC Film NetworkBBC FilmsBBC Films is the feature film-making arm of the BBC. It has produced or co-produced some of the most successful British films of recent years, including An Education, StreetDance 3D, Fish Tank, Stage Beauty, A Cock and Bull Story, Nativity! and Match Point.It aims to make strong British films with...
- Amelia and Michael at the British CouncilBritish CouncilThe British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
British Films Directory - Amelia and Michael at the Complete Index to World FilmComplete Index to World FilmThe Complete Index to World Film is an online database of information related to movies. Citwf, compiled online by Alan Goble and Valan Publishing since 2004, is a Guinness Record as the world's largest published film-related database, with over 694,400 title entries.In 1990, The Complete Index to...