Expresso (film)
Encyclopedia
Expresso is a 10-minute British
comedy short film, directed by Martin Nigel Davey and Kevin Powis. Consisting of eight micro-films involving the characters that frequent one table during one day in a British coffee house.
Funded by the UK Film Council
and ScreenWM, it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival
in May 2007, and later released on DVD to promote the World's Biggest Coffee Morning
set up by Macmillan Cancer Support
and raise money for the same charity.
. He also told Kevin Powis about several other ideas that could take place in this setting, after which the decision was made to give other people the chance to collaborate. They put out a call for stories and quickly received over 150 submissions from which they chose the eight best entries which Powis worked into a screenplay they could use to request funding. The appointed script advisor from UK Film Council
liked the script and the duo was given a budget of £8,500. Screen West Midlands also supported the film.
After funding was secured, Nigel Davey contacted actors and while negotiations were ongoing Powis tailored the script to the individual actors. Filmed in Bromsgrove
, the director of photography was Simon Wyndham, with the entire production process taking a year. Post-production saw Powis edit for eight hours at a time each day to hit the required deadlines. Still photography was done by Darren Seymour.
by Dame Judi Dench
. Wisdom's appearance in Expresso was officially his final acting role, as he died in a care home on the Isle of Man
at the age of 95 on 4 October 2010.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
comedy short film, directed by Martin Nigel Davey and Kevin Powis. Consisting of eight micro-films involving the characters that frequent one table during one day in a British coffee house.
Funded by the UK Film Council
UK Film Council
The UK Film Council was set up in 2000 by the Labour Government as a non-departmental public body to develop and promote the film industry in the UK. It was constituted as a private company limited by guarantee governed by a board of 15 directors and was funded through sources including the...
and ScreenWM, it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival
2007 Cannes Film Festival
The 2007 Cannes Film Festival, the sixtieth, ran from 16 to 27 May 2007. Wong Kar-wai's My Blueberry Nights opened the festival, and Denys Arcand's The Age of Ignorance closed...
in May 2007, and later released on DVD to promote the World's Biggest Coffee Morning
World's Biggest Coffee Morning
World's Biggest Coffee Morning is Macmillan Cancer Support's flagship fundraising event. Each year, members of the general public host their own coffee morning, which primarily take place within the UK where the charity operates, although events are held worldwide...
set up by Macmillan Cancer Support
Macmillan Cancer Support
Macmillan Cancer Support is one of the largest British charities and provides specialist health care, information and financial support to people affected by cancer....
and raise money for the same charity.
Synopsis
Expresso is a series of eight micro-stories, that develop the viewer as they watch the visitors during one day, to one table in a typical UK coffee shop:- "Autopilot" - a man taking breakfast with his wife (Don WarringtonDon WarringtonDon Warrington, MBE is a Trinidadian British actor.-Personal life:Warrington was born in Trinidad and Tobago on 23 May 1951 and brought up in Newcastle upon Tyne, England from age five. His father was the Trinidadian politician, Basil Kydd, who died in 1958. He has two sons.His acting career...
and Isabelle Warring), is more involved with his daily paper than the conversation that takes place around him, leading to an amusing crossing of wires. - "The Liar" - a businessman (Vincent FranklinVincent FranklinVincent Franklin is an English actor best known for his roles in comedy television programmes. Recent roles included PR guru Stewart Pearson in The Thick of It and blunt manager Nick Jowitt in Twenty Twelve. He has appeared in a number of feature films including Vera Drake and the 2006 films...
) who desperately wants to spend the afternoon with his plate of pastries, to the amazement of the waitress (Joanne McCallin) resorts to blatant lies to achieve this. - “Herbal Tea” - a couple (Guy Henry and Finty WilliamsFinty WilliamsTara Cressida Frances Williams is an English actress who performs under the name Finty Williams....
) meet for coffee. But the lady who has opted for the healthy option, namely a “Herbal Tea”, has her eyes on her partner’s cream topped drink. - “Breakfast with Deniro” - catch the conclusion of a typical lovers' tiff (Martin Nigel Davey and Ivania Elena)
- “Normal Coffee” - with echoes of Six Easy Pieces, sees a working man (Geoffrey HughesGeoffrey HughesGeoffrey Hughes, DL is an English actor.As well as a wide range of TV and film appearances, Hughes is best known for a series of supporting roles in popular UK television dramas...
) fighting the system in his own way to get his plain and simple drink against the advice of the pompous waiter (Lewis Harwood). - “BUZZ” – a vicar with writer's block (Sir Norman WisdomNorman WisdomSir Norman Joseph Wisdom, OBE was an English actor, comedian and singer-songwriter best known for a series of comedy films produced between 1953 and 1966 featuring his hapless onscreen character Norman Pitkin...
) sits waiting for inspiration as he tries to write his next sermon, only to be targeted by a vicious vindictive fly. - “Can I Help You?” - a young lady (Lucy Mans) is frustrated and struggling with a shrink wrapped cake, when a man sitting opposite (Richard NgRichard NgRichard Ng Yiu-Hon is a Hong Kong actor. He is known for playing comedic roles, particularly in Hong Kong films of the 1980s and 90s.-Film and television career:...
) takes his chance to impress by offering to help open the wrapper. Things never work out how you expect! - "End of the day" - the last person to leave the café is an old lady who is obviously upset (Shirley Hall). The waiter has little sympathy, but the waitress takes the ultimate revenge.
Production
The film was an idea of producer and actor Martin Nigel Davey who described it as "Breakfast with DeNiro" set in a coffee shopCoffeehouse
A coffeehouse or coffee shop is an establishment which primarily serves prepared coffee or other hot beverages. It shares some of the characteristics of a bar, and some of the characteristics of a restaurant, but it is different from a cafeteria. As the name suggests, coffeehouses focus on...
. He also told Kevin Powis about several other ideas that could take place in this setting, after which the decision was made to give other people the chance to collaborate. They put out a call for stories and quickly received over 150 submissions from which they chose the eight best entries which Powis worked into a screenplay they could use to request funding. The appointed script advisor from UK Film Council
UK Film Council
The UK Film Council was set up in 2000 by the Labour Government as a non-departmental public body to develop and promote the film industry in the UK. It was constituted as a private company limited by guarantee governed by a board of 15 directors and was funded through sources including the...
liked the script and the duo was given a budget of £8,500. Screen West Midlands also supported the film.
After funding was secured, Nigel Davey contacted actors and while negotiations were ongoing Powis tailored the script to the individual actors. Filmed in Bromsgrove
Bromsgrove
Bromsgrove is a town in Worcestershire, England. The town is about north east of Worcester and south west of Birmingham city centre. It had a population of 29,237 in 2001 with a small ethnic minority and is in Bromsgrove District.- History :Bromsgrove is first documented in the early 9th century...
, the director of photography was Simon Wyndham, with the entire production process taking a year. Post-production saw Powis edit for eight hours at a time each day to hit the required deadlines. Still photography was done by Darren Seymour.
Norman Wisdom
Sir Norman Wisdom came out of retirement to participate in the film. Initially given a visual role so he wouldn't have to remember his lines, during filming he was alert and making people around him laugh, so Davey and Powis kept changing his performance to elicit more laughs. He recorded a message that was included on the DVD, in which he tells how much he enjoyed working on the film saying "every minute was worth an hour". The DVD also includes a forewordForeword
A foreword is a piece of writing sometimes placed at the beginning of a book or other piece of literature. Written by someone other than the primary author of the work, it often tells of some interaction between the writer of the foreword and the book's primary author or the story the book tells...
by Dame 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...
. Wisdom's appearance in Expresso was officially his final acting role, as he died in a care home on the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
at the age of 95 on 4 October 2010.