Homey is a short film written and directed by Ben Garfield made for the Virgin Media Shorts competition. Homey was one of thirteen super short 2 minute 20 seconds films shortlisted for the 2013 awards.
Can you tell us a little bit about what inspired you to make this film?
I remember the inspiration coming one day as I was crossing the Holloway Road in London. It’s a busy road and, although I wasn’t actually in any real danger, as I got to the island in the middle I got a rush, a feeling of “I’m safe! I made it!” The sensation triggered a memory of playing British Bulldog in the school playground and the relief of getting to the other side. I got to thinking it could work well as a film and be something others could relate to.
Was Homey intentionally made for the Virgin Media Shorts competition and how difficult was it to come up with an idea that would work in only 2 minutes 20 seconds?
It was made with the competition in mind. I wanted to enter with a story that would fit snugly into the time limit and so when I had the idea that was one of the things that appealed – a round of Bulldog had a clear narrative arc that would suit the 2m20s length.
They say never work with children and animals, how did you go about casting for this film, have you worked with child actors before?
The entire cast were taken from years four and five at Grafton Primary School, where it was shot (about 5 minutes walk from my house In Archway, North London). I had a connection with the school through my time working for the arts charity Rowan Arts, for whom I coordinated a funding bid to help them and two community centres gain funding for a series of film projects.
It was my first time directing children which was a daunting prospect! Though I knew pretending to play a game of bulldog wouldn’t push them too far out of their comfort zone. For Bertie Peacock, who played the main role, I wanted his character to treat the game very seriously, as if it were a war. He told me he had seen Steven Spielberg’s War Horse so I watched that so we could have a common reference point. I asked him to imagine he was standing in the trenches during World War I and tune into what that might feel like.
Whats the best piece advice a fellow filmmaker has given you?
I came across an inspiring piece of advice in an interview with Matt Whitecross which I read just before shooting Homey. It said something like (and I’m paraphrasing from what I can remember here) ‘when you feel like you’re working on a project in which you need to push yourself to the limit and you’re worried you won’t be able to pull it off – that’s when you know you’re working on the right project’.
What advice would you give to someone planning on making a VMS entry for 2014?
I would say to think about how your film is going to suit the 2 minute 20 second timeframe before you start shooting, rather than trying to trim something down dramatically during the edit. That’s the mistake I made the first time I entered the competition a couple of years ago with a film called Benches. It’s about a friendship that develops between two park rangers who work together on Hampstead Heath – from that description alone you can probably appreciate why it was difficult to cut down!
Finally, whats next on the horizon for you?
I’m currently making four short online promo films for children’s charity, The Shakespeare Schools Festival. We’re into the edit stage now and I’m working hard to complete them by Christmas!
In terms of short narrative films, I’ve got a documentary in development which I’d like to shoot early in the New Year and two fiction films written, both of which come in around the 15-minute mark (which would be the longest I’ve made yet). Hopefully I’ll be able to get them off the ground soon…
Find out more…
Twitter @BenGarfieldinho
virginmediashorts.co.uk/film/3848/homey
re:VAULT Film Den 