Soft (2007)

A father rediscovers his fear of confrontation at the worst possible time.

Director:

Simon Ellis

Writer:

Simon Ellis

Stars:

Jonny Phillips, Matthew O'Shea, Michael Socha

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 16 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jonny Phillips	...	Iain
Matthew O'Shea	...	Scott
Michael Socha	...	ASBO
Ashley Marshall	...	Gang
Luke Kingston	...	Gang
David Harrison	...	Gang
Jess Buxton	...	Gang
Zara Hearnshaw	...	Gang
Kiddus Salassie	...	Gang
Mark Devenport	...	Shopkeeper
Christine McSween	...	Passing Woman (as Christine MacSween)
Phil Molloy	...	Neighbour
Jane Hooks	...	Neighbour

Storyline

A man gets home from work, shouts some complaints at Scott, his teen son who's upstairs, and heads to a mini-mart for a pint of milk. There he's accosted, harassed, and jeered by six youths in hooded sweatshirts, and he's punched by their leader, a budding sociopath in white. Dad walks home. The gang trails about a block behind. At home, Scott confesses he was in a fight today but didn't hit back. His father tells him that he must defend himself, then does nothing when the gang arrives in front of their home and starts hollering and throwing things. Finally dad goes outside. Is that going to be it?

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Plot Keywords:

youth crime | video footage | father son relationship | bullying | hit on the head | 

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Genres:

Short | Drama

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 April 2007 (UK)

Also Known As:

Deilos

Box Office

Budget:

£50,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bub, Perfume Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

14 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Edited into Cinema16: World Short Films (2008)

User Reviews

Outstanding Short Film!

I watched this film at the Worldwide Short Film Festival (WWSFF) 2007, in Toronto, Canada. I had been generally unimpressed with many of the films in the programme. Some were mediocre, bad, and some were quite good. HOWEVER, no film blew me away like SOFT did. I had never in my life witnessed an audience so enraptured in a film before - to vocally cheer for the characters, and feel such strong emotions.

SOFT won "Best Live Action Short" at the WWSFF, and well deserved! Simon developed the characters extremely well by using tension and raising the stakes (which was defined by subtle choices the characters made). I cannot stress how smart this film was. The film was cinematically beautiful, with interesting visual choices to play with conventional cinema. Most of all, the acting really was superb because of how realistic the dialogue and character choices were.

This is a film I would recommend to anyone who wants to see a short film that can evoke powerful emotions. Those who watch a lot films will appreciate films that make a lasting impression on you. Well, SOFT is one short film that you won't forget.