North Atlantic (2010)

An isolated air traffic controller in a small island of the Azores archipelago is contacted by a lone pilot cut helplessly adrift over the North Atlantic.

Director:

Bernardo Nascimento

Writers:

Adam Dewar (contributing writer), Bernardo Nascimento

Stars:

Clive Russell, Baltazar, Grant Masters

5 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Clive Russell	...	James Compston
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Baltazar	...	Baltazar
Grant Masters	...	Peter Simmons (voice)
Guilherme Mendonça	...	Paulo
Francisco Tavares	...	Hugo

Storyline

Based on a true story, a young man is manning the control tower of a very small airport in the Azores when he makes contact with a plane flying blind with radio and other control issues. At the helm is an older Scottish man and it is clear that he will not have the fuel needed to make it to this airport, which is his nearest. Sea rescue efforts are launched but seem futile given the odds, leaving the two men in voice contact for the remainder of his flight.

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Taglines:

Golf Tango Tango...are you there?

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Genres:

Short | Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK

Language:

English Portuguese

Release Date:

25 October 2010 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Beachy Head, East Sussex, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Monocle Studio, Caravana Filmes

Technical Specs

Runtime:

15 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was shot over 3 days in a real control tower, during its non-operating hours. During the shoot, a plane actually got in touch with the tower during a take. Fortunately, one of the real air traffic controllers was always with the film crew.

User Reviews

The Ring Of Truth

I imagine one of the good things about making a short film is there's no commercial pressure on you . There's no Hollywood producer jumping on your back saying " How the heck is this British regional character going to strike a chord with middle America ? This calls for Brad Pitt doing an Irish accent like he did so brilliantly in The Devil's Own . You're fired you schmuck and you'll never work again " . This short film is possibly a case in point . Apparently based upon a true story I have no knowledge of the case it is based upon but it does have a genuine and honest feel to it . I've always found the Spanish friendly and know the earthy fatalistic Celtic sense of humour very well and all this is reflected in this short film . In other words the emotions and character interactions between the two characters who never meet in the flesh ring true and the emotion seems earned . Now try and imagine this pitch being made in to a Hollywood blockbuster . where in the need to exploit commercial extremes we'd need the air traffic controller played by Will Smith grabbing a rubber dinghy , rowing out in to mountainous seas to rescue Jennifer Lawrence who has just conveniently stripped in to a bikini with a soundtrack by Beyoncé blasting in the background John Ford said " Always print the legend " but sometime you just have to disagree