Devon and Cornwall Film

This year’s Bafta nominees were announced today, bringing fantastic news for a Teignmouth filmmaker.

Paul Andrew Williams, writer and director of the zero-budget thriller London To Brighton, is up for The Carl Foreman Award for Special Achievement by a British Director, Writer or Producer in their First Feature Film.

This recognition is particularly noteworthy as Williams offers a trailblazing example to other young filmmakers (he’s still in his twenties) to bypass the bureaucracy of film-funding bodies in favour of a ‘guerrilla’ esthetic,
ie, blagging some cash and shooting what you bally-well like.

Although initially released on just 15 screens around the country, London to Brighton was quickly acclaimed by critics as one of the best British films in years and has already won prizes at the Edinburgh and Dinard film festivals and been named Best UK Feature at London’s Raindance Festival.

Described by Sight and Sound magazine as a ‘throat grabbing debut’ and by Empire magazine as ‘an urban noir with a heart of gold and balls of steel’, it follows the story of a 12 year-old runaway and a battered whore fleeing the capital while pursued by a shotgun-toting pimp.

Also up for the Carl Foreman award (which, incidentally, has nothing to do with grills invented by aging boxers) is Red Road director Andrea Arnold, who made a guest appearance at the Cornwall Film Festival last year.

The Orange British Academy Film Awards will be held on Sunday, February 11 at the Royal Opera House in London.

Stay tuned to D+CFilm for more news on Paul Andrew Williams. Oh, and see below for the London to Brighton trailer. If you like the look, why not catch the movie at the Exeter Picturehouse on Thursday? See this week’s Arthouse Roundup for booking details.

Posted by Thin White Duke

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