Ashley Thorpe's Scayrecrow goes to Cannes, and Hairy Hands goes into production

Ashley Thorpe’s Scayrecrow is making a continental journey with a visit to Cannes’ Short Film Corner in this year’s Festival de Cannes.

Going by the title Epouvantail (that’s Monsieur Scayrecrow, to you), the film will be part of the Short Film Corner, which aims to stimulate new cinema talents and is an international network of short film makers.

The inclusion in Cannes (May 22 – 13) comes hot on the heels of Ashley picking up the media innovation award for best independent filmmaker in the south west, and being awarded a budget of £10,000 from South West Screen for the fourth in his Penny dreadful series, The Hairy Hands, based on the Devon myth.

The film is set to keep the painted, hand-made look of the others in the series with Ashley joining forces with long-time collaborator Mick Grierson on sound design and ‘dreadful regular’ Ed Berry as star. And again, atmosphere and story will be at the heart of the film.

“The primary aim of The Hairy Hands is for me to find a way to set an atmospheric horror short in a moving vehicle,” said Ashley.

“I love Hitchcock, I especially love that sequence in Psycho when Marion has stolen the money and is racing out of town with all that character voiceover. It’s a very clever way of doing exposition, and all the while you’re getting to see her reactions, the camera just cutting between her car and the road.”

Check out more about Ashley Thorpe on the Carrion Films site