Directed by BEN S. HYLAND
A comedy about a passive man with an overactive imagination.
Starring Amit Shah and Emma Sidi.
QUIET CARRIAGE was the Audience Award Winner at The People’s Film Festival 2020, and also brought home the award for Best Performance in a Comedy for Amit Shah.
READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH THE FILMMAKER
TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR FILMMAKING BACKGROUND:
I’m a COMEDY writer/director. It took me quite a while mucking around with friends to work that out. In fact I initially spent time making hard hitting issue-led drama but found the allure of comedy too difficult to resist.
My most recent short, TALK RADIO stars the hilarious Julia Deakin, Pearce Quigley and Tim Key and is on the festival circuit having screened at Encounters, Edmonton, Aesthetica, Show Me Shorts, Norwich and London Short Film Festival to name a few.
During lockdown I made an online sitcom called ANGRY QUIZ GUY that stars Nick Helm, Rachel Stubbings and Amit Shah. That was a lot of fun.
QUIET CARRIAGE starring Amit Shah and Emma Sidi has played at BAFTA and OSCAR qualifying festivals such as LOCO, Aesthetica, LA Shorts, Norwich, Encounters, London Short Film Festival and of course The People’s Film Festival. It has been the most successful thing I’ve made to date.
Other little tidbits worth a mention include being a 2019 finalist in the ENTER THE PITCH competition. Being a 2019 recipient at the CHARITY FILM OF THE YEAR AWARDS with my film ROLE MODELS. Winning the 2017 LaCie #PushPlay European filmmaking competition with my film ’88’. Also winning the 2017 Colchester Film Festival 60hr film challenge with my film JUNIOR. In the same year I was shortlisted (top 20) for the JAMESON’S FIRST SHOT from 2722 entries.
I’m also a member of DIRECTORS UK and owner of a fat hamster.
You started off making quite serious short films, but lately you've switched to comedy. Why the change?
I think I made serious films because subconsciously I wanted to be taken seriously and I misguidedly fought against my urge to pursue comedy. Short films that won BAFTAs and OSCARS weren’t particularly funny and it was just something I fell into the habit of writing. Of course that's all nonsense and as soon as I removed the pressure of what success is and what my actual interests are the switch to comedy was both the easiest and best decision I ever made.
Tell us about the journey of getting your film to audiences.
Quiet Carriage was initially funded by a body called Talkies Community Cinema. They gave a small grant which was really the kick in the bum we needed and it also gave us a deadline to work towards. It’s sometimes nice to have a deadline imposed by someone else. There is an obligation to deliver.
Any hacks or tips for making a short film?
Initially just make anything you can. Making something that is imperfect is better than making nothing at all. As you progress you’ll naturally develop relationships with people that you’ll go on to collaborate with on future projects. The first step is just making something… anything.
WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE PART OF THE FILMMAKING PROCESS?:
Tough question. There isn’t any particular part that I dislike. I suppose the most exciting part initially is developing an idea. Something that keeps you coming back to your laptop or fills your whiteboard with coloured manic nonsense. Having an idea that keeps you awake at night is an unwelcome thrill.
You seem to have really cracked the film festival code. What is your secret?
You throw enough shit at the wall and some will stick. Yes we’ve had a huge success on the circuit with Quiet Carriage, but it was a huge surprise. We didn’t think we’d be hitting 70+ festivals, but I guess the storyline just resonated with a lot of programmers. It helps that the film sits at an easily programmable 5 minutes in length. It’s difficult to plan to make a film that does well on the circuit. I’d say it’s impossible. We just focussed on the craft of making something short, sharp and funny then crossed every part of our bodies. Seemed to work.
ANY FILM RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE CAN WATCH TO KEEP US BUSY WHILE SOCIAL DISTANCING:
Since this is a short film festival and I’ll recommend shorts that I saw alongside Quiet Carriage that are currently available to watch online. There is a super short animation called Dog Pianist which is just perfect. Under one minute long and simply wonderful. There is also a fantastic comedy called Norteños which I found to be a real treat. Dark, pitch perfect and very very funny.