Written & Directed by TOMASZ FRYMORGEN
Produced by TOMASZ FRYMORGEN & BRIANNA FERGUSON
It’s 8pm on a Thursday evening and the Clap for Carers is about to begin. Two neighbours battle it out to be the loudest, most grateful and most virtuous residents on the street - until someone finally calls them out. Will they swallow their pride and apologise, or will they silence the upstart who’s dared to embarrass them?
READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH TOMASZ
Tell us a bit about yourself and your filmmaking background.
I work in broadcast television making documentaries, but I've always wanted to write and direct fiction. When the pandemic hit and the television industry shut down, it felt like a now or never moment. So I made my first short, Thank You So Much.
Tell us about the genesis of Thank You So Much. Obviously, covid was your theme, but what else inspired this film?
I'd say that covid is just the background, rather than the theme. There's actually no mention of it in the film, though it does focus on the intensified behaviour covid produced. My hope is that TYSM says something a bit wider about the coercive potential of performative acts.
What obstacles did you overcome while in the making of this film?
Not knowing how to do anything. TYSM was an opportunity to learn the ropes on everything from unit bases to storyboarding. Luckily there were loads of incredibly capable and hugely generous people around who gave their time and skill to make the film possible and to drag my arse across the finish line. Thank God.
Tell us about the journey of getting your film to audiences.
FilmFreeway is like the most costly dating app ever. You keep swiping right for £30 a pop and they keep swiping left. Brutal. But it only takes that one special programmer...
We also did some things outside of festivals. We had a community screening in the area where the film was shot, and the film had a partnership with Nurses United - a brilliant grassroots organisation of nurses who fight for better conditions. We timed our online launch to coincide with International Nurses Day. The point here was to try and reach people online who you might not find at film festivals - and hopefully who can recognise something in the story of TYSM.
What do you think is the biggest challenge short filmmakers face trying to break into the industry?
Cash money $$$ . There's so little funding available for shorts. I've heard that in some other countries there's more of an infrastructure to support short film - e.g. slots before feature films in the cinema. It would be great to have something like that.
What are you working on now?
I've spent the last year co-writing a TV drama pilot as part of a Screen Yorkshire development scheme called Flex. I also have a short film script I'm hoping to shoot next year.
Any film recommendations that we should add to our watchlist?
This year I was lucky enough to watch Come And See, restored and on a big screen. That film will permanently change you.