If you can't find a friend, a friend might find you.
As a lonely elderly lady prepares to commit suicide, a disorientated young man follows a cat into her house and brings an unlikely possibility for friendship with him. But will it be enough to save her?
What's it about?
‘What the Cat Dragged In’ is an odd couple short film about the dark consequences of social anxiety and loneliness in an ageing rural England, balanced by the warmth of an unlikely friendship that threatens to cross generational and class divides. It also serves to highlight the symptoms of hypoglycaemia in diabetics; something that, when extreme, can present as dangerously close to intoxication via alcohol to those who have not come across it before.
Development
This short film started life as an exercise in theatre monologue writing, in response to a writing prompt out of a book and a very strange real-world accidental break-in that happened to my family and I. However, Tom Wakefield of CotswoldTV liked the story and the location, so I adapted it into a short film screenplay and we agreed to co-produce it.
The script went through several further drafts, with mentoring from BAFTA winning writer Sergio Casci, before we launched into pre-production and all the joys and challenges therein.
Pre-Production
Cast & Crew
‘What the Cat Dragged In’ was made by a far-flung, but tight-knit production team from Gloucestershire, Glasgow and London, and filmed on location in the Cotswolds.
- Writer & Director: Amelia Nashe
- Producer: Tom Wakefield
- Costume: Sue Nashe
- Hair & Make-up: Judy Lovell
- Ms Crow: Vicky Tate
- Gary: Alasdair Melrose
- Mr Monty Darcy: Pepper
- Executive Producer: Amelia Nashe
- Director of Photography: Tom Wakefield
- Score: Danielle Bees
- Original Song: Lauren Gilmour & Audrey Tait
- Sound: Tom Wakefield
- Boom operators: Adrian McPherson, James Nashe
- Editor: Tom Wakefield
Production and Post-Production
Awards
Watch the finished film below or...
Like what you see?
The Making Of
Want to know what it was like to make a short film with a live cat and external night scenes in a rural setting? Watch the interview below with the wonderful short film SVoD and educational platform, Indie-Clips, to find out.
Video provided courtesy of Indie-Clips
Interviewer: Ambre Vanneste
A bit about Indie-Clips:*
Indie-Clips is a wonderful resource for indie short filmmakers across the globe. With their library of excellent short films and interviews with the directors of each film all currently freely available via their website, it’s a fun, educational place to hang out.
Plus their mission is to showcase up-and-coming filmmakers and give new/aspiring filmmakers practical tips and inspiration from the industry, so their heart is really in the right place.
*I am in no way sponsored or otherwise financially rewarded by Indie-Clips, I just love the work they are doing and wish to help promote it.
A bit about CotswoldTV:
CotswoldTV is an in-house multimedia content creator who do everything from corporate promos to narrative short film and web series, with web design and photography services as well. They are based in Gloucestershire, England and have a community focus, doing a lot of great work for local business and charities.
CotswoldTV are excellent at what they do and are a pure joy to work with.
