When a postman falls for a woman on his round he makes it his mission to win her heart and protect her, but his intentions are not as honourable as he believes.
Shot in the genre of Neo Noir, The Girl At Number 42 explores the themes of love, obsession, isolation, human connection and the need to find our place in the world.
John is a postman who lives with his elderly father. A loner, he spends his time locked away in his bedroom, reading up on news events, and trying to improve himself in an effort to fit in with the world.
When John sees a woman knocked to the ground, he rushes to help her, but she dismisses him. He makes it his mission to get closer to the woman, believing that he needs to protect her. After John is fired from his job, his suspicious father enters his bedroom and uncovers an obsessive pattern of behaviour that he has seen before.
Genre: Drama
Running Time: 9' 49
Aspect Ratio: 1:1.89
Screening Formats: 2K
Sound: Stereo
Shot on Black Magic, 4K, 25p
Language: English
The story, themes and lead character for ‘The Girl at Number 42’ were originally inspired by the character of ‘Travis Bickle’ in ‘Taxi Driver’, a man who finds himself isolated from the world, struggling to fit in and wanting to do something positive, yet becomes obsessive and delusional when he is rejected once again. I was intrigued as to what this character would look like in modern day suburban London - an ordinary man isolated, lonely and desperate to find a place in the world that he feels does not want or need him. When developing the story I considered what the major influencers are on society today, how we perceive what is right and wrong, what we should aspire to be and how the media and popular culture portrays the world around us.
The ‘Girl at Number 42’ explores the themes of love, obsession, human connection, loneliness and the need to find our place in the world. The character of John is not a typical ‘villain’. He has a very limited view of the world, no friends and a difficult relationship with the father he lives with. As a method of survival, John has created his own world in his bedroom where he spends his time reading newspapers and doing what he can to improve himself in an effort to be accepted. John sees any act of kindness towards him as an opportunity to find the love and acceptance he desperately craves. He longs to feel needed and to be a part of society, but he does not know how to behave or understand when his actions and attentions are unwelcome.
For the majority of the film, we see the story unfold through John’s eyes and his desire to win the heart of the woman he has formed a connection to. I was interested in and wanted to explore how one set of events can mean very different things to different people. How what is truth depends on how the event is perceived by the individual, both when directly involved in the events and looking in as an outside observer.
Elements of ‘Taxi Driver’ have been incorporated throughout the film, shooting in the genre of Neo Noir and with nods to ‘Taxi Driver’ in the production design, framing of shots and the music composed for the film.
Sarane McDougall is a screenwriter, director and producer based in London, UK. She holds a BA degree in Theatre, Film & Television studies from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth and an MA with Merit in Screenwriting from the University of Bournemouth. Sarane has produced sports and corporate films, worked as a script reader, and has written a number of short films and scripts for theatre, film and television. The Girl at Number 42 is the first short narrative film she has produced and also marks her directorial debut.
Twitter: @Saranemcd1
Colum O'Dwyer is a critically recognised Irish cinematographer and film-maker. He is a graduate of the National Film School at IADT Dun Laoghaire in Dublin, Ireland.
Colum is experienced in camera operation (including live, drama and documentary) in fast paced environments and also works as a photographer. Some of his photography work has been selected by Lonely Planet.
Website: columodwyer.com
Alexander Lynch is an actor and production designer based in London, UK. With an art background, Alexander holds a BA in Film and Television from the University of Surrey. He has worked on a large number of film and television productions as an actor and stand in over the last ten years
, and produced and edited sports and corporate films, whilst continuing to work on his artistic projects.
Alex Lipitch is a London based actor who has appeared in television series, commercials, corporate films, short films and feature films.
Alex is also a talented presenter and has worked for both screen and radio.
Website: www.alexlipitch.com
Spotlight:
https://www.spotlight.com/interactive/cv/6214-6725-4102
IMDB: https://m.imdb.com/name/nm9289230/
Instagram: @alexlipitch
Regan Tibbenham is a London based actor. Regan has been involved in theatre from a young age, and has appeared in TV and Film productions.
Some of her recent projects include ‘Mannequin’ feature film and a Transport for London campaign.
Ray Bull is a double award winning actor who has appeared in a wide range of short films, corporate films and film, television and theatre productions.
https://www.spotlight.com/0930-5616-9153
Alex Barrett is an award-winning independent filmmaker based in London. As director, he has made two feature films, 'Life Just Is' (2012) and 'London Symphony' (2017), both of which were nominated for the Michael Powell Award for Best British Film at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, before being released theatrically and on DVD/VOD in the UK. 'London Symphony' was also released internationally on Blu-ray and VOD, through Flicker Alley. To date, his work has screened at over 70 international festivals, and his short films have also enjoyed a number of non-festival screenings, including showings at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington. More recently, Alex worked alongside director Andrey Paounov to write the script for 'January' – a surreal tale of five men stuck in a snowstorm at the edge of the world, inspired by Yordan Radichkov's play of the same name. The completed feature is expected to premiere in 2020.
Twitter: @albaztks
Liam Cameron is a sound editor and sound designer with over seven years experience in audio post production. Coming from an animation background he has worked on some of biggest kids shows on television including 'The Amazing World of Gumball', '101 Dalmatian Street' and 'Fireman Sam' to name a few.
Hollie Buhagiar is an award-winning Gibraltarian composer based in London, who specialises in crafting bespoke scores for film, TV and Games. She has worked on a plethora of projects for both short and feature length films alongside Grammy and Academy Award winning engineers in the finest studios across London.
Graduating from Leeds College of Music with a first-class honours in Music production, Hollie continued on to complete a Masters at the National Film and Television School.
Hollie's experience spans worldwide and includes work for the likes of Channel 4, BFI, Creative England, Film London and BBC. Her projects have received critical acclaim winning various prestigious awards, one of her works 'Poles Apart' won the 2018 British Short Animation BAFTA. She also won the 2018 Best Composer award after holding three nominations at the Underwire Film Festival and was nominated for the 2018 Best Sound Design Offie Award with her theatre debut in 'Collective Rage: A Play in Five Betties'.
Twitter: @HollieBoohiya
Instagram: @hollieboohiya
https://soundcloud.com/holliebuhagiar
Co-founder of Sonder Films. A film production company based in London, Ozzi has taken the role of producer and assistant director on a number of short films, music videos, documentaries and commercial work.
Website - sonder.london
Instagram - @ozzisanderson
Instagram: @mgoodsmith
Originally a Graphic Designer with a background in Visual Arts and Design, Andrea followed a passion for cinema to become a Makeup Artist for Film, Theatre and Media.
Website:
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The Girl At Number 42
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