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Dancer

A lonely woman thinks she has found friends in a young, beautiful group of teenagers.

  • Tim Moorhouse
    Director
  • Tim Moorhouse
    Writer
  • Chinwe Nnajuba
    Producer
  • Harriet Webb
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 2 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 1, 2017
  • Production Budget:
    12,300 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    RED
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2:35
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Tim Moorhouse

Tim Moorhouse. Writer/Director. Born '91, London.

I don’t believe that every human experience is the same - it depends upon class, what year you were born, what race, what place you’re from. I’m fascinated by those differences. I write what I see around me, what I try to understand.

I see my role as a storyteller as one where I explore the truths of belittled characters within society, to identify a universal humanity that transcends our differences, through cinema, a medium that transcends class.

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Director Statement

Oscar Wilde’s short story ‘The Birthday of The Infanta’ carries with it an important message: perfection doesn’t exist! Adapting this short story for the screen in ‘Dancer’, Katie, a mid-thirties misfit loner, imagines a life better than her own. And in time, she encounters the reality of what she’s been wishing for...

Aaron, my co-writer, and I were fascinated by the lead character of the original short story: a woman with no concept whatsoever of self-image. Harriet Webb gave her entire soul to bringing this character to life over several months of rehearsals. And I mine.

As a young person with no access to film funds and without rich parents, it was necessary that we make the film for very little money, being inventive in finding the resources required. Filming in London is expensive: rents, crew fees and equipment costs are very high. The cheapest way to shoot this was to use an artists' workshop by the motorway in an area surrounded by scrapyards. The rent was virtually free, and the timber beams that supported the pitched roof allowed us to attached lights and function like a studio. It did mean working through power cuts in the dead of winter, with virtually all of the 51 cast and crew pushing aside work commitments for the sake of a passion project. As a storyteller, it was also important that we use only the bare essential set elements needed. The bedroom set was built in this workshop, with all props borrowed. For the party scene, the set consisted of six translucent screens.. The DoP owned and operated his RED camera. All in all, the budget for this 12-minute short was £12 300.