Private Project

What did you do in the war Grandad?

A WW2 RAF veteran remembers lost comrades whilst looking through old photos and letters.

  • Brendan Pascal Lonergan
    Director
    Saving Private Ryan, Prometheus, John Carter, Alien 3, The Mummy Returns - creative effects,
  • Nicola Gaughan
    Writer
    Slasher, The Ghosts of Wellington x3757, beginning to write Betrayal in Alexandria
  • Nicola Gaughan
    Producer
  • Geoffrey Morgan
    Key Cast
    "Grandad"
    Various theatrical roles
  • Jasmine Arrow
    Key Cast
    "Lucy"
    Happy Beats, Nat West advert
  • Isabel Davis Glebocki
    Key Cast
    "Mum"
    Various theatrical roles
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, WW2
  • Runtime:
    9 minutes 26 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 30, 2015
  • Production Budget:
    250 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    2 k
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1920 x 1080
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Winchester Short Film Festival
    Winchester, UK
    Long listed
  • Private screening for cast, family & friends
    Dr William Barry Theatre, University of West London
    January 30, 2016
  • International Film Festival For Less-15' Movies and Screenplay Contest For Less-30 Pages
    Santa Monica
    United States
    May 29, 2016
    Official Selection
  • We Make Films Festival
    Online
    United Kingdom
    June 13, 2020
    Best Documentary under £500
Director Biography - Brendan Pascal Lonergan

Brendan has been a creature effects artist in the film industry since 1987. He has worked on several major motion pictures including Alien 3, Gladiator, John Carter, Saving Private Ryan, The Mummy Returns, Lost in Space and Prometheus. He has worked with Ridley Scott, David Fincher, Stephen Norrington and other well known directors. Whilst having undertaken some Second Unit/Creature Directing work on films, in which he supervised the creature effects ie Bone Snatcher and Surviving Evil, What Did You Do in the War Grandad? is his directorial debut, and he was attracted to this project because it is the polar opposite to his usual body of work, which is predominantly science fiction and horror.

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Director Statement

I was attracted to the idea of creating a feeling of empathy from the audience with such a small intimate story.