A Father's Day
Today is special. Apocalypse or not.
Unexpectedly reunited with his daughter amongst the ruins of the world as they knew it, a father is determined to make this day special, even if they are already dead.
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Mat JohnsWriter, Director and EditorRun, Kiss, Radio Silence
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Chris LaneProducer
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Garth MaundersKey CastArthur & Merlin, Lead Me to the Dark
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Hazel GibsonKey Cast
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Martin GibbonsCastingFour Lions, Make It Plumb
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William MorrisComposerMaking Sparks
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Olivia DarlingtonCostume Designer
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Shaune HarrisonSpecial Effects Make-UpStar Wars, Harry Potter, Captain America
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Rhiannon CliffordArt DirectorThe Johnny and Inel Show, White Settlers
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Sam TwymanDirector of PhotographyThe Loudest Minds
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Darren McGinnVisual Effects Supervisor
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Paul AshtonExecutive ProducerWish 143, Emotional Fusebox
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Jess LovelandExecutive ProducerThe Pig Child
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Project Type:Short
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Runtime:9 minutes 53 seconds
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Completion Date:April 16, 2016
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Production Budget:10,000 GBP
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Country of Origin:United Kingdom
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Aspect Ratio:2:35:1
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
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Encounters International Film FestivalBristol
United Kingdom
September 23, 2016
UK Premiere -
GrimmfestManchester
United Kingdom
October 7, 2016 -
Sacramento Horror Film FestivalSacramento
United States
October 7, 2016
North American Premiere -
Atlanta Horror Film FestivalAtlanta
United States
October 13, 2016
Best Zombie Short -
Mayhem Film FestivalNottingham
United Kingdom
October 15, 2016 -
ScreamfestLos Angeles
United States
October 22, 2016 -
Brest European Short Film FestivalBrest
France
November 10, 2016
French Premiere -
Leeds International Film FestivalLeeds
United Kingdom
November 11, 2016 -
Buried Alive Film FestivalAtlanta
United States
November 20, 2016 -
Bogotá Short Film FestivalBogotá
Colombia
December 8, 2016
South American Premiere -
London Short Film FestivalLondon
United Kingdom
January 13, 2017 -
Horror-on-Sea Film FestivalSouthend-on-Sea
United Kingdom
January 20, 2017 -
Prague Short Film FestivalPrague
Czech Republic
January 21, 2017
Czech Premiere -
Fast Anchor Film FestivalManchester
United Kingdom
February 4, 2017
Best Manchester Short -
Keswick Film FestivalKeswick
United Kingdom
February 18, 2017 -
Nevermore Film FestivalDurham
United States
February 24, 2017
Runner Up -
Fantasporto Film FestivalPorto
Portugal
February 26, 2017
Portuguese Premiere -
Landshut Short Film FestivalLandshut
Germany
March 17, 2017
German Premiere -
HorrorHound Weekend Film FestivalCincinnati, Ohio
United States
March 19, 2017
Best Short, Best SFX -
Humboldt International Film FestivalArcata, California
United States
April 21, 2017 -
The Maryland Film FestivalMaryland, Baltimore
United States
May 4, 2017 -
Bilbao Fantasy Film FestivalBilbao
Spain
May 6, 2017
Spanish Premiere -
Crypticon Seattle Horror Film FestivalBellevue, Washington
United States
May 7, 2017 -
Plymouth Film FestivalPlymouth
United Kingdom
May 28, 2017 -
Portland Horror Film FestivalPortland, Oregon
United Kingdom
June 8, 2017 -
Sydney Film FestivalSydney
Australia
June 8, 2017
Australian Premiere
Mat studied Film and Television at Salford University in the UK, and for the past ten years has been writing, directing, shooting and editing short films both on a freelance and independent basis.
'A Father's Day', Mat's latest film, is his most ambitious to date and was made with the support of Creative England's iShorts, a short film initiative delivered as part of the BFI NET.WORK.
Mat’s previous short film credits include 'Run', 'Kiss' and 'Radio Silence'. 'Kiss' was selected for a number of high profile festivals including the London Short Film Festival and the New York Independent Film Festival. Mat was awarded the accolade of Best Director for 'Kiss' at the Newport International Film Festival (International Film Festival of Wales).
'Run' has been regarded as somewhat of an internet sensation. Made from start to finish in under four days at the Filmonik Kino Kabaret in Manchester, the film gained much critical and professional acclaim after it was shared by Stephen Fry with his followers on Twitter. It has since gone on to be featured on aintitcool.com’s Saturday Shorts and shortoftheweek.com as well as dozens of other websites and blogs, gaining over 100,000 views.
Mat is currently developing a slate of feature films.
'A Father's Day' is a twist on a short genre piece exploring the duality of the living and the dead in a post-apocalyptic world. Instead of a film following a group of hardened survivors, we follow the losers.
I love the idea of telling a short, emotional story that explores a father-daughter dynamic with lead characters who are usually the punchline in films like this. Audiences will hopefully be engrossed by the bizarre but relatable nature of the story as the characters rediscover one another in the remains of their town.
Mirroring the beautiful and the macabre has always fascinated me and in my previous films I have tried to marry the two. Previous projects have all been self funded and I see this film as a way to expand my body of work and hope that with 'A Father's Day' I have created a short, sharp and ambitious piece that feels cinematic and packs an emotional punch.
Making 'A Father's Day' was as incredibly rewarding as it was challenging. Limited time with child actors, the need to consider special make up effects and the need to have control over and dress predominantly exterior locations were some of the challenges that we faced. There were also a lot of visual effects and audio work to be done in post-production. However, this film has the biggest and best crew that I have ever worked with, and with the likes of Shaune Harrison on board leading our special effects make-up team it has been an incredible experience. I’m grateful to have been surrounded by such talented and committed artists in all departments.