Private Project

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.

  • Mat Johns
    Writer, Director and Editor
    Run, Kiss, Radio Silence
  • Chris Lane
    Producer
  • Garth Maunders
    Key Cast
    Arthur & Merlin, Lead Me to the Dark
  • Hazel Gibson
    Key Cast
  • Martin Gibbons
    Casting
    Four Lions, Make It Plumb
  • William Morris
    Composer
    Making Sparks
  • Olivia Darlington
    Costume Designer
  • Shaune Harrison
    Special Effects Make-Up
    Star Wars, Harry Potter, Captain America
  • Rhiannon Clifford
    Art Director
    The Johnny and Inel Show, White Settlers
  • Sam Twyman
    Director of Photography
    The Loudest Minds
  • Darren McGinn
    Visual Effects Supervisor
  • Paul Ashton
    Executive Producer
    Wish 143, Emotional Fusebox
  • Jess Loveland
    Executive Producer
    The Pig Child
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    9 minutes 53 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 16, 2016
  • Production Budget:
    10,000 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2:35:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Encounters International Film Festival
    Bristol
    United Kingdom
    September 23, 2016
    UK Premiere
  • Grimmfest
    Manchester
    United Kingdom
    October 7, 2016
  • Sacramento Horror Film Festival
    Sacramento
    United States
    October 7, 2016
    North American Premiere
  • Atlanta Horror Film Festival
    Atlanta
    United States
    October 13, 2016
    Best Zombie Short
  • Mayhem Film Festival
    Nottingham
    United Kingdom
    October 15, 2016
  • Screamfest
    Los Angeles
    United States
    October 22, 2016
  • Brest European Short Film Festival
    Brest
    France
    November 10, 2016
    French Premiere
  • Leeds International Film Festival
    Leeds
    United Kingdom
    November 11, 2016
  • Buried Alive Film Festival
    Atlanta
    United States
    November 20, 2016
  • Bogotá Short Film Festival
    Bogotá
    Colombia
    December 8, 2016
    South American Premiere
  • London Short Film Festival
    London
    United Kingdom
    January 13, 2017
  • Horror-on-Sea Film Festival
    Southend-on-Sea
    United Kingdom
    January 20, 2017
  • Prague Short Film Festival
    Prague
    Czech Republic
    January 21, 2017
    Czech Premiere
  • Fast Anchor Film Festival
    Manchester
    United Kingdom
    February 4, 2017
    Best Manchester Short
  • Keswick Film Festival
    Keswick
    United Kingdom
    February 18, 2017
  • Nevermore Film Festival
    Durham
    United States
    February 24, 2017
    Runner Up
  • Fantasporto Film Festival
    Porto
    Portugal
    February 26, 2017
    Portuguese Premiere
  • Landshut Short Film Festival
    Landshut
    Germany
    March 17, 2017
    German Premiere
  • HorrorHound Weekend Film Festival
    Cincinnati, Ohio
    United States
    March 19, 2017
    Best Short, Best SFX
  • Humboldt International Film Festival
    Arcata, California
    United States
    April 21, 2017
  • The Maryland Film Festival
    Maryland, Baltimore
    United States
    May 4, 2017
  • Bilbao Fantasy Film Festival
    Bilbao
    Spain
    May 6, 2017
    Spanish Premiere
  • Crypticon Seattle Horror Film Festival
    Bellevue, Washington
    United States
    May 7, 2017
  • Plymouth Film Festival
    Plymouth
    United Kingdom
    May 28, 2017
  • Portland Horror Film Festival
    Portland, Oregon
    United Kingdom
    June 8, 2017
  • Sydney Film Festival
    Sydney
    Australia
    June 8, 2017
    Australian Premiere
Director Biography

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.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

'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.