Private Project

Finger Guns

  Set in the backdrop of a Friday night at the Cockpit, a punk gay bar Addison makes her weekly grand entrance on her way to meet her loyal group of clubgoers, and best friend Ella. Addy is the talk of the night as per, as she tells everyone of her recent exploits, which Ella has always doubted. This seems like every Friday night, but Addy is thrown off when someone new catches her eye and enters Hazel. When they bump into each other in the bathroom, the chemistry is clearly there. After some intense flirting, they end up in the cubicle together, but Addison gets overwhelmed. Hazel gets frustrated and grills her on her sudden change of heart. Addison is forced to be honest about not being experienced with women, something that she has never told anyone. Hazel doesn’t care for Addy’s honesty and dismisses her, telling her friends that she is a fraud. This rumour crushes Addy’s world as she lives for her reputation. Ella watches on as Addy is finally forced to come clean about her lies and insecurities…

  • Blythe Paynter
    Director
    Lavender Whispers (2023) Filthy and Wrecked (2024)
  • Blythe Paynter
    Writer
    Veil (2022) Filthy and Wrecked (2024)
  • Alexander Jones
    Producer
    Chicken Town (2023) Agnes Young (2023) Aperture (2023) Mans Best Friend (2023)
  • Jordan Skidmoore
    Key Cast
    "Addison"
    Meme, Myself & A.I. 2023 (Director Chris Boyle)
  • Martha Watson
    Key Cast
    "Ella"
  • Johanne Adams
    Key Cast
    "Hazel"
    Monday 2019 (Director- Dan Hasson), The Author 2019 (Director- Saffron Willmott), The Possum Queen 2019 (Director- Ben Ogunbiyi)
  • Carlos Antonio Rios Morales
    Cinematography
    Where R U mate (2024) Lavender Whispers (2023) Filthy and Wrecked (2024)
  • Bradley Tye
    Script Editor
    Neuro (2023) Lavender Whispers (2023) Filthy and Wrecked (2024)
  • Jack William Sizer
    Sound Design
    Chicken Town (2023) Man's Best Friend (2023) Mothball (2023) Agnes Young (2023) Filthy and Wrecked (2024)
  • Rose Gobey
    Production Design
    Nuts (2023)
  • James Hipwell
    Editor
    Aperture (2023)
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    8 minutes 58 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 26, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    2,000 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.90:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Norwich University of the Arts
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • Nottingham Film Festival
    Nottingham
    United Kingdom
    October 12, 2024
    Official Selection
  • "Too Drunk To Watch" Punkfilmfest
    Berlin
    Germany
    October 19, 2024
    Official Selection
  • Hellbender Student Film Festival
    St Charles, Missouri
    United States
    December 3, 2024
    North American Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Manchester Lift Off Film Festival
    Manchester
    United Kingdom
    March 7, 2025
    Online Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Power 24 International Film Festival
    Durban
    South Africa
    August 22, 2025
    Jury Award for Sector Work
Director Biography - Blythe Paynter

I am a Director with a passion for creating LGBTQA+ and Neurodivergent stories. I strive to create the media I wish I had while growing up, with complex characters instead of tokenised queer/ neuro-divergent characters. I aim to develop my own recognisable visual style taking direct inspiration from the 70s/80s punk movement. I have begun to experiment and achieve this style in my latest short film Finger Guns.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Finger Guns was inspired by my own experience of not feeling queer enough. It is a story for anyone who feels like they don’t fit into the LGBTQA+ community due to their lack of experience. We wanted the film to be bright and full of energy, to achieve this we put on a gig. This worked out incredibly as we filled the scenes with authentically lively extras and were able to partially fund the film through ticket sales.