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King Henry

Teachers at a Cornish secondary school are playing catch up to the 21st Century as two teens are elected prom king and king.

  • Harry Faint
    Director
  • Natalys Willcox
    Writer
  • Will Darch
    Producer
  • James A Snow
    Key Cast
    "Henry"
  • Billy Perry
    Key Cast
    "Adam"
  • Kevin Johnson
    Key Cast
    "Mr. Hunter"
  • Sarah Bennington
    Key Cast
    "Ms. Matthews"
  • Kate Edney
    Key Cast
    "Caroline"
  • Flora Lambert
    Key Cast
    "Katie"
  • Atlas Rowe
    Key Cast
    "Elliot"
  • Issie Victoria
    Key Cast
    "Chloe"
  • Luke Jones
    Key Cast
    "Ewan"
  • Nel Lambert
    Key Cast
    "Sasha"
  • Tim Seyfert
    Key Cast
    "The Photographer"
  • Henry Austwick
    Key Cast
    "The DJ"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Queer, LGBTQIA+, DRAMA
  • Runtime:
    12 minutes 54 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 14, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    15,000 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Harry Faint

Harry is a film director and queer media researcher who is passionate about raising and empowering LGBTQIA+ voices from rural communities within the film and television industries. He is currently researching how queer individuals have historically been represented onscreen and how they have affected perceptions of queer lives in real life. His directorial debut KING HENRY unites his passion for Equality and Diversity and his love of teaching. Based on his own experience, the film explores two boys being nominated prom queen and king at a Cornish Secondary School prom in a post section 28 climate. This film has been supported by Screen Cornwall, Falmouth University’s Sound/Image Lab and the charity IT GETS BETTER UK, for which Harry is the south west regional ambassador. A collaboration with many talented queer voices and crew in the South West, King Henry enters the festival circuit this Winter.

During his BA in Film at Falmouth, he split his studies in two - looking at the representations of Trans lives in Film and Tv in the UK, as well as the nuanced meaning created through the sound design for robots such as R2-D2 and WALL-E. In his Masters degree he delved deeper into the issues of white feminism in USA female-led comedy in a Post Trump world. Throughout this, he has maintained his focus on promoting intersectionality in visual media. It was also at this time he delved into production, working as a sound recordist and sound designer on a micro budget feature called A BAD PENNY, which follows a gay woman struggling to find her purpose after breaking up with her girlfriend.

After spending a gap year working in the Florida sun at Walt Disney World, Harry returned to the UK to commence his PGCE in post-compulsory education. Determined to continue his studies, Harry started a queer media research project called Queer Reflections, which focuses around interviews with queer individuals about the media that helped them on their journey. Away from his education role, he has taken these conversations and led training sessions of LGBTQIA+ inclusion in businesses and classrooms around the county. His intention is to promote the inclusion and promote the safety of queer individuals in all spaces, believing that hate stems from a lack of education around gender and sexuality. He has spoken at global conferences about the power of media and storytelling in promoting the inclusion of LGBTQIA+ lives. Harry hopes to continue walking the line between further research and being an active filmmaker in the South West, with more films in the pipeline, the next about a homophobic robot.

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Director Statement

KING HENRY explores themes of queer identity, the toxic legacy of Section 28 and the anxieties that remain around discussions, acceptations and safety of queer identities within educational spaces. The film explores these ideas through the lens of the tradition and rite of passage of Prom Night in the UK, marking a period of transition for young people who are anticipating their next steps.
King Henry is based on my own experience of school in 2010. It was 7 years after Section 28, a law which stopped any discussion of LGBTQIA+ identities in school was repealed but no discussions had taken place. I was openly gay, dating a boy and we were widely supported by my year group, but this wasn’t understood by the teaching staff. At the time this frustrated me, but 13 years later where I am now working as a teacher I now understand my former teacher’s worries.
When I started teaching 4 years ago, I was very worried about being openly myself in the classroom. I quickly realized this was a very powerful thing to do as it showed students I taught that they could be themselves too. I got to and now get to be the role model I needed at 15. I have always been fascinated with representations of queerness in visual media and through research and my podcast QUEER REFLECTIONS I have heard of the power these representations have on many of our personal journeys.
King Henry is my directorial debut. The writer, Natalys and I have been working together for years now and I was thrilled when she approached me to write this story about my experience. The story development process was excellent and engaging and I have finally got to a place where I know who I am and what I want my art to say, and I have the confidence to say it.

While this is a personal story, I know it will speak to many. This is something that I have always believed and I was pleased to feel before and on set. The passion for the story was palpable, and many of us on the crew being from the LGBTQIA+ community made this something really special. This film is the start of many productions in the southwest which aim to explore queerness from a rural perspective. I am extremely proud of our team, and am thrilled to be at the point where we can share this film worldwide.