Experiencing Interruptions?

Operator

A self-obsessed call centre worker deals with a personal heartbreak while on shift as the world crumbles around him... due to a zombie apocalypse.

  • Jonathan Hughes
    Director
  • Jonathan Hughes
    Writer
    Acorn, Mother, Mary, See You In Hell, Under the Table
  • Jonathan Hughes
    Producer
    One Thousand Yards
  • Lennon Clarke
    Key Cast
    "Ciaran"
  • Jonathan Hughes
    Music Composer
  • Jonathan Hughes
    Sound Design
  • Jonathan Hughes
    Editor
  • Lennon Clarke
    Cinematographer
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Comedy, horror, LGBT
  • Runtime:
    11 minutes 4 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 22, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    30 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Ireland
  • Country of Filming:
    Ireland
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Galway Film Festival 2020
    Galway
    Ireland
    July 10, 2020
    Wold Premiere
    Official Selection - Galway Film Festival 2020
  • Underground Cinema Film Festival
    Dun Laoghaire
    Ireland
    September 5, 2020
  • Underground Cinema Short Film Awards
    Dun Laoghaire
    Ireland
    September 3, 2020
Director Biography - Jonathan Hughes

Jonathan Hughes is a writer based in Limerick City.
For his writing, Jonathan has been awarded numerous prizes and funding awards from institutions including Screen Ireland, RTE, Galway Film Centre, Filmbase, Virgin Media Dublin Film Festival, Clones Film Festival DLR First Frames and Waterford Film Festival. His films have screened at festivals worldwide.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

The Story of Operator

Lockdown was hard on many people. The Operator team were no exception. Writer/director Jonathan Hughes was out of work; all the production jobs he had lined up were shut down due to the COVID-19 outbreak. He spent his time writing scripts and sending them out but nothing was moving forward.

Operator star Lennon Clarke was no better off. He was working his customer service job from home and lamenting the fact he hadn’t been able to work more as an actor and this pandemic was only going to make that tougher.

Then Jonathan got news that he was going blind due to undiagnosed diabetic eye disease. And Lennon found out he was being made redundant from his job due to the economic downturn.... All in the same week.

And thus, OPERATOR was conceived as a no budget, totally DIY distraction project. The script was written in one day and shot the next in their apartment. They took turns voicing the callers calling in. Two days later, the first cut was made. They never set out to make something that would be seen by the public, it was supposed to be an exercise just to see if it could be done. A trial run. But reaction to the film from friends was much stronger than either of them anticipated.

The film was born out of desperation and stress. It is a film about frustration, confusion and stubbornness, but also about how your own problems always seem like the biggest deal to you, but maybe in the grand scheme of things they’re not so major.

- OmegaBeta HQ