Private Project

Small Change

A lonely thief makes a surprising new friend.

  • Max Fisher
    Director
  • Max Fisher
    Writer
  • Simon Alveranga
    Producer
  • Theo Barklem-Biggs
    Key Cast
    "Ryan"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Comedy, Drama
  • Runtime:
    6 minutes 40 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 14, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    10,000 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Max Fisher

Max came to film through youth work, having spent years working with disadvantaged and incarcerated kids. This work gave him a sensitivity and an ability to work in even the most challenging circumstances.

Having started making films with the kids in his care – Max began to get commissions for long form documentary work, after which he moved on to commercials and branded content.

Small Change is Max’s first project as a screen writer and also his debut directing scripted drama.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

The lead character in this film is based on a kid called Ryan who I used to work with in a youth prison. He had no family. He couldn’t read or write and was very childlike in many ways, never having had a proper childhood himself. So other boys would take advantage of him. What he really wanted was love and attention.

He liked being held by the police when they nicked him, as no one in his life ever touched or hugged him. He liked the attention of sitting in an interview room and having adults make eye contact with him and talk to him one on one. Stealing cars would guarantee him a level of human contact which was absent in the rest of his life.

I had been thinking about writing a short inspired by this kid. Then I saw a news story about a lad who stole a car with a baby in the back seat. The boy took the car back and told the mum off for leaving her in there. It struck me that inserting Ryan into this story would give me a chance to explore his lost childhood as well as allowing him to connect with the idea of family as he cares for the kid. The situation would also give him the chance to talk to the mum he never had.