Private Project

TINSEL

A fast paced and festive comedy tale, unashamedly inspired by cult action movies, about a 36 year old aspiring actor with ADHD facing up to another lonely Christmas, but instead he becomes the unlikely hero of an armed hostage situation, all whilst working as an Elf in a quaint British garden centre.

Tinsel’s favourite film, ‘Die Hard’, becomes art imitating life, as he attempts to save the day. Not with guns and yippee ki yay’s though, but with a garden hoe, a plastic Christmas tree and, most importantly, by being nice.

Will Tinsel conquer his festive ninja demons, plus save the garden centre and Christmas? He probably will, if he can concentrate for a hot minute.

  • Davey Fox Ezra
    Director
  • Davey Fox Ezra
    Writer
  • Tom Hattam
    Producer
  • Davey Fox Ezra
    Producer
  • Christian Jegard
    Key Cast
    "Tinsel "
  • Maja Bloom
    Key Cast
    "Karen "
    Carrow in the 'Fantastic Beasts' franchise
  • Dave Abel
    Key Cast
    "Angry Dad "
  • Nathan J Lloyd
    Key Cast
    "Gary "
  • Cameron Lewis
    Key Cast
    "Farmer with a shotgun (Jake)"
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Comedy, Christmas, Action
  • Runtime:
    22 minutes 38 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 4, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 GBP
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - The University Of Portsmouth
Director Biography - Davey Fox Ezra

With a background directing award winning immersive theatre, Davey is making his directorial debut with 'TINSEL', which he also wrote the screenplay for.

His next short - 'I'LL CALL YOU LATER' is currently in pre production and he has a the goal of producing one of his many feature film screenplays in the near future.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

So firstly, the inspiration is pretty personal. Davey was an elf called Tinsel every Christmas, for several years, at different immersive theatre experiences. He's also estranged from his family and has been since the age of 15. No violins here though please. Not how Davey rolls. Instead, he'd like to turn your frowns upside down.

The writing process was obvs very cathartic for him and he's excited (and a bit massively nervous, but that’s a good thing right?!) for you all to share in Tinsel’s story.

Then, more recently, he discovered he has had undiagnosed ADHD since childhood. Incredibly difficult thing to wrap your head around that. However, he was passionate about creating a film where we can not only highlight ADHD, but also to help people realise they aren’t alone, no matter how much it might seem like they are.

In terms of relatable inspirational films, he's a huge admirer of Edgar Wright directed features, so expect inspiration from his films. Fast cuts and even faster dialogue. He's also been heavily inspired by Die Hard and the debate around its legitimacy as a Christmas film. These two films are why TINSEL is set it in a sleepy garden centre. Davey is from a small village originally, where nothing ever happened. So he loves to write stories about BIG things happening in small places. Then he thought, imagine Die Hard happening in a garden centre … ridiculous but … his kind of ridiculous!

So, it’s his overall aim as director to take you on a festive journey, that highlights important issues of loneliness and mental health, but does so via a Christmassy, comedic, self aware and exciting plot, with a very relatable human/elf protagonist.