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The Understudy

A short ghost story about just how far an actor will go to get the leading role in a community play. Following the untimely death of the leading man, Jack, the understudy, struggles to fill his dream role, only to find his predecessor wants it back...

  • Aaron Truss
    Director
    (K)nox: The Rob Knox Story, Little bit of Something Else, Employee of the Dead
  • Aaron Truss
    Writer
  • Joe Acres
    Writer
  • James Shovlar
    Writer
  • Aaron Truss
    Producer
    (K)nox: The Rob Knox Story
  • Joe Acres
    Producer
    (K)nox: The Rob Knox Story
  • James Shovlar
    Producer
  • Todd Stammers
    Producer
  • Todd Stammers
    Key Cast
    "Jack"
  • Joe Acres
    Key Cast
    "Hillary"
  • Aaron Truss
    Key Cast
    "Tarquin"
  • Joe Stammers
    Key Cast
    "Stage Hand"
  • James Shovlar
    Key Cast
    "Jeff"
  • Dan Yates
    Sound
    Counterpart
  • Francesco Guasconi
    Sound
  • Dan Truss
    Sound
    Cult of VHS
  • Toby Campen
    Music
    Shortflix, Backbone
  • James Shovlar
    Digital Imaging
    Black Mirror, Peaky Blinders, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Guardians of the Galaxy
  • Brittany Lupton
    Digital Imaging
    (K)nox: The Rob Knox Story
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Horror, comedy
  • Runtime:
    12 minutes 35 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 26, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    200 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital, HD
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9 2K
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • The Rob Knox Film Festival 2021
    London
    United Kingdom
    September 22, 2021
    Best Comedy
  • The Misty Moon International Film Festival 2021
    London
    United Kingdom
    October 24, 2021
    The Dudley Sutton Award
  • Corti In Cortile 2021
    Catania
    Italy
    September 15, 2021
    Italy
Director Biography - Aaron Truss

Aaron Truss studied film and video production at Thames Valley University, with over eleven years experience in digital editing and post production in the film industry; creating original social and online content for IMAX, Dogwoof, BFI and Sony Pictures.

As a creative editor, Aaron has worked on documentary shorts such as ‘Inside the Hatton Garden Job’ (Signature Entertainment), ‘Dad’s Army: Legacy’ (Universal) and ‘The Making of the Limehouse Golem’ (Lionsgate). He also produced the anti-knife crime film, ‘Cold Kiss’, which premiered at BAFTA in 2010, featuring Ray Winstone and won the ‘Best Short Film Under Five Minutes’ award for Taxi Joe’s music video ‘Something Else’ at the Rob Knox Film Festival 2019.

Aaron's latest production, (K)nox: The Rob Knox Story is set to release soon and will focus on the growing knife crime epidemic in the UK. Focusing on the death of Harry Potter actor, Rob Knox, the film will feature interviews with his family and friends, as well as Ray Winstone, Jim Broadbent, Tom Felton, Dani Harmer, Blake Harrison and David Yates.

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Director Statement

In 2008, a group of university students put together a short zombie comedy entitled 'Employee of the Dead'. The film starred Rob Knox (Marcus Belby in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince) who was murdered a few weeks later in a knife attack.

After 13 years (and a lot of drinks), we decided to get together and make another short horror comedy. We were granted access to one of the oldest theatres in South London, The Bromley Little Theatre, where it was agreed we would help raise awareness for the arts during the pandemic. This also mean't we were extremely limited in terms of time, budget (if there was one) and equipment.

The Understudy is a combination of our love for classic horror movies, the love for our fallen friend and for the love making movies.