Experiencing Interruptions?

Toast

After a young man agrees to help an elderly neighbour with their grocery shopping through lockdown, they form an unlikely friendship that changes them both.

  • Benedict Webb
    Director
    Soft, Next Week
  • Harry Walters
    Writer
    Company of Four
  • Benedict Webb
    Producer
  • Harry Walters
    Producer
  • Roger Sloman
    Key Cast
    "Elderly Neighbour"
    Nuts in May, Eastenders
  • Harry Walters
    Key Cast
    "Young Man"
    Retreat, Soft, Company of Four
  • Joel Tucker
    Director of Photography
  • Ben Collins
    1st Assistant Camera
  • Archie Dobert
    2nd Assistant Camera
  • Angus Butcher
    Gaffer
  • Jaspar J. Cuminskey
    1st Assistant Director
  • Neil Perez
    Sound Recordist
  • Benedict Webb
    Sound Design
  • Benedict Webb
    Editor
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Comedy, Drama
  • Runtime:
    13 minutes 30 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    July 1, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    999 GBP
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - University of Portsmouth
Director Biography - Benedict Webb

Benedict Webb is a British filmmaker and director-writer from South East England. Benedict's shorts have been selected for BAFTA & BIFA qualifying festivals such as Encounters Film Festival.

Aged 18, Benedict wrote and directed his first film 'Next Week' starring Mick Ford (Scum) for Channel 4 Random Acts, a short about a grandad struggling with Alzheimer's. His next film 'Soft' was called an 'impressive subtle and sombre meditation on masculinity' by UK Film Review. Other shorts include 'Company of Four', and 'Toast' starring Roger Sloman (Nuts' In May) which was nominated for best screenplay at the National Youth Film Awards. In 2022, Benedict won the Depict Royal Photographic Society Award at the BAFTA Qualifying Encounters Film Festival for his film ‘wherever, next’.

Benedict is also co-founder of the production company Room 18 Films alongside fellow writer-actor Harry Walters. The company specialises in narrative-driven short films.

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Director Statement

Toast for me is about unlikely connections and the impact others can leave on you, even with those you wouldn't normally expect to have much in common with and even in the face of adversity. There was compassion through the smallest of actions through lockdown and that's not something I've seen much conveyed on screen. From the outset, me and Harry knew we wanted a story with a lot of heart, but it needed a lightness, some comedic relief, and some relatability too.

In early lockdown, my mum used to get these handwritten shopping lists from our next door neighbour and she would help by buying their weekly grocery shopping. My Dad would do the same for my Nanna. He would park outside her flat, and drop groceries at her doorstep each Sunday. We bonded over the smallest things, but at the time - they felt massive. Harry and I felt there was a story that could come out of this, something with a lot of heart and something that would really make people laugh too. Getting to work with an actor with such stature as Roger was a joy. He brought such an amusing dry and witty delivery, and such brevity and nuance that gave a lot of room to explore the character's softer side.