Experiencing Interruptions?

Cusp

Kyle, a seventeen year-old outsider drifts through life. The passing of days marked by endless shifts at the struggling Chicken Box restaurant.

His only brightness lies in his unconventional affair with 24 year-old Amber - married and life-weary. Confusing attention for love, their illicit, and outdoor, relationship marks his only form of kinship amid a town that neither cares for nor likes him.

One night, a chance encounter with the self-proclaimed ‘town trannie’, Michael, whose sixty years in this town have left him shackled through fear of what lies beyond, leads Kyle to set out on a path to the big city.

  • Oliver Warren
    Director
  • Oliver Warren
    Writer
  • Jacob Madsen
    Producer
  • Joseph Tremain
    Key Cast
  • Skye Lourie
    Key Cast
  • Derek Hutchinson
    Key Cast
  • Simonluca Fraioli
    Director of Photography
  • Esmeralda Conde Ruiz
    Music
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 33 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 10, 2014
  • Production Budget:
    20,000 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    RED
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.35:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • London Independent Film Festival
    London
    April 17, 2015
    World Premiere
  • NYC PictureStart Film Festival
    New York, NY
    June 2, 2015
    US Premiere
  • Cannes Short Film Corner
    Cannes
    May 16, 2015
Director Biography - Oliver Warren

Oliver Warren is writer/director with a heritage in documentary and commercial directing, who has taken his first step into the fiction world with his debut short 'Cusp'.

Having been crafting his storytelling skills since 2001 when he had his first documentary broadcast in the UK, Oliver has built up an impressive commercial and digital reel, combining his documentary narrative with a fashion and beauty aesthetic that he can't wait to bring into the fictional dimension.

Oliver is now working on his third feature screenplay haven written two in the past few years, the dark family drama That's Me Trying and Australian-based The Ugly Brothers (based on the true story of two beautiful men).

To see some of Oliver's work, please visit: http://www.oliverwarren.co.uk/

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Cusp was born out of an image, an emotion and an original concept for a fashion film.

I was inspired the moment I saw the dark, haunting, youthful photography of Bill Henson. The images of embracing teenagers lit by inexplicable light, overlooking the glittering town below - everything about them made me want to see them move, to come to life.

This point of inspiration developed into a concept for a youth- orientated fashion film, but as the vivid imagery came to life in my mind, so did those characters within it.

From here the visuals and narrative grew - Kyle, from the hillside to the chicken shop and the fellow outsider he finds in Michael who becomes his inspiration to leave.

From conception, the constant has been the desire to create beautiful visuals which play into my love of moving and shifting light.

I arrive at this, my first short film, after a twelve year career making documentary, fashion and beauty content for a wide variety of brands - storytelling has always been the bedrock of my work, but it is finally time to channel it into a fictional piece.