News Article
Nick Whitfield's award-winning SKELETONS is coming to a screen near you
Published: 28 June 2010
Derbyshire writer/director Nick Whitfield has won critical acclaim and prestigious awards for his debut feature, SKELETONS. The film, which was developed and co-financed by EM Media, is now touring cinemas across the UK - make sure you don't miss it!
So what's it all about?
SKELETONS tells the story of Davis and Bennett, a mismatched pair of travelling salesman in the business of cleaning skeletons from closets. Together the pair, played with humour and pathos by Andrew Buckley and Ed Gaughan, travel across Britain, wandering in and out of other people's lives and performing the ‘Procedure' whereby hidden secrets and lies are exposed. The film also stars Danish actress Paprika Steen in her English language debut, rising British star Tuppence Middleton (TORMENTED) and renowned British actor Jason Isaacs (The HARRY POTTER series, GREEN ZONE) as the duo's boss.
Davis (Ed Gaughan), Rebecca (Tuppence Middleton) and Bennett (Andrew Buckley) in Nick Whitfield's SKELETONS
Why should I see it?
Because it's brilliant. But don't just take our word for it! SKELETONS beat tough competition to scoop the top prize - that's the prestigious Michael Powell Award for Best New British Feature Film - at Edinburgh International Film Festival back in June, and has received high praise from critics for its originality, vision and offbeat humour.
Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian gave SKELETONS four stars and commented, "we might just have found our own Charlie Kaufman in Nick Whitfield" adding that SKELETONS is , "intensely and pungently English, eccentric, strangely heartfelt, and very funny: a film I watched to the incessant accompaniment of my own giggling." Read the full Guardian review here.
David Gritten writing in the Telegraph also gave SKELETONS four stars and commented, "Whitfield is clearly a talent to watch". Read that review here. Allan Hunter in the Express said, "the lugubrious Skeletons feels as if Ghostbusters has been re-written by Samuel Beckett" and agreed with other critics that, "writer/director Nick Whitfield is clearly a talent to watch." Read that review here.
Ok, sounds good. Where and when can I see it?
SKELETONS is currently touring the UK's choicest independent cinema venues, with many screenings accompanied by a Q&A with the film's cast and crew.
You can find out more about the film and where you can see it, and you can watch the trailer, at the official SKELETONS website here.
So what was EM Media's involvement in SKELETONS?
EM Media is a passionate advocate of new British film talent and has been supporting former actor and theatre director Nick Whitfield since his self-financed debut short film, SKELETONS. Whitfield's acclaimed second short film REBECCA was developed and produced in 2007 through EM Media's DV Shorts Scheme. At this stage Whitfield and his producers at Forward Films had already begun developing the feature film of SKELETONS, and together successfully applied to EM Media for investment to support the development and production of the film.
But it doesn't stop there. EM Media is continuing its support for Nick Whitfield with development investment for his second feature with Forward Films, TRENCHMEN, a comedy about five men returning to an English village after WWI. When the pressure of normal life becomes too much, they build their own trench to live in out on the moors. TRENCHMEN also sees Whitfield continue his collaboration with actors Andrew Buckley and Ed Gaughan who will co-write. This second feature has inspired producers Forward Films, to establish a permanent base in the East Midlands through new company Forward East.
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