Spanner in the Works

SPANNER IN THE WORKS

SHORT FILM

WRITER / DIRECTOR / EDITOR , 2014

ABOUT THIS PROJECT

Spanner in the Works is an award-winning film directed by Ben Grace. As part of the Exposure Filmmakers 48hr Film Challenge 2014 Spanner in the Works won the Best Director, Best Actor and Best Editor awards. Spanner in the Works details the final day a son spends living in his father’s home before moving out. This emotional family drama looks at the things left unsaid between those you love the most.

Screened as part of Southampton Film Week 2014 at Sonar Cinema (Southampton Solent University), Spanner in the Works proved very popular with the judges, winning 3 of the available 7 awards. Spanner in the Works was accepted into the 5th Annual Siliguri International Short Film and Documentary Contest (as part of the Siliguri International Film Festival) in West Bengal, India and competed for Short Film of the Month in the January 2015 edition of #TOFF: The Online Film Festival (placing second). In March 2015 Spanner in the Works was also accepted into the Très Court International Film Festival.

Exposure Filmmakers 48 hour Film Challenge is a yearly competition run by Exposure Filmmakers, a local community of filmmakers which meet at the Arthouse Cafe on the last Wednesday of every month. The teams that enter have 48 hours to write, shoot and completely edit a brand new short film that lasts no longer than 4 minutes. It must also contain at least 3 of the 7 items drawn at random at the start of the competition (A genre, title, prop, costume, location, character trait and line of dialogue). For the last two years, it has been featured as part of the Southampton Film Week line-up.

CAST/CREW

Son
Tom Dangerfield

Father
Stephen Bull

Director / DOP / Editor
Ben Grace

Sound
Stephen Bull

EQUIPMENT

Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 50mm 1.8 Lens
Canon 18-40mm 4.O L Lens
Edited on Adobe Premiere CC 2014
Colour graded with Magic Bullet Looks

AWARDS

Exposure Filmmakers 48 Hour Film Challenge 2014
Best Director (Winner)
Best Actor (Winner)
Best Editor (Winner)

Très Court International Film Festival 2015
International Competition (Nominated)

Siliguri International Film Festival 2014
Best Foreign Film (Nominated)

Walthamstow International Film Festival 2015
Best Drama (Nominated)

The Box Film Festival 2015
Best Local Short (Nominated)

TOFF: The Online Film Festival 2015
Film of the Month (Nominated)

Winchester Short Film Festival 2015
Best Drama Short (Longlisted)

‘Excellent film with some good acting – a simple idea which worked well.’ – Deanna Dewey

 ‘A really powerful performance from Tom Dangerfield, the scene in the car is extremely well crafted, shot, edited and acted. Both Steve Bull and Tom Dangerfields performances were fantastic but ultimately Tom stole the show. The breakdown in the car was so powerful and his screen presence was genuinely captivating. This is a tight edit from start to finish. The discussion between father and son is fluid with just the right amount of breathing space to make it work. The choice to kill the audio when the boy loses it in the car was a great touch as was ending on the shot of the father struggling / sobbing? The music was powerful and worked well throughout especially on the closing shot.’ – Jake Hawkins

‘I really liked this short, it was beautifully shot with a really nice grade. I liked the 2.35:1 aspect ratio which helped give Spanner in the Works that cinematic feel. The camera angles were nicely chosen and the lighting was spot on. The story was ok, left me wanting more to be honest, which is a good thing I guess, but i felt this film was too short! Take that as a very minor criticism! The editing was good, and I liked the fact that you held the shot in the car so long. The acting was great, especially from Tom Dangerfield. The sound was cleanly recorded, and well mixed. Good job all round! Overall, a well made too short short!’ – Geoff Harmer

JUDGES

48 HOUR FILM CHALLENGE, 2014