This May, Firsts London returns to the Saatchi Gallery with a burst of colour, curiosity, and craftsmanship. The theme? Books in Bloom – a celebration of all things botanical in the world of rare books.
From ancient herbals to avant-garde floral art books, over a hundred rare book dealers from around the globe will gather to showcase the intertwined histories of books and botany. It’s the literary companion to the Chelsea Flower Show, blooming just down the road – but with more vellum and fewer tulips.
Expect everything from medicinal manuscripts to pressed flower albums, poetic tributes to roses, and gorgeously illustrated plant encyclopaedias. Botanical books tell a story far richer than just plants on a page. They chart centuries of exploration, science, superstition, art – and obsession.
Once used to treat fevers and fend off spirits, early plant drawings became tools of classification, trade, and desire. By the Victorian age, they were full-blown objects of beauty, their detailed engravings and watercolours capturing the global explosion of flora newly ‘discovered’ and imported.
Justin Croft Antiquarian has brought an exquisite edition of Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du Mal,…
Britain's most famous luxury car marque brings woodland magic to London Craft Week
At this year’s London Craft Week (12–18 May 2025), Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is bringing a captivating artistic display that reimagines the British countryside in exquisite detail and craftsmanship. Created by artisans at the marque’s Goodwood headquarters, the triptych artwork draws on the flora and fauna of the British Isles, presenting a woodland scene across three […]
Mesmerising mythology at a major new sculpture exhibition in Norfolk
Mythological beasts stalk the grounds of Houghton Hall – in a good way. The stately home in Norfolk is presenting Stephen Cox: Myth, an absorbing new exhibition of the work of the British sculptor. Arranged across the park gardens and interiors, this is the most comprehensive retrospective ever of the Royal Academician’s sculpture. Covering more […]
BAFTA winner David Bradley, known for his work on Oscar level films, is usually cast as a dark, cold-hearted man. In Harry Potter, he plays Argus Filch, a miserable caretaker of Hogwarts, forever giving the students a hard time. In-Game of Thrones, an even more sinister character as Lord Walter Frey. In Roy, he dazzles with completely different performance, one of vulnerability and intense loneliness.
Produced by Chris Everton and Rebecca Harris (Slick Films), this live-action short film is the directorial debut for co-writers Ross White and Tom Berkeley. Roy is a funny, heart-warming tale of two lost souls who find companionship just when they need it most. Roy is an elderly widower, living alone. Desperately in need of human interaction, he resorts to cold-calling random numbers asking if they had just called him, hoping someone on the other end will have the time to converse with him. The first few attempts results as one would expect: A very puzzled being denying they had initially called him, then hanging up the phone when Roy tries to force the conversation. Frustrated that his current strategy bears no fruit, Roy pulls out a yellow pages book and finds a number from within.
https://vimeo.com/523474424
A conversation with a hotline worker by the name of Cara (Oscar winner Rachel Senton, The Silent Child – 2017)) ensues and Roy is pleasantly surprised, as she is extremely easy to talk to and patient. But the pleasant combo doesn’t last, as certain questions being asked by the woman reveal her occupation and why she is so comfortable and easy being on the phone with a stranger. Realising he is in dialogue with an x-rated phone worker, Roy tries his best to excuse himself and end the call, but the slick tongued madame comforts him, letting him know that they do not have to talk about anything uncomfortable for him.
Roy spends his days going through the phone book, cold calling strangers in hopes to have a few minutes of companionship.
Tables turn when a wonderful and interesting friendship develops between the two. They both seem to forget about the vast age gap, engaging on the phone daily to joke, play games, spill opinions, and hold council with each other. It seems Cara has taken pity on our old boy and appreciates his genuine and honest spirit. My point is displayed when Cara asks “Roy, you are aware you’re being charged for us speaking aren’t you?” To which he replies “Well, I should hope so. How else is a nice lady like yourself going to earn her crust?”
The sincerity of this companionship further shows when Cara makes steps to make sure Roy isn’t lonely for much longer. Both the filmmakers and David Bradley expertly capture the realities of loneliness and isolation that most of our senior citizens suffer nowadays, especially in the western world.
Produced by Rebecca Harris and Chris Overton, ROY is the directorial debut for co-writers Tom Berkeley and Ross White.
Margaret Allan: Bletchley, Bentleys and “Chelsea in Bloom”
At the height of the conflict in World War II, Bletchley Park’s Hut 4 contained an eclectic group of codebreakers. Everyone from specialists in Egyptology to a debutante who was to become Prince Philip’ first girlfriend. Margaret Allan was part of that exclusive group. Not only did she have the intellect to keep pace with academics, but the daring that would set her apart. Codebreaker, racing driver, journalist and horticulturist, Margaret Allan was an extraordinary woman.
Born Margaret Mabel Gladys Allan into a wealthy and unconventional family, Margaret was educated at the liberal and unorthodox Bedales school. The Allan family were progressive and politically active; her paternal aunt was the militant suffragette Janie Allan. Margaret became a keen horsewoman from an early age and in due course was encouraged to swap one horsepower for several as she was taught to drive as soon as she was old enough.
Margaret started motor racing – aged 21 – with the family’s Lagonda. There was nothing particularly special about the car, but she successfully completed the London-Gloucester Trial winning the Ladies’ Prize, with her driving being described as “neat and fast” by Motor Sport magazine. She continued to enter trials and rally events over the following few years, most notably the 1932 Monte Carlo Rally, where she raced in a works Riley Nine with co-driver Eve Staniland and finished in 10th position. Later that year, with her brother Hamish acting as co-driver, she entered the Alpine Trial, a week-long event which was then considered the most demanding in Europe. This time driving their Wolseley Hornet, they were awarded a Glacier Cup prize for completing the trial without penalty and her driving earned her joint victory in the Coupe des Dames.
Margaret had her first taste of circuit racing in 1932 following a visit to Brooklands. You had to have a special form of nerve to hold your car at over 120mph on the outer lap of that circuit in the 1930s. The track was an uneven patchwork quilt of concrete slabs that were rapidly decaying. Margaret, faster than some of the noted male drivers at the time, was one of only a handful of female drivers who earned Brooklands’ 120mph accolade.
Success was almost immediate. The 1933 Inter-Club Meeting saw a change of car and an increase in speed. Margaret had acquired the ex-works 1928 Le Mans winning 4½-litre Bentley “Old Mother Gun” driven by Woolf Barnato and Bernard Rubin. Her first outright circuit race victory was in the Junior Long Handicap event. Showing her form in the more powerful car, her fastest lap was timed at 97.65 mph.
A repeat victory the next year in the same event with the same car attracted the attention of the works MG Cars team and she was asked to join their squad for the Light Car Club’s 1934 200-mile Relay Race. The all-female team took third position overall. Margaret maintained close links to MG throughout her career entering the 1935 Le Mans with the same marque as a member of George Eyston’s “Dancing Daughters”, a three car, all-female entry driving works-prepared MG PAs.
Although there is no clear evidence, it seems that eventually Margaret sold “Old Mother Gun” to one Richard Marker, who upgraded it to a 6 ½-litre engine and fitted it with a streamlined, single-seater body that replaced the original tourer coachwork. She kept racing this car. However, her finest hour at Brooklands was in a single-seater Frazer Nash Shelsley with which she won the handicap race at the August Bank Holiday Meeting – best lap speed of 119.15 mph. In practice she had lapped at 127.05 mph which was quicker than Earl Howe’s contemporary race record of 127.00 mph, and only about 10 mph slower than Tim Birkin’s all-time best of 137.96 mph. It earned her the 120mph accolade for the circuit.
At the outbreak of World War II Margaret Allan enlisted, unsurprisingly, as an ambulance driver. No doubt she had the talent for the job. After all, driving an ambulance through the Blitz in London was probably similar to taking on the outer banking and competitors at Brooklands. Not a great deal is known about this time in her life, but at some point, her intellect and ability in problem solving must have been noted as she applied and was accepted by the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park.
Bletchley Park September 1938, GC&CS BP visit. Credit: Judie Hodsdon via Bletchley Park Trust
Winston Churchill had visited Bletchley in September 1941 and instructed Dennison (in charge of Station X – as it was known) to find any and all individuals required by whichever means necessary. One such method was a crossword puzzle in the Daily Telegraph where successful completion was coupled with a request to send the result in, after which they were invited to undertake “a particular type of work as a contribution to the war effort.” It was unknown if Margaret joined the team this way or through an application, but she did take up her position shortly after the puzzle winners took up theirs at Bletchley.
The collection of eclectic staff of “Boffins and Debs” caused GC&CS to be whimsically dubbed the “Golf, Cheese and Chess Society”. A breakdown of the people in Hut 4 certainly tends to endorse the view. Among Margaret Allan’s contemporaries were J. W. B. Barns – later Professor of Egyptology at Oxford, Sarah Baring – who’d become Viscountess Astor, Osla Benning – Prince Philip’s first girlfriend, Leonard R. Palmer – later Professor of Comparative Philology at Oxford, along with historian Sir Harry Hinsley, who’d rise to Vice Chancellor and Professor of International Relations at Cambridge University.
At the time, Alan Turing and the codebreakers in Hut 6, had found their way to deciphering the Enigma coded messages, the transcript of which were divided between Hut 4 and Hut 8. The former was responsible for the translation, interpretation and distribution of the German navy messages deciphered by the latter. The messages were largely encrypted by Enigma machines. As the German navy operated Enigma more securely, Hut 8 had less information for Ultra than Hut 6 which handled Army and Air Force messages. Hut 4 had the additional task of various hand cyphers and some of the Italian naval traffic. The work at Bletchley, according to Sir Harry Hinsley’s official account of the Bletchley Park war effort, reduced the duration of the war by one to four years.
After the war Margaret (now married to Christopher Jennings) became a journalist and was Vogue magazine’s very first female motoring correspondent for many years in the 1940s and 1950s, as well as providing road test articles for The Motor, Autocar, and other motoring magazines.
Still proving that she had the speed to compete, in 1950 Margaret made one brief return to competition in the Circuit of Ireland rally. Despite having been absent from competitive motorsport for well over a decade, she won the Ladies’ Prize. Even into her later years, past her 80th birthday, Autocar magazine invited her to test three sports cars and despite the advances in motor vehicles, she proved too fast for the photographer to cover the story, so the article had fewer pictures than planned.
Her husband was also a motor journalist (later editor of The Motor) and retired racing driver. They had one son. They moved to Gellideg, Carmarthenshire, where Christopher became High Sheriff in 1957. As she grew older, she became a proficient gardener and won multiple Royal Horticultural Society prizes over the following decades, as well as exhibiting at the Chelsea Flower Show. Margaret Jennings died in Carmarthenshire, aged 89, in September 1998.
An exceptionally skilled break-dancer and a gifted showman, Magical Bones is considered one of the most exciting talents to emerge from the Magic scene in recent years.
Born Richard Essien, he was nicknamed “Magical Bones” for his hard-hitting dance style. Despite having a successful career as a dancer, Essien’s heart was in magic and as such, a few years ago he chose to shift careers. Magical Bones was selected as the headline magician for the hit West End magic show, Impossible. This played for two seasons, at the Noel Coward Theatre before moving on to a hugely successful world tour in 2017. He has also featured in Sky’s TV series Around The World in 80 Tricks, CW Penn & Teller: Fool Us In The USA, Crackerjack on CBBC and ITV’s This Morning. He also closed BBC One’s coverage of the BAFTA Awards ceremony.
Magical Bones is considered to be the most exciting talent to have emerged from the magic industry in recent years.
After getting to the finals of Britain’s Got Talent in 2020, he decided to create his own show and go on the road to entertain crowds with the width and breadth of the country. With his unique style of combining high-octane break-dance moves with the coolest back-flipping card tricks and jaw-dropping street magic, guests will be surely kept at the edge of their seats.
Black Magic challenges the connotations usually associated with this term and the show culminates with a tribute to the Black Magician Henry Box Brown, a 19th-century slave from Virginia who escaped to freedom at the age of 33 in 1849 by arranging to have himself shipped inside a wooden crate to abolitionists in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.#
The tour encompasses some rescheduled dates from his 2020 tour along with the new shows. The tour will start on February 9th this year at the Phoenix in Exeter and will finish in April of this year.
Schedule:
Wed 9th Feb 2022 Exeter Phoenix
Thu 10th Feb 2022 Maidenhead Norden Farm
Sat Feb 12th 2022 Winchester Theatre Royal
Fri 18th Feb 2022 Newbury Corn Exchange
Sat 19th Feb 2022 Bridgwater McMillan Theatre
Thu 24th Feb 2022 Leicester Curve
Sat 26th Feb 2022 Southend Palace Theatre
Sat 5th March 2022 London Leicester Square Theatre
Fri 11th March 2022 Colchester Arts Centre
Sat 12th March 2022 Cambridge Junction
Sun 13th March 2022 Peterborough Key Theatre
Fri 18th March 2022 Salford Lowry (Quays Theatre)
Sat 19th March 2022 Cheltenham Town Hall
Thu 24th March 2022 Maidstone Hazlitt Theatre
Fri 25th March 2022 Wellingborough Castle Theatre
Thu 31st March 2022 Farnham Maltings
Fri 1st April 2022 Bognor Regis Regis Centre
Fri 8th April 2022 Isle Of Wight Medina Theatre
Sat 23rd April 2022 Solihull Core Theatre
Thu 28th April 2022 Bishops Stortford South Mill Arts Centre
I jumped at the chance to review this movie as I am a big fan of Emile Hirsch, who I found electrifying in Nick Kassavetes’s Alpha Dog (2006). The rest of the leading cast are equally outstanding, starting with the legendary Michael Madsen, who has graced our screens with blockbusters like Thelma & Louis (1991), Reservoir Dogs (1992), Kill Bill (2003, 2004), and another favourite of mine: Donnie Brasco (1997); Johnathan Rhys Meyers (Bend it Like Beckham – 2002, Vanity Fair – 2004, Match Point – 2005); Paz Vega (Sex and Lucia – 2001, Rambo: Last Blood – 2019); and Jeremy Piven (Serendipity – 2001, Entourage – 2015).
Directed by Alessio Della Valle, and produced by Martha Capello, American Night is an action-packed neo-noir film that follows a stolen, priceless piece by Andy Warhol (Pink Marilyn) as it arrives in New York City with a narcoleptic courier (you’ll recognise Fortunato Cerlino if you are a fan of Gomorrah). After being given super strict instructions by a sexy Asian femme fatale, he makes a complete shambles of the transport of the painting, which gets him jammed up with a young mafia boss, passionate about fine art (Emile Hirsch). Things get heated as art dealer John Kaplan (Rhys Meyers) tries to juggle the mob and his talent as an art forger with his love for Sarah Flores (Paz Vega).
Gangster Michael Rubino (Emile Hirsch) and art dealer John Kaplan (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) fight for money, art, power and love.
Kaplan seems not to have learnt from the past, as he often has flashbacks depicting these same tough guys beating him to a pulp when some previous business went wrong. He must be really desperate to still be engaged with their enterprise. His desperate plays and shady entanglements with these violent crooks, along with a reckless drunken affair, ruin the relationship with the one true love of his life, also a professional in the art scene.
As well as these tensions, we are also entertained with female assassins, Chinese triad warfare, and a hint of comedy in a superbly written screenplay that will have you completely gripped from the start to a Scarface-like mansion shoot out to climax, and finally, a cheeky twist at the very end, which I’m sure many will be unable to guess, try as you may.
Slightly reminiscing of Pulp Fiction, American Night looks good and successfully engages the audience.
The makers of American Night clearly wink at American Pop Art after Andy Warhol and Tarantino (I think there is a bit of a homage to Pulp Fiction here). Their appetite for nostalgia is even clearer when villain Rubino (Emile Hirsch) relates the old “scorpion and frog” tale, which some might remember from Orson Welles’s Mr Arkadin (1955). In fact, at some point in the movie, Rubino shaves off his hair and reveals a scorpion tattoo.
There are several more pop culture touchstones in the movie, which although somehow enjoyable, may feel a little bit over the top and on occasion risk rendering the whole film slightly too rich in clichés, maybe even a touch dogmatic. However, overall, I did enjoy the movie very much. It is smart, stylish and sexy.
American Night is available now on Digital Download from iTunes, Apple TV, Google, Microsoft, Virgin Media, Rakuten, Sky and Chili.
Having jumped to international stardom for her role in the acclaimed action-thriller Run Lola Run for which she won a BAMBI Award for Best Actress, Franka started her career as an actor in the comedy film After Five in the Forest Primeval (1995), for which she won a Bavarian Film Award for Best Young Actress. Her first movie in the English language was Blow (2001), alongside Johnny Depp. The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy followed, sealing her reputation as a Hollywood household name.
Home marks her directorial debut. Starring the legendary Kathy Bates, Jake McLaughlin (Warrior, Savages) and Aisling Franciosi (Game of Thrones, The Fall ), Home is a bittersweet drama that tells the story of a 40-year-old man (Marvin, played by Jake McLaughlin) returning home to look after his dying mother (Kathy Bates) after spending 20 years in prison for killing a neighbour’s grandmother.
Kathy Bates is sublime as Marvin’s dying mother, Bernadette.
As Franka said herself, this film is about beauty and brutality coexisting, about fragility and strength. As it couldn’t be otherwise with Kathy Bates, she absolutely shines as Bernadette, Marvin’s mother and Jake McLaughlin’s performance is, in my view award-winning, conveying with total conviction the disorientation that Marvin feels as an ex-con having spent all his adult life in jail and his willingness to be given a second chance. Somehow it reminded me of a classic Western where the loner comes back to his hometown to fight for his place, looking for redemption. Like many Westerns, Home is set in one of those godforsaken towns that exist by the dozen in the fringes of L.A. Franka very appropriately refers to them as “California tristesse”.
Watch the trailer now:
Things quickly get difficult for Marvin as he starts developing a relationship with Delta (played beautifully by Aisling Franciosi) one of the grandchildren of the woman he murdered, and whose brothers are seeking revenge. I have to admire the sensitivity with which Franka directed these actors, easing them into their characters, all of them full of complexity and contradictions. Franka wanted viewers to embrace their emotions when watching this film, to allow themselves to feel anger, joy, pity… “I didn’t want to give viewers any easy answers,” says Franka. “Suffering and despair are universal, I wanted the audience to see both sides.”
Jake McLaughlin’s character, Marvin, is a complex character full of contradictions.
Another thing that caught my attention was the extreme attention to detail in every frame. Bernadette’s house looks old, chipped or broken trinkets spread on dusty shelves. This is a home that has seen better and happier times from which nothing is left. Bernadette is a tough no-nonsense woman, verging on cold, but details like a deck of cards with a small-dog face on the back hint that she hasn’t always been this way. Again, the use of antithesis by Franka, as with Marvin’s character, who one minute seems brutal and the next shows his tenderness and vulnerability.
Aisling Franciosi (Game of Thrones, The Fall) plays Delta, granddaughter of the woman Marvin murdered 20 years ago.
I genuinely enjoyed Home and look forward to seeing what Franka Potente will bring us next as a film director.
Selected and introduced by Imtiaz Dharker, illustrated by Mikki Lee
The Folio Society makes some of the most beautiful books in the world, fiction and non-fiction. Just in time for St Valentine’s, they have published a new anthology of 155 poems over 264 pages on the subject of love. Acclaimed British poet, artist and filmmaker, Imtiaz Dharker, has researched and collected the work of ancient and contemporary voices from around the world exclusively for The Folio Society.
Dharker describes herself as a “Scottish Muslim Calvinist” adopted by India and married into Wales. Her selection for this book reflects the richness and variety of her background and interests. Love Poems is a wonderful selection of poetic responses to love across the ages, from Rumi, Shakespeare and Christina Rosetti to Philip Larkin, Michael Ondaatje and Carol Ann Duffy (former Poet Laureate), just to name a few. Korean-American illustrator Mikki Lee celebrates the diversity of the collection through a series of highly stylised artworks, while a metallic blocked-cloth binding – textured Cloud Dragon paper endpapers, a stunning blocked cloth slipcase and twin ribbon markers complete this beautiful edition, perfect for gifting or adding to your own collection.
Lee’s illustrations are highly stylized and graphic with texture, patterns, and coloured lines.
In Love Poems, Dharker has skillfully woven a narrative through her selection, with poems flowing between themes rather than arranged according to geography or chronology. This edition embraces the cultural diversity of classical and contemporary poetry, discovering little-known poems while also showcasing the better-known favourites.
From tempestuous and passionate to subtle and pensive, the wide-ranging voices and experiences in this compilation will resonate with readers of all ages. The ebb and flow of style, length, era and language is refreshing and fluid, as love is portrayed in a myriad of ways.
Book Illustration Competition winner Mikki Lee has produced a stunning body of work. Her mesmerising artwork beautifully interprets the collection, setting this unique volume apart with eight integrated colour illustrations. In this book we can appreciate her natural affinity for nature and her love for creating scenic illustrations.
LOVE POEMS is available exclusively from The Folio Society.
When I think of Fabergé, I imagine aristocrats in the Amber Room at the Catherine Palace of Tsarskoye Selo near Saint Petersburg, swirling around as the orchestra played, arriving by sleigh, wrapped up in fur and adorned with Fabergé jewels.
Adored by the Russian Royal family, we now have a chance to know the man considered one of the best goldsmiths in history. Although his London branch is little known, it was truly important for his business. Fabergé’s huge success at the 1900 Paris Exposition made it clear that he would have a keen customer base outside Russia. He chose London for its wealthy and international clientele. King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra were already avid Fabergé collectors.
Royalty, aristocrats, American heiresses, exiled Russian Grand Dukes, Maharajas, all flocked there as his creations became a social currency for gifting. With over 200 pieces by the Russian master, this exhibition at the V&A London is your chance to explore timeless stories of love, friendship and tragedy of the Russian Imperial family. One such piece is a sparkling aquamarine and diamond tiara – a token of love from Frederick Francis IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin to his bride Princess Alexandra of Hanover and Cumberland on their wedding day (see opening picture above).
The King’s mistress, Mrs George Keppel, gifted the King an elegant art-nouveau cigarette case with a snake laid in diamonds biting its tail – a symbol of unbroken and everlasting love. A nephrite cigar box, set with a sepia enamelled view of the Houses of Parliament, was bought by Grand Duke Michael of Russia on 5 November 1908 and given to King Edward VII.
Imperial presentation box by Fabergé in nephrite coloured gold, diamonds and ivory. Chief Workmaster Henrik Wigstrom, St. Petersburg, 1904. Private collection. Image courtesy of Wartski, London.
During the Great War and Russian Revolution Fabergé’s production suddenly shifted from exquisite objects to munitions. In 1917, as the Revolution hit Fabergé’s workshops in Russia, its outpost in London ceased to operate.
The spirit of Fabergé is shown in the work of one of his best-known female designers, Alma Pihl, including a scintillating “ice crystal” pendant made from rock crystal, diamonds, and platinum.
The legacy of Fabergé through his iconic Imperial Easter eggs can be admired through the collection on display at this show, which includes several that have never been shown in the UK, including the largest Imperial Egg – the Moscow Kremlin Egg – inspired by the architecture of the Dormition Cathedral, on loan from the Moscow Kremlin Museums and the Alexander Palace Egg, featuring watercolour portraits of the children of Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra – containing a surprise model of the palace inside.
Although Carl Fabergé’s firm ceased to exist, the myth crystallised around the Imperial Easter Eggs and the demand for Fabergé pieces has endured with his designs continuing to inspire, captivate and delight.
Fabergé in London: Romance to Revolution V&A London. Cromwell Rd, London SW7 2RL Until 8th May 2022 ww.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/Fabergé
Words: Lavinia Dickson-Robinson
Opening picture: Aquamarine and diamond tiara by Fabergé. Workmaster Albert Holmstrom, St. Peterburg, circa 1904. Photo courtesy of HMNS. Photographer: Mike Rathke
In this film, we are bought into the lives of quite a wealthy family with a young daughter. Spooked by a dark tale from her mother’s wartime past, she starts to believe her adored cleaner is a thief. Through the eyes of this child, we experience feelings of mistrust and discernment of a very sensitive nature.
Inspired by stories from the aftermath of his family’s Holocaust survival, director Mark Rosenblatt explores, through the tiniest of domestic details, the subtle and complicated impact of trauma on the next generation.
In the opening scene, young Ruthie (Izabella Dziewanska) plays alone in her large family home, without a care in the world. During her escapades, we come into a scene with the maid busy on duty, dusting down bookshelves and ornaments. As soon as the maid is aware the child is present in the room, she chases her little miss through the halls in a playful manner, letting us know of a happy and healthy relationship between the two. Clearly, she has been steadily employed with this family for some time.
Sophie McShera plays Lynn, maid to the Hirths, suspected a thief, “a ganef”, by young Ruthie.
Their playful romp is interrupted by keys opening the front door. Mum is home and the daughter rushes to greet her. Draped in diamond earrings, a fur coat, and many shopping bags in hand, the woman is evidently one of class and affluence, and it’s a good thing her child has come to meet her at the door, away from any prying eyes. She discreetly hands the bags from the high-end fashion stores to her daughter and whispers to her to take them straight to her bedroom. The puzzled child does as she is told and hurries up the stairs. Now Mrs Hirth enters the room where the maid is, gives her the bags with the groceries and hands over her coat to be put away. She lets the employee know that she is retiring to her room to rest and mustn’t be disturbed.
Upstairs, as she begins to undress, her still confused daughter questions her. “Why couldn’t Lynn see the bags mummy?” Her response is cryptic, “Because people don’t need to see what they don’t need to see.” The young child remains mystified but stays persistent. “But why not?” she repeats. Her mother proceeds to tell her a story of when she was back home in Frankfurt and was the victim of an attack. “Do you remember the bad people I told you about that hurt us? One of the soldiers was a Ganef: A thief. He came into our home and took what was ours. But he could have never done so had he not known what we had…”
The film is told from Ruthie’s point of view and is firmly focused on the child’s relationship with the maid and her mother.
Later on in the day, as her mother is resting, our girl continues on with her leisurely strolls about the house, this time not as boisterous and nonchalant as earlier. Mother’s story seems to have gotten to her, “Can we not trust our own maid? And if not, who can we?”
As she walks along the upstairs landing, looking somewhat mesmerised, she catches sight of Lynn through the bannister, who is downstairs carrying on with her tasks. Humming away in her own world, polishing some trinkets on a desk, she has no idea that the young madame is observing her. After wiping down a small silver dish, she picks it up to admire it for a second. To the child’s complete astonishment and despair, Lynn now slips the dish into the pocket of her uniform and gets back to work.
Wow!! What should she do?
Ruthie’s world crashes when she sees her adored Lynn stealing a small ornament.
Although just 15 minutes long, I personally found this short film a masterpiece. It’s written and directed by Mark Rosenblatt and the three main characters are played by Lydia Wilson (Mrs Hirth), best known for her roles in films like About Time, Never Let Me Go and Star Trek Beyond; Sophie McShera (the maid), a familiar face to us all from the hit series Downton Abbey; and Izabella Dziewanska as Ruthie.
After watching, I got the opportunity to interview Suri Ellerton, who co-produced the piece along with Mark Rosenblatt.
What is it like producing short pictures with actors/actresses that have starred in globally acclaimed works?
It’s exciting! The level of talent that we had on this short (across the film – in both cast and crew) was honestly really humbling. We were grateful to have the superb casting director, Matilda James, as part of the team, who was crucial to the process of getting that level of acting talent on board. We were a little nervous about approaching Sophie to play another maid (!) but she was very gracious and took the part on with incredible energy. Aside from being hugely talented, Sophie is absolutely the most delightful human you can come across. We were equally fortunate to have the exceptional actress (and person), Lydia Wilson, playing Mrs Hirth. Despite Ganef being a much smaller project than what these actresses might do normally, they both treated the film and its process as a priority and took huge amounts of time preparing with Mark [Rosenblatt].
Suri Ellerton started her career in 2014 as a production assistant in Benny Fredman’s Suicide and has since worked in many films and co-founded Same Name Productions.
Were there any difficulties you had to overcome as a crew while filming?
One of our biggest challenges on set was the time crunch that is involved in shooting a film with a young child. Izabella, who played Ruthie, was only six at the time of shooting which meant she was only allowed to be on set for a very limited amount of hours (I think it was around three). Considering she was in practically every scene and we only had a few days to shoot, we had to plan everything to the tee (and even cut in some places) to get what we needed. Thankfully, our crew were incredibly professional and efficient, so it was still a good experience despite the pressure!
I found the young girl cast as the daughter to be an exceptional and very intelligent actress. How easy or difficult is it working with such young actors?
She is incredible, isn’t she? As I mentioned before, there are definitely logistic difficulties but in terms of everything else, working with Izabella was a dream. When we cast her originally, we could see she had something special, but it was also her first time on a film set, so we weren’t sure what to expect. Our director, Mark, spent a lot of time preparing her and talking to her about her character (he even wrote her a kind of children’s story for her to read so he could connect to her at her level.) But when we did our read-through with the actors, she was being energetic and silly (as appropriate for a six-year-old!). I remember worrying, “Is this going to happen on set when we have a maximum of three hours to film and there are a lot of people moving around her? How are we ever going to get this done?” But then, on the first day where cameras were rolling, she stepped on set and her energy totally changed. It was like she knew – “this is the important part, and I’m going to show them what I can do.” She was ready, she was professional and she just performed – which resulted in the incredible performance that you saw in the film.
Director Brian Lawes gives us a vivid insight into middle American life in Lost Kings. Only 16 mins long, but this quarter-hour is filled with intrigue, empathy and understanding.
Leading actor Dash Melrose plays Zuri, a young man, possibly in his late teens, living in a suburban town. He lives with and looks after his younger brother and from the very first scene, we can see that things aren’t too financially secure at home. A quick check in the kitchen reveals there is literally no food in the house, just some crumbs left in the last cereal box. Big brother is quick to leave to remedy this situation. The fact that he instructs his younger “bro” not to leave the house under any circumstance, gives us a strong indication that he’ll be left alone in the house for quite some time.
Searching for food, a boy breaks into a house. But when the owners return, he becomes trapped inside with those he’s stealing from.
Backpack equipped, Zuri comes to a local grocery store, with the aim of filling up the bag with what he can before slipping out unnoticed. Clearly, he’s not a thieving pro: he stutters, freezes and second-guesses in every motion, to the point the shopkeeper has to question if he’s ok or may need any assistance. This prompts him to rush out in a hurry.
As our big brother cycles through the streets mulling over his next move, we catch glimpses of the town and the surrounding housing. Here, we notice that is a quiet, clean, better-off side of town. Watching this scene, I asked myself how vast a gulf in class there could be in such an obviously more affluent neighbourhood. Maybe these boys could have parents heavily into drugs or not at all present. Who knows?
Jo Ashley and Cassie Self play the daughter and mother living in the house where Dash Melrose (Zuri) gets trapped.
We watch our protagonist steadily cycling through until he spots an opportunity, one that gets him into a jammy predicament and will be almost impossible to leave completely uncompromised.
Lost Kings effectively convey the heart-pounding experience of trying to evade capture together with the anxiety felt by a boy forced to take the responsibilities of an adult and provide for his younger brother, under circumstances that force him to go down a questionable path.
Superbly directed by Lawes, Dash Melrose impresses with a surprisingly mature performance.
After watching the film, I took part in a zoom meeting involving director Brian Lawes, producer Amanda Hayden, Jo Ashley Moore (who plays the daughter) and the leading actor, Dash Melrose. Dash shared certain techniques he used in order to transmit his mind and spirit into a character who has to resort to extreme measures to survive, while Brian involved us in the challenges he faced while directing and instructing a team of predominantly younger actors. It was particularly interesting to listen to Dash and Jo Ashley reasoning and discussing work strategies and theories, as well as past work experiences.
This is an excellent short film that I fully recommend. The suspense and emotional anxiety that expresses will keep you at the edge of your seat and probably make you shed a tear or two at the end.
