Each week we'll be profiling one of the six finalists in this year's Orange FilmFour Prize For Short Film.

This week: Faye Gilbert, Writer/Director of Hard Little Man

Faye Gilbert (pictured left), Writer/Director from North West London

Faye attended Nene College of Art and Design, where she specialised in film, before continuing her training at Bournemouth Film School with a specialism in Writing and Directing.
Faye has made numerous short films including: DOG (16mm, 15min short graduation film, distributed by the British Council with screenings at the N.F.T and L.I.F.F. Won the Southern Arts David Altshhul award for Best Short Film); Stolen Baby (16mm, 10min short film, broadcast on Central Television and screened at the N.F.T and Brief Encounters Film Festival); Perdie (Digital/35mm, 9 min short, broadcast on Anglia Television and nominated for a BAFTA for Best Short Film).

Faye works with disadvantaged children and has made many documentaries on various subjects from teenage parents to young offenders, some of which have been shown on BBC2. She is also involved with helping disadvantaged children make their own films and organising workshops for them.

The name of Faye's short film is Hard Little Man, the story of an eleven year old boy who has been excluded from school and locked outside of his house for the day by his mother. We follow him as he delves deeper and deeper into his imaginary, isolated and destructive world until his mother's return.

We asked Faye to tell us a bit more about herself and Hard Little Man

Tell us a bit about your background.

I am 25 years old and have been making short films for the past 4 years. I also work with young people 'at risk' in Milton Keynes (my home town) enabling them to make films about their lives and issues that are important to them.

Did you think that you had a good chance of getting into the shortlist for the Orange FilmFour prize?

It was such a tough process - long listed from 1,600, then shortlisted to 18 for interview, then narrowed down to 12 for the jury to finally pick 6. So no, I thought the chance of being one of the final 6 was pretty slim!

How long did it take you to write Hard Little Man?

I had been writing another, longer, film for just over a year. I wanted to explore one of the characters (Ben) in a different environment and follow him over the duration of a day. This was the basis of Hard Little Man. Because I knew the character so well it took me about a week to write and 2 days to redraft it.

What was your inspiration for Hard Little Man?

My Inspiration for Ben's character stems from the work I do in Milton Keynes with young people. I was interested in exploring how young people use 'being tough' as a mask for their vulnerability. Hard Little Man is ultimately about a child who has been pushed into being tough and denied the innocence of childhood.

What is your favourite film or Shortfilm and why?

I would normally reel off about 20 films but if I had to choose one then it must be Badlands because I have seen it four times and I rarely watch films more than twice.

Who is your favourite Director?

Krzysztof Kieslowski. Double Lives of Veronique and Three Colours Blue are my favourite. He is an extremely cinematic filmmaker. I love the tension, the feeling of fate and destiny and the beauty of his films.

What are you most looking forward to about making your film?

The actual shoot. I love working on set. Once you are there then you have done all the hard work of getting the cast, crew and locations right. This is the time for creative collaboration, spontaneity and even more hard work. I love all the energy that comes with filming.

What will you do with the money if you win the prize?

Go on holiday. I'm always working non-stop yet am always skint. It will buy me some time to write.

How did you find the day of the interviews?

I always get really nervous about interviews but everyone was really friendly. Luckily I had my producer (Rachel Shadick) with me who is also one of my closest friends. That made it much easier.

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