Yard Kings

Comedy, Drama
15 mins
United Kingdom
English
Winner
  • FFTG AwardJury Choice Best Debut Short Film (Social Realism-UK) - Billy King
  • FFTG AwardBest Director - Vasco Alexandre
  • FFTG AwardBest Writer - Vasco Alexandre & Billy King
  • FFTG AwardBest Actor - David Price
  • FFTG AwardBest Actress - Elle Atkinson
  • FFTG AwardBest Supporting Actress - Caroline Lazarus
  • FFTG AwardBest Cinematography - Jakub Rogala
  • FFTG AwardBest Sound Design - Zuzanna Pencak
  • FFTG AwardBest Production Design - Miriam Abdulameer

Trailer

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Synopsis

The film follows the story of Ellie, a young girl from a violent home. The 9-year-old seems to escape from her harsh reality by spending her days in the woods of a nearby scrapyard with her friend, Pete. There, the pair have built a new home for themselves. One night, after witnessing the horrifying abuse of her mother, Ellie decides to come back home and confront her stepfather.

Title: 

Yard Kings

Original Title: 

Yard Kings

Production Year: 

2021

Director: 

Casts: 

Elle Atkinson – “Ellie”
David Price – “Pete”
Caroline Lazarus – “Lisa” (The Watchman, Infill & Full Set (short), Shelter (short), Londongrad (TV series), Humans (TV series), Serial Thriller: Angel of Decay (TV series)
Jermaine Ricketts – “Alfie” (Sex, Lies & Murder (TV series)

Producer: 

Billy King

Writer: 

Billy King

Editor: 

Aiden Tobin

Dir. of Photography: 

Jakub Rogala

Sound Design:

Zuzanna Pencak

Music:

Elliot Herrington

Production Design:

Miriam Abdulameer

Costumes:

Billy King

Producer Interview

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Festival: 

2020

Category: 

New Wave filmmaker (Student), Short Films under 40 minutes

Country: 

United Kingdom

Language: 

English

Director's Statement

With families in lockdown worldwide, hotlines are lighting up with abuse reports. The violence is more frequent, more severe and more dangerous. Since cases have increased by 20%, I cannot imagine a better time to tell this story. Told through the eyes of one of the biggest losers in a violent relationship -children- ‘Yard Kings’ observes a 9-year-old girl’s reality as a fly on the wall.

It is a personal topic for me, and it was challenging to portray a social issue outside of my cultural zone. However, London is a complicated city, filled with all kinds of truths and contradictions, and I wanted to find my own emotional connection to it since my time there was such a significant chapter of my life.

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Screenplay

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The World’s Best Film