A.R.C presents: Still Life, a mannequin-themed dark comedy starring Ewan Mitchell (House of the Dragon, Saltburn, Wuthering Heights) and Saura Lightfoot-Leon (Hoard, The Agency).

Logline: A lonely retail worker hosts a dinner party. The catch? His guests are all shop front mannequins. When a living, breathing and somewhat peculiar girl arrives on his doorstep. His carefully curated world is turned on its head.

Still Life is an original short film from debut writer-director Oliver Hill, having worked on the House of the Dragon writers’ room, and has credits on titles including Wuthering Heights and Mickey 17. The short s already attracting attention for its distinctive blend of comedy, heart and surreal storytelling.

Academy Award-winning composer Steven Price (Gravity) has created an original score, while cinematography is led by Natasha Duursma.

A.R.C is proud to serve as Executive Producer on Still Life, alongside Fabian Frankel, and producers Csilla Tornallyay, Max Mark Frankel and Sophie Stacey.

From Oliver Hill: I really have Ewan to thank for Still Life getting off the ground. I’d been working on House of the Dragon with him, and I remember giving him the script on a Friday. Monday came round and when I saw him at work I couldn’t have hoped for a better response. He was totally on board. After that, the next person I got was one of our fantastic producers, Csilla Tornallyay, and we were off to the races. 

The mannequin idea started with a classic case of using the constraints around me as inspiration. I knew I needed an idea that would be cheap and straightforward to shoot, but I also knew that I wanted to showcase Ewan’s talents front and centre. He’s more than capable of carrying scenes on his own. In this case, he spends the first half of the film acting opposite inanimate objects! Therein lay a fun challenge for both of us which I think is what initially got me excited about the project. When I started writing it became clear that there was something deeper in the story. It’s really about Ewan’s character longing for a human connection and the lengths he’ll go to find one.

Following its completion, Still Life is now making its way through the international film festival circuit. More to be announced soon.

PRESS

Deadline
Frontrunner Magazine
Cultbox
IMDB