17-06-08 (PORTUGAL)
Having just been to Festroia Film Festival in Portugal to present Soft in the Prix UIP section, I feel obliged to rant about flying for a bit. Carbon footprints aside, flying is shit. We all know how hideous cheap airlines can be, airlines such as Ryanair, the flying equivalent of catching the local bus that only costs one pence until you then have to cough up £24.99 tax and a further £24.99 tax tax. They never hesitate to proudly boast to their passengers if they land at their destination ahead of schedule but completely fail to even acknowledge, let alone offer an explanation, if they are late. And let's not mention the shrill commercials for energy drinks and scratchcards that bleat your ears off from the moment you set foot on the plane. I could write an essay on the wrongs of this stupid little company but it's well documented already and there's even a book devoted to it. So...

... this time I flew with BMI and, with my outbound flight being delayed by two hours, things didn't get off to a promising start. Then I had the serious misfortune of being seated directly in front of a gaggle of let's-all-get-pissed-as-fast-as-we-can blokes. You know the type, collar-popped polo shirts tucked into their jeans, shit trainers, identical haircuts, almost certainly bullied at school and making up for it ever since by seeing who can sink the most beer. The main problem is that these money-sucking airlines never refuse alcohol to anyone, no matter how shitfaced and annoying they might get.

So, after the whole plane got to hear about the menchildren's drinking itinerary for the evening, and a mildly bumpy landing in Lisbon saw snakebite being splashed down the back of my neck, I escaped the plane and was shot of them at last. Time to start to calming down and wondering why I still haven't moved to Germany. The festival driver then tells me that, as the flight was so delayed and it was late in the evening, I wasn't likely to find much to eat in our destination town of Setúbal unless I was prepared to eat McDonalds. I was starving, so against my better judgement I had one of their meal things. My body refused to digest it and after walking about with a brick in my stomach for a couple of hours I vowed never to eat a McDonalds again. How the hell people eat it on a regular basis I'll never know.

After these teething troubles things calmed down and the festival had a lovely, laid back vibe. Within no time I found a cold beer and a bean bag. The following day the sun was scorching and I went to the beach, ate actual food and met nice people. Over the whole weekend I only actually got to watch one film, a rather forgettable Polish feature, but I bumped into the actor Nickolas Grace, who played the Sheriff of Nottingham in the 1984 television series Robin of Sherwood.

When the time came to fly back to the UK I was overjoyed to discover that my return flight was delayed by an hour and would land too late to catch a train back to Nottingham. Deep breaths. By this point I hated BMI so much that everything they did would infuriate me, like announcing before we took off that the plane had "two free toilets" as if such facilities were some kind of luxury extra that we should be paying a surcharge for, or by stating that their selection of drinks and snacks were available "at competitive prices". Now, I can't say that paying almost a pound for a can of coke the size of a baby's foot is value for money, but "competitive"? At 35,000 feet in the air, who are they competing with exactly?!? I guess they must mean Ryanair.

Go here for a teeny, tiny, almost pointless gallery of images from the trip.

12-06-08 (HAMBURG)
Just returned from the annual trip to Hamburg International Short Film Festival, which was great, of course. This year I was crippled by hay fever for most of each day, which was something of a nightmare, but it was great to see familiar faces again. Dying Backwards screened in competition and Soft was screened on the side of a building to an audience of approximately one thousand people for the excellent Wall is a Screen event. I will post a picture as soon as I have one.

27-05-08 (FUR TV / SPRING CLEANING)
I just witnessed what became of my second Fur TV episode since my departure. To say it that it was quite distressing would be putting things mildly.

I'm cleaning and organising my house in an effort to cleanse my soul. I've been doing it slowly for over a week now and it's working a treat. Throwing stuff out is fantastic catharsis and finding a home for things that have been laying around for over a year brings major satisfaction. I was just telling my bafta-bothering friend Dan Mulloy about a battle I had last night with a new shelf, feeling all victorious and triumphant, and he said that if I was having a battle with a shelf then the shelf has won already. Damn.

10-05-08 (FUR TV)
There's a clip of my first episode for Fur TV online here (episode two).

Nothing else to report yet as i've either been doing completion on the feature or thinking about cleaning my house, putting shelves up everywhere, getting some exercise, or sleeping. So far I have only managed the latter. Oh and I just mowed my lawns, so that's a bit of exercise, isn't it.

22-04-08 (HAHA)
Well I never, look who made the cover of Filmwaves magazine...

20-04-08 (THINGS THAT ARE SHIT)
Well it all went okay in Hull last night but some other things are shit. For starters, the top shit is having discovered that one of the first music tracks I included in Dogging: A Love Story, which has been in the film for over a year now, is also used in the upcoming feature film 'Donkey Punch'. It isn't even a well known piece and this depresses me enormously.

The next shit down is that I had to walk away from Fur TV due to the proverbial 'creative differences', which has been a first for me. The show launches on MTV in a couple of weeks and I don't know if I have the will to watch my episodes. A damn shame. It should be huge and will make some people very rich.

The penultimate shit is the fresh reminder of my general irritation with 'something-someone' film titles. You know the type - Raising Cain, Raising Arizona, Raising Victor Vargas, Regarding Henry, Chasing Amy, Killing Zoe, Becoming Jane, Being John Malkovich (to name a few), and now we have Forgetting Sarah Marshall. I wouldn't like anyone to think that I lose sleep over such shameless formulae but REALLY...

Slightly less shit is that I just noticed this thread has two consecutive photographs of me with my arm around a young lady, like a fully repellent look-at-me-and-my-babes bum nugget.

02-04-08 (NEW SHORTS / TALK AT GLIMMER FESTIVAL IN HULL)
I have just completed two new experimental shorts. Dying Backwards has been in my head ever since I shot footage of a car that exploded in my street, six years ago. Subterranean Scene Filter is a montage of isolated Manhattan perspectives as seen through the steamy discharge that erupts from beneath the streets, shot last year on my visit to the Manhattan Short Film Festival.

Later this month I will be yapping about stuff at Hull Short Film Festival (of which I am now a patron, don't you know) and presenting a screening of some of my favourite short films. Billed as a BAFTA-sponsored masterclass, i'm very much looking forward to some proper fish and chips from the birthplace of every member of my family except me. I'll always remember as a kid thinking that the Humber Bridge looked all wrong when the cranes were removed from the top. It ruined all my drawings.

10-03-08 (SOFT WINS L.A BAFTA)
Soft is the winner of a rather curious BAFTA/LA award, which appears to be the Los Angeles arm of BAFTA, described in their own words as 'the bridge between the Hollywood and British production and entertainment business communities'.

07-03-08 (SOFT WINS IN FLORIDA / CINEQUEST BLOG)
Soft just won the Grand Prize at The Indie Shorts Competition in Fort Lauderdale : )

I also just found this review of the film from a blogger called 'JFromm' at Cinequest Film festival In San Jose (California), which is only a few days old:

"Director Simon Ellis' short film Soft was surely the favorite at the March 1st screening of shorts. The most powerful film of the bunch, Soft had audiences members yelling enthusiastic “woops” when the film' s main antagonist finally got a cricket bat to the back of the skull. It was impressive to see the amount of profoundly intense and honest emotion Ellis was able to fit into the 14-minute character-driven short. The film's story concerns the relationship dynamics between a father and son, both tormented by a group of violent hoodlums. With a moving, complete little plot, effective storytelling and magnificent acting, Soft is the type of short that sticks with you"

I guess I owe JFromm a pint, and an apology for editing their review slightly ( I didn't want to give the end away to those who haven't seen the film).

01-03-08 (BAFTA / ARTE INTERVIEW)
This is a well-overdue entry since the BAFTAs were weeks ago now, but i haven't had access to my website while I have been working away from home on the MTV series. A massive thank you to all those people who have emailed me saying I was robbed at the BAFTAs. If i had a penny for each of you then there would be enough to buy a cheap bottle of wine or a pint of decent lager, at least. The whole experience was as alien as could be expected. During the day, while everyone was rushing around getting dressed up and styled for the evening, I arrived at the Dorchester Hotel to collect my goodie bag and bumped into Sylvester Stallone. I don't think anything in the evening out-weirded that moment.

Go here for an interview about Soft from the European Film Academy event in Gent last October.

27-01-08 (SOFT WINS IN SUNDANCE! / BAFTA)
Soft won the international jury prize at Sundance Film Festival in Utah. This is extremely big news and a great honour. I found out via a congratulatory SMS from the film's executive producer, then a load of emails from friends, although the festival haven't contacted me yet.

The BAFTA stuff gets weirder. After investing in a pair of shoes for the first time in my life since school, I just found out that, being nominated includes complimentary styling. I'll be suited and booted and chauffer-driven to the event as part of the deal...

18-01-08 (BAFTA NOMINATION / FLICKERFEST WIN / DOGGING / MADNESS)
Soft is now a BAFTA nominated film and the ceremony is on February 10th (the evening before my first episode of the MTV series, grrrr). This means I will finally have to buy a pair of shoes and generally feel weird around lots of famous people. It also means free food though, which I will consume with wild abandon if work commitments are going to prevent me from enjoying the free alcohol. I can't say i'm upset that the Oscars might be cancelled due to the writer's strike, hehe.

Soft also won the Special Jury Prize at Flickerfest in Sydney, which is great because the film was rejected by both Melbourne and Sydney Festivals so I was beginning to think that Australia just didn't like it for some reason.

I am now days away from picture-lock on Dogging: A Love Story. This weekend was supposed to be Sundance weekend so I intend to make the most of my not being there by finishing the edit instead falling asleep every other hour.

Several major companies have been in touch about what my next project is and it's all rather perplexing. Sundance would have ended up being meeting after meeting and i'd have been wiped out after a few hours. Things are changing. Opportunities are increasing. As are the risks of making wrong decisions...

12-01-08 (SOFT WINS IN LONDON / MTV)
Soft won the teenage jury award at London Short Film Festival, which was well satisfying when the other films in competition were so strong. I've suddenly become really conscious of how to act when collecting awards and I find myself trying to get off stage as quickly as possible.

Started work on the new series. All i'm allowed to say is that it's for MTV.

13-12-07 (SUNDANCE / TV SERIES / DOGGING / BASS INVADERS)
Soft has got into Sundance, which is great considering they selected only 83 films out of 5100 entries. Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend because I'll be directing a few episodes of a brand spanking new and hilarious television series in the new year but i won't say what it is yet.

Just completed the last shots for Dogging and i'm now only days away from the first complete cut. I have relaunched the film's page, with more galleries coming soon.

Bass Invaders is online at the Scratch FX site (they were responsible for the 3D animation). You can watch it here..

27-11-07 (SOFT WINS IN ROMANIA)
Two colleagues have independently informed me that Soft also won the main prize at DaKino Short Film Festival in Bucharest at the weekend, making it a hat trick on Saturday, which is surely a once-in-a-lifetime thing. The festival have yet to inform me themselves, despite my emailing them twice. Funny old world.

25-11-07 (SOFT WINS IN BRISTOL AND OURENSE)
Soft scooped Best British Short at Encounters International Short Film Festival in Bristol, and Best Direction at Ourense International Film Festival in Spain. It's getting truly crazy now and i'm starting to feel strangely guilty. Maybe that's not the right word but it feels very weird. I couldn't attend both festivals as I was doing a talk at Encounters, which went well considering my DVD wouldn't play. Everyone was so damn nice. Even the 2am Stifado that resembled a plate of Pedigree Chum (dog munch) was nice. I just got back home after a typically shit UK train journey, withered but smiling.

18-11-07 (SOFT WINS IN ITALY)
Soft won Best Fiction Short at Cortopotere Short Film Festival in Bergamo, Italy : )

13-11-07 (SOFT WINS IN BERLIN)
Soft won the top prize at Interfilm in Berlin! A hell of a prize and a perfect end to a great trip. People still turned up to my screenings even though they could have been out building snowmen, which you have to be humbled by. The retrospective screenings also went well but a slight change in the films from the usual selection freaked me out unexpectedly. I was more aware of the flaws in my work than ever before and found myself sinking lower and lower into my chair each minute. There was some quality squealing from the back during What about the Bodies though, hehe.

I almost found a new hat, having seen it in a window late one night, just over the road from where I was staying. Damned if I could find the same shop the next day though, grrrr.

04-11-07 (SOFT WINS IN GENEVA / GENT PICTURES)
Soft won the Refelt d'Or for Best Short Film at Cinéma tout Ecran in Geneva, Switzerland. Excellent. I just received the email after waking from a dream where I snapped my two front teeth shorter with some pliers, but now I feel good again.

Some images from the gathering of finalists in Belgium a few weeks ago. Almost all of the thirteen filmmakers were present in Gent for two days of free food and fine hotel rooms with big massive beds that you could sleep on in every conceivable angle and still be miles from the edge. Having slept properly for the first time in a long time, it inspired me to buy a new bed, new mattress, new pillows, new duvet, new sheets and new pillowcases. No shit. My new bed is well smart.

31-10-07 (SOFT WINS IN NEW YORK / BABY ON BOARD / MORE JAPAN PICS)
Soft just won Best Drama at NYC Shorts.

'Baby on Board' (which I wrote and produced last year) is in an online competition. Go see and, um, vote.

More pictures from Sapporo in Japan, courtesy of the festival and fellow filmmaker Aaron Wilson.

22-10-07 (JAPAN VIDEO DIARY ONLINE / CORK)
My video diary from Sapporo in Japan is now online at the BBC Film Network.

Just got back from Cork International Film Festival with Jane (Soft's producer), a pleasure as always. We didn't win anything but when I saw how strong the programming was, I can't say I was surprised. Met US director John Dahl (Red Rock West, The Last Seduction), who was a lovely fella and extremely generous with his praise for Soft. We got an extra screening on the Opera House's massive screen, to a capacity audience, before John's new feature 'You Kill Me'. Smart.

16-10-07 (SOFT WINS TWO MORE / GOODBYE OSCARS / BELGIUM)
Soft won Best Film in the International Competition at Imago International Film Festival in Portugal. It also won Best Film at Colchester International Short Fim Festival, which I didn't even know I had submitted to.

After all the trouble getting a 35mm print to them, the academy emailed me to say that the film wasn't eligible for the oscars because it had screened on Channel Four prior to winning its qualifying award. I could have died. I didn't know whose throat I wanted to tear out first. What an enormous balls-up, especially when the broadcast was wasted on a 3am audience anyway. This tragedy, which has cost a lot of effort and money on my part, confirms two of my beliefs. One is about the academy and their 'rules' (unprintable here because my mam might be reading) and the other is that screening shorts on television IS more than pointless, after all.

Had a fun weekend in Belgium at the Flanders Film Festival. It was the Prix UIP gathering, where myself and the other twelve nominees meet and see each other's films. The highlight for me was seeing The Warriors on the big screen, which made me mope about missing out on the Wonder Wheel interview all over again (see the Manhattan entry below if you have absolutely no idea what i'm banging on about). Walter Hill (director of The Warriors) and Kathleen Turner were both there.

08-10-07 (SOFT WINS IN MANHATTAN)
Soft scooped the Best Editing award at Manhattan Short Film Festival. I missed a golden opportunity to be interviewed at the top of the iconic Wonder Wheel on Coney Island (from 'The Warriors'). It was arranged to be stopped and everything, grrrr. Will be sulking about that for ages. Anyway, for those who give a shiz, a gallery of pictures from the trip can be found here.

21-09-07 (RETROSPECTIVE WINS IN JAPAN / SOFT WINS IN D.C)
My six-film retrospective just won the Filmmaker Grand Prix at Sapporo International Short Film Festival in Japan. The trip was a truly fantastic experience and a video diary of my time there will be online very soon. As usual, a gallery of images from this very special festival can be found here for the time being.

Meanwhile, Soft picked up an Audience Choice award at DC Shorts in the States.

31-08-07 (SOFT WINS AT CONCORTO / INTERVIEW / DOGGING UPDATE)
Soft won another at Concorto in Italy :)

There is an interview about the film on the Manhattan Short Film Festival website.

After having struggled with other commitments I finally managed to begin shooting my pick-ups for the feature, which was basically a dogging session in a car park in darkest London. My hat goes off to those who came along and performed, so if any of you are reading this THANK YOU again!

29-08-07 (SOFT WINS AT PALM SPRINGS)
I just received an email from someone at Athens Film Festival congratulating me on my win at Palm Springs in the USA. Having no idea what he was talking about I went and checked online and Soft has won 'Best of the Fest', which is its second Oscar-qualifying win after Toronto. Needless to say I am ready to piss myself...

28-08-07 (SKINS / SARAJEVO / SOFT WINS AT EDINBURGH)
After much thought, I have declined directing duties on the second series of Channel 4's 'Skins', which was a rubbish decision to have to make as the people at Company Pictures were great and it would have been a good time, for sure. Soft's success has attracted several excellent offers on sure-to-be-successful TV ventures but I have to get the feature finished. At least the fact that I don't watch TV will ensure I don't get wound up by what I might have missed out on.

Sarajevo was great, if brief. The temperature reached 41 degrees, which somebody told me was a record high there. Go here for some pictures.

Soft has won the European Film Academy's Prix UIP Award at Edinburgh Film Festival, which is an important part of the festival strategy so i'm delighted. I was at Sarajevo Film Festival when I received the call, standing right next to Juliette Binoche. Good moment, that. Lead actor Jonny Phillips (below) went to collect the award in my absence.

31-07-07 (SOFT WINS IN BRAZIL)
Soft won Best International Short at Belo Horizonte International Short Film Festival in Brazil.

19-07-07 (FESTIVAL PICTURES)
Pictures from Hamburg here, Ludwigsburg here and Vila do Conde here.

13-07-07 (SOFT WINS IN LUDWIGSBURG / GUARDIAN REVIEW)
It has been really hectic these last couple of weeks. Soft won the Best Screenplay award at the European Short Film Biennale in Ludwigsburg, Germany. Having only intended to be at the festival for a few days I had to stay longer to collect the award, which meant returning to the UK and leaving on a rescheduled flight to Vila do Conde in Portugal within a few hours. There are pictures and stories from both festivals (and some from Hamburg) forthcoming.

Guardian critic Peter Bradshaw wrote a startling blog about Soft a few days ago, which was an excellent surprise. See it here.

1-07-07 (SOFT WINS IN CAPALBIO)
More nutness. Two days ago I received a call from Capalbio in Tuscany, Italy, informing me that Soft had won the Best Direction Award. They flew me over the next day (yesterday) to attend the ceremony, and 24 hours later, I am back. I've had around three hours of kip in as many days but for some reason i'm still awake so i suppose i'll pass out any moment now, like the sleep-needing lightweight that I am. The festival was a different experience to most, with a holiday beach and an amazing open-air cinema in the heart of the village (which is ancient and high up in the hills). Go here for some random pictures.

26-06-07 (SOFT WINS IN ST. PETERSBURG)
It's my birthday today and at 3am I found out that Soft won Best Fiction Short at Message to Man Film Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia. I had my visa sorted to attend that festival too but editing commitments wouldn't allow it. That's four gongs in the last three weeks :)

21-06-07 (HAMBURG VIDEO DIARY)
The video diary from Hamburg is up on the BBC site.

18-06-07 (SOFT WINS IN TORONTO)
Soft won at Toronto last night, which now makes it eligible for an Academy Award nomination.

15-06-07 (SOFT WINS IN HAMBURG)
Soft just won the audience award and a special mention from the jury at Hamburg International Short Film Festival. Other festival acceptances for the film are racking up. There will be a video diary from Hamburg at the BBC Film Network next week so watch this space for a link.

23-05-07 (DOGGING / SOFT AT CANNES / CHANNEL FOUR)
Dogging: A Love Story has been my best friend and worst enemy, and back again, for what seems like forever. Editing something of this scale has fully reignited my love (and hate) of editing. It's heaven and hell at the same time, which is how I described the shoot, if I remember correctly.

After its screening on Channel Four for insomniacs at shit o'clock in the morning, Soft is starting to hit the festivals. My opportunities to see it with a wide range of international audiences are diminishing as things get frustratingly busy. It seems to be causing a nice little stir at the short film corner in Cannes and i've had several encouraging emails from people who have watched it, including one fella who said he whooped out loud and was asked to be quiet.

I should be directing two episodes of a very popular Channel Four television series at the end of the year but haven't signed on the dotted line yet so I won't jinx things by saying what it is. I'm fully shitting myself about post-production on the feature being even slightly unfinished before I begin. After the crossover I experienced on Soft and Dogging, I really don't want to go there again. Goodbye wellbeing.

16-03-07 (DOGGING INTERVIEW / TAMPERE FESTIVAL / SOFT IN 35MM)
I am now one hour into the edit of Dogging: A Love Story and I haven't lost my marbles yet, which is nice. There is a brand spanking new interview about the making of the film on BBC Film Network.

Go here for a gallery of my visit to Tampere Short Film Festival in Finland, where A Storm and Some Snow was in competition. Film highlights for me included Bálint Kenyeres' 'Before Dawn' (Hungary), Nacho Martin's 'El Cerco (The Fence)' (Spain) and Barney Elliott's 'True Colours' (UK).

Three days ago I got to see the 35mm test print of Soft, which was the first time I have seen my work on celluloid. Oh man. Having been back and forth to Berlin several times in between editing duties on the feature to try and finish it, seeing the print was a thoroughly gratifying experience. The film will screen at Nottingham's Bang Short Film Festival on Sunday 25th March and we are hoping to get a print in time to screen from glorious 35mm.

15-01-07 (A STORM AND SOME SNOW WINS)
A Storm and Some Snow won the VX Auteur Theory award at London's Halloween Film Festival (Go to the film's page for a picture) and the winnings perfectly covered the cost of licensing the music so it's a good start to the year.

25-12-06 (DOGGING WRAPS)
Wrapped on my debut feature (Dogging: A Love Story) just before Christmas in Newcastle and it feels weird to have my life back. It was sad to leave behind, despite needing a year of sleep. Everybody worked really bloody hard and the material looks great. 2007 will see the mammoth task of editing and hopefully a theatrical release towards the end of the year.

29-10-06 (SOFT)
The Soft page is now complete in the films section, and prior to its screening at this year's Encounters Film Festival in Bristol, you will find a page for Dan Gitsham's Film Eight in Other Film Work.

Just been back to Berlin for the spit-and-polish on Soft. Almost there, nnnnnngh!

21-10-06 (DOGGING CASTING / CORK / BERLIN)
After lots of auditions with casting director Victoria Beattie, the ensemble for the feature is almost fully cast. We begin shooting in Newcastle, three weeks from now. In between this and finishing Soft at Elektrofilm in Berlin, things have been pretty hectic.

I also managed to visit Cork Film Festival with A Storm and Some Snow and sat on a seminar panel with filmmakers Peter Foott and Jens Jonsson. The usual Cork hospitality ensured that lots of time was spent recovering but the overall experience was superb thanks to its legendary organisers, who made us feel more than welcome, as always. Without doubt, one of my favourite festivals.

Here's a gallery report of some random images from both trips.

01-09-06 (GO!)
Bubtowers is finally online. There is no film content to stream or download but a few films can be found on other sites for those interested enough to go mooching. Links are provided on the appropriate pages.

Currently, i'm just completing my new short Soft for FilmFour and UK Film Council's Cinema Extreme (photographs from the production by Chris Harris down the left side of this page). The film is set to premiere in November at Encounters Film Festival in Bristol. For further information, take a look at the article/interview on the excellent BBC Film Network.

New short A Storm and Some Snow is out there trying to nudge its way into a festival near you (or miles away from you).

Unexpectedly, Freya (3) will premiere at this year's London Film Festival.

All being well, my first feature film (Dogging: A Love Story) is due to begin shooting with Vertigo Films at the end of the year.