A WEE NIGHT IN

Chrissy was a sickly child, so no one expected her to live to a ripe old age. Nevertheless, this Scottish woman is now 95, frail but full of life. From her house in a village near Glasgow, she engages in activities that keep her active and involved with life. Today, Chrissy’s 91-year-old boyfriend Bill is coming over for a nice evening that will pass by according to the slow rhythm of age. They rub shoulders in her cozy little kitchen, enjoy a big meal, watch TV and chat like it’s going out of fashion. These two chatterboxes are – in Chrissy’s own words – “well matched.” Music from their youth is usually playing in the background. This relatively new couple have fun bickering together; old age and the approaching end magnify life’s little pleasures, lending them almost a miraculous sheen. Chrissy talks in voice-over about how they met and proudly says that she has never been one to rush into romantic entanglements. Bill spent two years calling her, asking if she would like to go out with him. She always liked to take her time, and still does. This is an intimate, heartwarming portrait of love in old age, full of recognizable, comedic moments.

STUART EDWARDS

 

Freelance filmmaker/videographer based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Graduated from Grays School of Art, Robert Gordon University in 2012 with a 1st class Honours Degree in Photographic & Electronic Media. In 2014 he graduated from the Scottish Screen Academy, Edinburgh College of Art with an MFA in Documentary Film Directing. The companies & organisations Stuart has worked for include: Ridley Scott Associates, Vice Magazine, Alzheimer Scotland, Unroofed Records, Railroad Records,Arika, Hibrow, Sunstore Technologies and Many more.

 

Stuart regularly shoots short documentaries as Director of Photography specialising in DSLR Cinematography. In November 2014 Stuart's short film - A Wee Night In - was nominated for for Best Student Documentary at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam.

 

• International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam 2014 
• Glasgow Short Film Festival 2015 
• Docudays International Documentary Festival in Kiev, Ukraine 2015 
• Short Waves Festival in Poznan, Poland 2015

 

A Wee Night In is an 11 minute documentary and is a humorous and endearing portrait of an elderly Glaswegian couple. The main character in the film is my grandmother Chrissy, whose boyfriend Bill comes to stay at weekends. The story is very minimal and the film is all about the characters and gives an intimate portrait of everyday Scottish life. I would always be pretty astounded and exhausted after filming due the sheer amount of activity that two people in the 90’s could generate, so the film became about Chrissy and Bill sharing these everyday moments. I filmed a lot with them as I wanted the film to feel organic and pure as if there wasn’t a camera there at all, just so the audience could be in the house with them for a short period of time and see how they live.

 

The visual style of the film was influenced by the pace and rhythm that Chrissy and Bill created between them. I really wanted to play with long takes and I tried to fit scenes into one take with a static wide frame, so scenes were allowed to play out. The approach seemed very photographic and embraced the stillness of the scenes so that any movement or sudden wee outburst of drama would be more emphasized.

Short Competition 2015