Twenty thousand views in two days for remarkable short film

Film production lecturer scores major success

The latest short film produced by UCLan’s Chris Leonard, Lecture in Film Production, has proved to be a real hit with fans of Vimeo, the online video sharing platform for creative content producers.

Described as ‘beautiful, austere, horrifying heartbreaking, a great short film’, ‘The Cull’ has become one of the site’s ‘staff picks’ having attracted over 20,000 views in just two days.

Chris was bowled over by the staggering rate of viewings. “Although we knew we'd made a credible film when The Cull was nominated for Best British Short Film at theEdinburgh International Film Festival, putting it on Vimeo was a bit of a gamble.

“We'd simply not experimented with it before.  However, we've been amazed by the reaction.  Clearly, people are viewing the movie and recommending it to others – that must be a direct reflection on how it's being received.”

Starring Steve Evets (Looking For Eric, Brighton Rock) and Jennifer Hennessy (The Office, Red Riding, Psychoville) the film is helped enormously by their strong performances, as noted by many viewers' comments.

The film is directed by Jonathan Harris, who most recently worked on the Thomas Alfredson feature film Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

Chris added:  “To get this many people viewing my film would take an awful long time going down the traditional festival route.  It's just fantastic to know that the viewers are engaging with something that we spent so much time and energy producing.

“Making films is a collaborative effort and The Cull was no exception.  In spite of having a very challenging budget, we drew together a number of people, some professionals in their own fields and some who were learning their craft.  All of them shared a commitment to the project and for the film to be getting this sort of reaction makes it incredibly rewarding.  Jonathan and I are incredibly grateful.”

View the film.