It is a sunny afternoon in an enchanted corner of England. Strains of elegiac classical
music fade up on the soundtrack, as a camera begins to gently move along a riverbank
gradually revealing an elaborate tableau. Burnt sunbathers, beer-drinking kids, an abandoned
baby, a rabbit in a boat, a bicycle accident - in Who Killed Brown Owl, the perfect
English arcadia gives way to varying kinds of misfortune, disruption and violence.
With more than a passing reference to the 'narrative' paintings by masters such as
Bruegel, this spectacular single take 9-minute short is about a lazy Sunday
afternoon that goes horribly wrong.
Filmed over the course of one afternoon, Who Killed Brown Owl features
a volunteer cast of almost 100 residents of the London Borough
of Enfield.
Who Killed Brown Owl won the Best British Short Film Award
at the 58th Edinburgh International Film Festival.
UK | 2004 | Colour | 35mm | 1:2.35 | 9mins 23 seconds
Commissioned by the London Borough of Enfield with a grant from Arts Council England.
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