Poker Face

The first time I was cast for a part outside acting school was last December. If you scroll back through this blog - keep scrolling, keep scrolling, or follow this link - you will find a post, Muscle Memory or More, describing the day I and others spent in a very cold basement making the short film The Players. Five men sit around a table in an almost silent, very strange poker game. What's going on? What does it all mean?

Keep It Tidy Productions: producer Mark Driver; written and directed by Ben Garfield

I have made several films since then - mostly short, although I have been a corpse in a full-length feature. This is the second to be completed (the first was a student film and I won't embarrass either myself or the makers by mentioning it here) and there is no guarantee that the others will see the dark light of cinema or the harsh glare of YouTube. Although cast and crew have received a copy, I don't know when The Players will receive a public airing but I will keep you informed.

On other matters cinematic... I am, as usual too late to book many films at the London Film Festival, but the Other Half and I are going to the National Film Theatre this evening to see an example of a rare species - a serious Thai film, In April The Following Year, There Was a Fire (สิ้นเมษาฝนตกมาปรอยปรอย). About 50 films a year are made in Thailand, mostly downmarket comedies or horror; you don't have to be Siamese to appreciate them, but it certainly helps... And yesterday we had the misfortune to see Snow White and the Huntsman on dvd. Good production values but poor script, wooden acting (even from the usually excellent Charlize Theron as the Wicked Queen) and bad editing. Not recommended for adults or teenagers. Tonight, I hope, will make up for that disappointment.